You can probably tell all that you need to about Rhode Island-based newcomers Pilgrim from their band name and choice of cover art, if the fact that their vocalist/guitarist is dubbed 'The Wizard' wasn't enough. Of course, a drummer called Krolg Splinterfist, Slayer Of Men muddies the water a little, but even a newcomer to metal's weird and wonderful world should recognise a true doom horde when he sees one... and Pilgrim are about as true and doom as you get. Slow, pounding, heavy, miserable and cathartic, this band are living the ancient dream, a vocalist's lonely human voice raised in forlorn supplication, drowned out by slow, droning riffs. And aside from a drummer who bashes his kit as hard as he can, that pretty much sums Misery Wizard up.

It's utterly devoid of tunes, the songs being slow and slogging endurance tests that will delight acolytes of the style and repel newcomers who think that liking the odd Black Sabbath song will equip them to deal with this. Fat chance! This is expert-level doom, music to grind your teeth to, misery in audio format. Misery Wizard, sadly, suffers a lot due to its embrace of this particular shade of grey - doom should be monochrome and cold, but you expect to have slightly more notice of the listener taken than this.

Being fair, by the time Adventurer bounds around and injects some much-needed energy into proceedings the album does take a turn for the better. It's more memorable when a lighter paletter is allowed, the enjoyable soloing and almost oceanic waves of guitar/bass interplay setting you up nicely for the almost droning downturn hailed by thirteen-minute finale Forsaken Man. That elsewhere songs struggle to keep the listener's interest means that ultimately this can only be recommended for the most hardcore.