Metal Underground.com

On one hand, Demon Lung's "Pareidolia" is quite effective at conveying the creepy vibe of the best doom metal. On the other, by the end of this EP's four tracks, most listeners will have noted that, other than a racing drum beat that closes the last song, most of the tracks plod along at virtually the same funereal speed.

The band's greatest asset is definitely singer Shanda Frederick, who delivers a strong, haunting and beautiful performance on the opener, "Lament Code," as well as the title track. Granted, she's not given a chance to show off a lot of range here (with the exception of a deliciously weird mid-section on "Sour Ground"), but given the band's sludgy doom sound, a lot of multi-octave runs wouldn't have made any sense at all.

Guitarist Phillip Burns delivers a performance that's part Toni Iommi, part Zakk Wylde squeal on "Lament Code" and serves up an excellent creepy march on "Pareidolia." His overly repetitive part on "Death Mask" reduces it from slow doom to monotony, though, with Frederick unable to overcome it during the verses.

The EP, which is available for $4 at http://demonlungband.com/fr_store.cfm, does boast top-of-the-line production values, though the vocals are a bit low in the mix, especially on "Death Mask."

Doom fans will love Demon Lung's "Pareidolia" for its sludgy guitar and hauntingly beautiful vocals. Those looking for something faster than a crawl from the grave probably ought to look elsewhere.