With a name like Heavy Lord it really isn't very hard to guess what sort of music this Dutch band plays. Yes - it's the oppressively heavy type of doom metal with sludge and stoner tendencies, influenced by bands like Cathedral, Eyehategod and Crowbar (and of course by the immortal Black Sabbath). Luckily, on From Cosmos To Chaos the band also displays a good sense of dynamics and knows how to vary things a little bit (think Acid Bath-lite) and the result is a record that although far from ground-breaking, is nevertheless quite enjoyable to listen and headbang to. They focus on good song writing and this is where From Cosmos To Chaos shines. The musicians are also all very good at what they are doing, with special mention going to the vocalist, who is capable of providing both brooding, bluesy melodic singing and a real, deep death metal growl.

It is possible to make a good album without being innovative, as long as the prerequisite of quality song-writing is fulfilled. Heavy Lord has a lot of that and From Cosmos to Chaos is a definite success. By doom fans and for doom fans, this album will probably be seen as one of the best in its genre this year.

Raw, sluggish and, above all, heavy. Sabbathy goodness, but with those 30+ years of doom evolution thrown in for good measure. Heavy Lord sound scarily up to date, while still having the spunk to appeal to the more traditionally minded. Each of the five songs is a mix of low, dirty riffs, some calm and brooding parts nd some severe acceleration thrown in for good measure. Any doomster worth his title will catch himself banging at least several times.