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Eons better than this project’s much-hyped/overrated self-titled debut in 2008, Behind the Blackest Tears is what we need to hear from Kingdom of Sorrow—a partnership between Crowbar’s Kirk Windstein and Hatebreed’s Jamey Jasta—after such a false, tire-spinning start.

This being said, Jasta’s one-dimensional, tough guy vocals really stick out like a sore thumb when placed atop Windstein’s sludgy, bluesy doom riffs, and sound even more ineffectual when compared to Windstein’s own soulful croons.


Which brings us to the real point of Kingdom of Sorrow: there isn’t any. This is because most doom fans simply aren’t going to be able to get behind Jasta’s involvement in this any more than Hatebreed fans are really going to get past Behind The Blackest Tears other than it being ‘undeniably heavy.’

So where is the audience for Behind the Blackest Tears, then? Good question. Black Label Society fans looking for something a bit more substantial to chew on might want to look here for some jams, or those with low expectations/short attention spans. Other than this, Behind the Blackest Tears—while an improvement—just doesn’t cut the mustard for fans of either Jasta nor Windstein’s other work. There isn’t enough gusto to make this album a relevant purchase for anyone other than the insatiably curious, or the insanely devoted.

Take “Monuments of Ash,” for example. It’s a great, Trouble-esque rocker; rife with churning, sub-stoner riff rumbling…until Jasta’s vocals come along and take what Kingdom of Sorrow is doing to a deep, dark place.

This is a place where stylistic clash is simply too great to overcome. Jasta’s vocals simply don’t mesh with what Windstein is doing musically, and nothing—not even Windstein’s clean tone, which is in itself not too great, either—is really able to save Behind the Blackest Tears from being an effort in futility.



Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.