Despite being from London, Cold in Berlin once again lives up to their name, as it conjures, stark, wintry urban landscape at night. Wounds (New Heavy Sounds) finds the band going further down the path they wandered down on their previous album, which found them more fully committing to their crossover into doom. The opening track of their new album blurs the lines even further, carrying a darker, more pulsating beat. Vocalist Maya belts things out with the expected intensity of her aching alto. The hypnotic pulse of “12 Crosses” shares some common ground with grunge from the nineties, as more exotic flourishes of atmosphere are also employed.

“Messiah Crawling” aligns itself more closely to doom with its deliberate rumble that leaves plenty of room for Maya to express herself as the bass line lurks. “They Reign” is likea more forboding take on Concrete Blonde, a blues storm brewing with the tension. “The Stranger” finds synths setting the stage to create a more Siouxsie and the Banshees-like vibe. The more metallic undertow of the song pulls you into the more rock-focused chorus.  

They are not typically caranking out music for stoners, though there is a bit of a bong-laden boogie to “We Fall,” which finds the verse taking it into a more psychedelic, introspective direction that recalls late sixties bands. Unlike some doomy bands that do not get mired in having their songs all have the same, nor is there much in the way of a Black Sabbath influence that haunts what they do. Instead, you can hear more of a sixties psych sound cropping up in places. By the time we get to “I Will Wait,” it’s the fact that the more Jefferson Airplane vibes take precedence, and there is little of the post-punk tension, as the bigger dynamics carry more of a metal punch to them, even if it is not overt. Even when things build to a more frantic pace. Though things are generally grooving, but emotionally weighed down by a repressed despondence. Not at the suicidal romanticism of some doom and goth, but a stark outlook nonetheless. 

The last song simmers in speculation, by way of a more thoughtful spoken word over the drone of the guitar. They might end the album on a more post-Punk note, but it does not change the fact that hte overall vibe of this album is doom, though dark enough for more goth-leaning listeners. They have continued to perfect the brooding darkness they now weave seamlessly in these songs, a testament to the fact that darkness always sounds heavier than hope. Let yourself give in and abandon all hope. 

Buy the album here:
https://coldinberlin.bandcamp.com/album/wounds

9 / 10
WIL CIFER
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