The mighty Saint Vitus has been praised by doom fans as a band that helped to make the first major steps forward in the evolution of the traditional doom sound. Influenced by metal pioneers like Black Sabbath and Uriah Heep, Saint Vitus took these ideas and wrote their own formula for the sound of doom. Born Too Late marked the first of three albums to feature Scott "Wino" Weinrich on vocals, and he brings in a lot of his own style; that of an immortal drunk, sodden with wine and lamenting the woes of the world. Admittedly this is not everyone's cup of tea, but for those who want slow, depressive music, you cannot do much better than these traditional doom metal giants who wrote the book on melancholy atmosphere and influenced a generation of bands.

The album begins with the title track, hitting you with a wall of guitar distortion immediately, then breaking into a procession of slow, thick riffs. It gives a good idea of what this band is all about. Weinrich's vocals definitely remind me somewhat of Ozzy, except they’re more powerful; there's a bluesier, more soulful feeling to them. The music here is much slower than most of what Sabbath did back in the 60s and 70s, drawing out the sound and making more room for musical experimentation and embellishment. Dave Chandler's guitar soloing in Dying Inside catches my attention in particular, this is a fingertipping and tremolo style of mournful, wailing guitar at its best. The riffs here are quite simple, but it's heavy and memorable and that's all that matters to me. The lyrics mostly revolve around depressive topics like addiction, social injustice, depression, etc. and you can feel the hopelessness both through the music and lyrics very well. If this band does one thing right, it's atmosphere. These songs are long and plodding, but you forget all about it once you just sit down and start absorbing the raucous flow of guitar notes and Wino's raw, deep vocals.

Clear Windowpane begins with distinct drums, guitar, and bass; every instrument distinct and equal in intensity, yet fitting together very well. This is a faster song, and the shortest on the album at well under 4 minutes. Dying Inside may be the best example of the slow, crawling melancholy that this band is famous for, the latter to a greater extent. The guitars are just superb, with solos that slice through the haze of distortion. Great music to just sit back and relax to. There's also a tone of the psychedelic to it; you can hear it in the guitar riffs and melodies sometimes. H.A.A.G. starts out with a more upbeat guitar lead as well that gives it a lighter tone. The lyrics are still dark of course, but the music gives it a more of a black humor feeling than anything else, another element that is woven throughout this album. The Lost Feeling begins with the slow, heavy bass work of Mark Adams that creates a sort of trippy, yet foreboding, atmosphere, and Wino's harsh whispers add to this. The electric guitars eventually come in, creating a wall of sound along with load vocals. All in all a great song that keeps things interesting the whole time. This is really just an awesome album from beginning to end. Excellent stuff to just sit and space out to, which I believe was the band's intention.

The list of bands influenced by this album and this band is far too long to even scratch the surface here, but those who enjoy Cathedral, Solitude Aeturnus, Orodruin and others owe it to themselves to listen to Born Too Late. These guys made their own way with inventive songwriting, skilled musicianship, and really just taking chances with their creativity to produce something original and, above all, memorable.