#evoken — Public Fediverse posts

Tempestuous Fall – The Descent of Mortals Past Review

By ClarkKent

In 2012, Australia’s Dis Pater released the debut record for his third active—at the time—one-man project: The Stars Would Not Awaken You by Tempestuous Fall, a work of epic funeral doom. The following year, Pater released what might be the strangest split I’ve heard of: a three-way between his own active projects. It ended up being a “[three] men enter, one man leaves” kind of deal, with Midnight Odyssey being the lone survivor.1 In that time, he has contributed to several other bands, from a Greek black metal group, Kawir, to a Slovakian black metal group, Aeon Winds, as well as a whopping nine LPs for Midnight Odyssey. Yet something about the funeral doom of Tempestuous Fall must have called Pater back. Backed by classical symphonic elements, it turns out he had rather ambitious goals for sophomore album, The Descent of Mortals Past.

The Descent of Mortals Past is a concept album focused on six mythological figures and their unfortunate adventures to the underworld. With themes based in the classics, and even some lyrics in Latin, it should be no surprise that Tempestuous Fall takes a classical approach to the music. “Theseus – Encased in the Stones of Hades” opens with some gorgeous, serene strings before adding on the usual funeral doom trappings of a heavy guitar and glacial pacing. You’ll also hear the melancholic tinkling of piano keys on songs like “Heracles – Dark is the Home of the Underworld,” showing off Pater’s versatility and ingenuity. It’s remarkable the way he melds these classical elements with doom guitars and growls to create lush, hooky funeral doom. “Psyche – Temptation of the Divine” goes all out, bringing in church organs, choral chants and hums, and operatic vocals from guest singer Alice Corvinus (Swords of Dis). This beautiful tune provides such an enticing melody you might follow it to the gates of Hades.

Of course, on the classics you don’t hear singers using demonic growls, but Tempestuous Fall might make them rethink that choice. Pater takes a My Dying Bride approach—alternating between low growls and cleans. He may not be as powerful as Aaron Stainthorpe, but he’s still effective. His growls contrast with the classical melodies and deliver the lyrics poetically, while his cleans provide memorable choruses that make you want to sing along. When the heavy guitars first join the strings on “Theseus…,” it’s a shock to the system like taking the polar plunge in nothing but your underpants. But they add a darkness and melancholy that’s fitting for doomed trips to the underworld. The production is a bit of a let-down, however, as the guitars take on a buzzy quality rather than the muscle of Evoken. Yet there is a charm to this raw, lo-fi quality that takes me back to the earlier Opeth records like Morningrise.

The back half of The Descent of Mortals Past has some unfortunate inconsistencies that keep it from matching the fantastic first half. None of these songs are bad, just different. The first is “Ulysses – Requiem of the Sea,” a doom cover of Mozart’s “Lacrimosa.” It’s a very cool track, but it also feels unoriginal, especially since it is among the most played classical tunes in modern pop culture—almost to the level of parody. Similarly, “Orpheus – In Dark Deathly Grey” is also quite good, but its focus on acoustics makes it sound more at home on a Dolven record than a symphonic funeral doom set. The finale, “Aeneas – Guide Me Home,” is a return to form that fits in much better with the front half. Like these earlier songs, it has strings, doom, and some melodic leads and cleans that end the LP on an uplifting note. Yet, being the longest tune at eleven minutes, it’s the only one that feels like it drags on due to too much repetition. Individually, the songs on the back half are solid and probably keep the record from sounding stale, yet they also break a spell the first half weaves.

While it doesn’t quite reach the level of last week’s Oromet, Tempestuous Fall has written another worthy platter of funeral doom for 2025. With how The Descent of Mortals Past sounds, it is understandable why Pater wanted to return to this funeral doom project after a thirteen-year hiatus. He has an ear for epic yarns, and his injection of doom adds gravity to the classics. I just hope that he doesn’t wait another thirteen years to release the next one.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 256 kbps mp3
Label: I, Voidhanger Records
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: November 14th, 2025

#2025 #35 #aeonWinds #australianMetal #dolven #evoken #funeralDoom #iVoidhangerRecords #kawir #midnightOdyssey #mozart #myDyingBride #nov25 #opeth #oromet #review #reviews #swordsOfDis #symphonicMetal #tempestuousFall #theDescentOfMortalsPast

Thaumaturgy – Pestilential Hymns Review

Changing your sound must be equal parts thrilling and intimidating. On the one hand, it’s an opportunity to…
#NewsBeep #News #Music #2025 #3.0 #AmericanMetal #BeastieBoys #CA #Canada #Death #DeathMetal #Entertainment #Evoken #MementoMori #Mortiferum #Oct25 #Pestilence #PestilentialHymns #review #reviews #Svrm #Thaumaturgy #WolvesintheThroneRoom
https://www.newsbeep.com/ca/235336/

Thaumaturgy – Pestilential Hymns Review

By Spicie Forrest

Changing your sound must be equal parts thrilling and intimidating. On the one hand, it’s an opportunity to explore and flex your creative muscles, to see what else you can do. On the other hand, it may alienate your listeners, but more simply, it may just be unsuccessful. This is the crossroads at which we find Kansas-based Thaumaturgy. While their debut, Tenebrous Oblations, was a cavernous voyage through Mortiferum’s lightless catacombs, sophomore effort Pestilential Hymns, is a notable departure from that sound. Founder KT has brought on the equally mysterious TG and DS to realize this new sound.1 Is this evolution a confident step forward or an ill-conceived stumble?

Thaumaturgy’s sophomore effort is indeed a big change from their debut, but it’s got the same bones. The reverberous cobwebs that swaddled Tenebrous Oblations may be gone, but the murky, serpentine structures remain, often taking on a blackened char in the clearer production. “The Oncologist’s Hymn” and “Awaken Ares” showcase this well, employing textures that evoke SVRM or Wolves in the Throne Room, although more sinuous than Cascadian. Pestilential Hymns further departs from its predecessor with new vocalist, TG. KT still provides deep, cavernous roars as a backing vocalist, but TG looks to Death and Pestilence for inspiration, employing more howl than scream or growl. This would be concerning were it not for the added classic death/thrash riffcraft of those forebearers that complements TG’s performance. The last major change in Thaumaturgy’s sound is the inclusion of synths, most often used to augment or reinforce the atmosphere fostered by their newly blackened edge (“Plague Ritual,” “Neuroticism Triumphant”).

The deployment of these new elements on Pestilential Hymns is a bit of a mixed bag. Riffs and leads seared black bring a compelling gothic tone to the album that pairs well with that classic death metal sound (“Forced March”). Thaumaturgy’s two main styles—classic death and cavernous death—largely alternate as TG and KT pass the mic, creating a shifting landscape that keeps me invested through Pestilential Hymns’ 46-minute runtime. This separated approach does, however, encourage comparison between such regimented styles and passages, and I tend to gravitate toward and appreciate one over the other. An approach more melting pot and less mosaic may have alleviated this pain point. In a rare attempt at a more cohesive whole, “Entropic Hegemony” features a great deal of interplay between vocalists, but the Beastie Boys call-and-response style employed can be distracting.

Each element of Thaumaturgy’s new sound holds its own in isolation, but solid combination or incorporation is an area where the band could improve. Synths sprinkled throughout Pestilential Hymns do succeed in establishing atmosphere and evoking intended emotions, but only when embedded within tracks rather than serving as outros to them. Throughout the album, there’s a combined four minutes of synthy outros that don’t do much more than delay the oncoming track or blunt a strong finish (“The Oncologist’s Hymn,” “Awaken Ares,” “Forced March”). Add a handful of instrumental passages that linger overlong (“The Shadow Approaches,” “Plague Ritual”), and bloat and pacing become real issues. This is exacerbated by interlude “An Ignominious End.” I like the atmosphere it builds—I immediately thought of Evoken’s exhausted shuffles—but at 2:30 and as the penultimate track, it kills any momentum leading into the album’s end. Smaller doses of this energy could have been incorporated into the meat of proper tracks to better effect.

Pestilential Hymns feels like a step back from Thaumaturgy’s debut, but one made out of exploration and experimentation. It’s a dip in cohesion, not a dip in quality. Everything here succeeds individually, and the majority does so holistically as well. But there are a few fundamentals—pacing, synthesis, bloat—that this broadened focus neglects. That said, Pestilential Hymns is still a fun listen and shows much promise toward a more unified future vision. My complaints seem easily attributable to growing pains and self-discovery, which, of all possible faults, are among the more commendable ones. And if there’s a choice between taking risks and retreading solid ground, I’ll support evolution every time.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Memento Mori
Websites: Bandcamp | Instagram
Releases Worldwide: October 20th, 2025

#2025 #30 #AmericanMetal #BeastieBoys #Death #DeathMetal #Evoken #MementoMori #Mortiferum #Oct25 #Pestilence #PestilentialHymns #Review #Reviews #Svrm #Thaumaturgy #WolvesInTheThroneRoom

Thaumaturgy – Pestilential Hymns Review

By Spicie Forrest

Changing your sound must be equal parts thrilling and intimidating. On the one hand, it’s an opportunity to explore and flex your creative muscles, to see what else you can do. On the other hand, it may alienate your listeners, but more simply, it may just be unsuccessful. This is the crossroads at which we find Kansas-based Thaumaturgy. While their debut, Tenebrous Oblations, was a cavernous voyage through Mortiferum’s lightless catacombs, sophomore effort Pestilential Hymns, is a notable departure from that sound. Founder KT has brought on the equally mysterious TG and DS to realize this new sound.1 Is this evolution a confident step forward or an ill-conceived stumble?

Thaumaturgy’s sophomore effort is indeed a big change from their debut, but it’s got the same bones. The reverberous cobwebs that swaddled Tenebrous Oblations may be gone, but the murky, serpentine structures remain, often taking on a blackened char in the clearer production. “The Oncologist’s Hymn” and “Awaken Ares” showcase this well, employing textures that evoke SVRM or Wolves in the Throne Room, although more sinuous than Cascadian. Pestilential Hymns further departs from its predecessor with new vocalist, TG. KT still provides deep, cavernous roars as a backing vocalist, but TG looks to Death and Pestilence for inspiration, employing more howl than scream or growl. This would be concerning were it not for the added classic death/thrash riffcraft of those forebearers that complements TG’s performance. The last major change in Thaumaturgy’s sound is the inclusion of synths, most often used to augment or reinforce the atmosphere fostered by their newly blackened edge (“Plague Ritual,” “Neuroticism Triumphant”).

The deployment of these new elements on Pestilential Hymns is a bit of a mixed bag. Riffs and leads seared black bring a compelling gothic tone to the album that pairs well with that classic death metal sound (“Forced March”). Thaumaturgy’s two main styles—classic death and cavernous death—largely alternate as TG and KT pass the mic, creating a shifting landscape that keeps me invested through Pestilential Hymns’ 46-minute runtime. This separated approach does, however, encourage comparison between such regimented styles and passages, and I tend to gravitate toward and appreciate one over the other. An approach more melting pot and less mosaic may have alleviated this pain point. In a rare attempt at a more cohesive whole, “Entropic Hegemony” features a great deal of interplay between vocalists, but the Beastie Boys call-and-response style employed can be distracting.

Each element of Thaumaturgy’s new sound holds its own in isolation, but solid combination or incorporation is an area where the band could improve. Synths sprinkled throughout Pestilential Hymns do succeed in establishing atmosphere and evoking intended emotions, but only when embedded within tracks rather than serving as outros to them. Throughout the album, there’s a combined four minutes of synthy outros that don’t do much more than delay the oncoming track or blunt a strong finish (“The Oncologist’s Hymn,” “Awaken Ares,” “Forced March”). Add a handful of instrumental passages that linger overlong (“The Shadow Approaches,” “Plague Ritual”), and bloat and pacing become real issues. This is exacerbated by interlude “An Ignominious End.” I like the atmosphere it builds—I immediately thought of Evoken’s exhausted shuffles—but at 2:30 and as the penultimate track, it kills any momentum leading into the album’s end. Smaller doses of this energy could have been incorporated into the meat of proper tracks to better effect.

Pestilential Hymns feels like a step back from Thaumaturgy’s debut, but one made out of exploration and experimentation. It’s a dip in cohesion, not a dip in quality. Everything here succeeds individually, and the majority does so holistically as well. But there are a few fundamentals—pacing, synthesis, bloat—that this broadened focus neglects. That said, Pestilential Hymns is still a fun listen and shows much promise toward a more unified future vision. My complaints seem easily attributable to growing pains and self-discovery, which, of all possible faults, are among the more commendable ones. And if there’s a choice between taking risks and retreading solid ground, I’ll support evolution every time.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Memento Mori
Websites: Bandcamp | Instagram
Releases Worldwide: October 20th, 2025

#2025 #30 #AmericanMetal #BeastieBoys #Death #DeathMetal #Evoken #MementoMori #Mortiferum #Oct25 #Pestilence #PestilentialHymns #Review #Reviews #Svrm #Thaumaturgy #WolvesInTheThroneRoom

Thaumaturgy – Pestilential Hymns Review

By Spicie Forrest

Changing your sound must be equal parts thrilling and intimidating. On the one hand, it’s an opportunity to explore and flex your creative muscles, to see what else you can do. On the other hand, it may alienate your listeners, but more simply, it may just be unsuccessful. This is the crossroads at which we find Kansas-based Thaumaturgy. While their debut, Tenebrous Oblations, was a cavernous voyage through Mortiferum’s lightless catacombs, sophomore effort Pestilential Hymns, is a notable departure from that sound. Founder KT has brought on the equally mysterious TG and DS to realize this new sound.1 Is this evolution a confident step forward or an ill-conceived stumble?

Thaumaturgy’s sophomore effort is indeed a big change from their debut, but it’s got the same bones. The reverberous cobwebs that swaddled Tenebrous Oblations may be gone, but the murky, serpentine structures remain, often taking on a blackened char in the clearer production. “The Oncologist’s Hymn” and “Awaken Ares” showcase this well, employing textures that evoke SVRM or Wolves in the Throne Room, although more sinuous than Cascadian. Pestilential Hymns further departs from its predecessor with new vocalist, TG. KT still provides deep, cavernous roars as a backing vocalist, but TG looks to Death and Pestilence for inspiration, employing more howl than scream or growl. This would be concerning were it not for the added classic death/thrash riffcraft of those forebearers that complements TG’s performance. The last major change in Thaumaturgy’s sound is the inclusion of synths, most often used to augment or reinforce the atmosphere fostered by their newly blackened edge (“Plague Ritual,” “Neuroticism Triumphant”).

The deployment of these new elements on Pestilential Hymns is a bit of a mixed bag. Riffs and leads seared black bring a compelling gothic tone to the album that pairs well with that classic death metal sound (“Forced March”). Thaumaturgy’s two main styles—classic death and cavernous death—largely alternate as TG and KT pass the mic, creating a shifting landscape that keeps me invested through Pestilential Hymns’ 46-minute runtime. This separated approach does, however, encourage comparison between such regimented styles and passages, and I tend to gravitate toward and appreciate one over the other. An approach more melting pot and less mosaic may have alleviated this pain point. In a rare attempt at a more cohesive whole, “Entropic Hegemony” features a great deal of interplay between vocalists, but the Beastie Boys call-and-response style employed can be distracting.

Each element of Thaumaturgy’s new sound holds its own in isolation, but solid combination or incorporation is an area where the band could improve. Synths sprinkled throughout Pestilential Hymns do succeed in establishing atmosphere and evoking intended emotions, but only when embedded within tracks rather than serving as outros to them. Throughout the album, there’s a combined four minutes of synthy outros that don’t do much more than delay the oncoming track or blunt a strong finish (“The Oncologist’s Hymn,” “Awaken Ares,” “Forced March”). Add a handful of instrumental passages that linger overlong (“The Shadow Approaches,” “Plague Ritual”), and bloat and pacing become real issues. This is exacerbated by interlude “An Ignominious End.” I like the atmosphere it builds—I immediately thought of Evoken’s exhausted shuffles—but at 2:30 and as the penultimate track, it kills any momentum leading into the album’s end. Smaller doses of this energy could have been incorporated into the meat of proper tracks to better effect.

Pestilential Hymns feels like a step back from Thaumaturgy’s debut, but one made out of exploration and experimentation. It’s a dip in cohesion, not a dip in quality. Everything here succeeds individually, and the majority does so holistically as well. But there are a few fundamentals—pacing, synthesis, bloat—that this broadened focus neglects. That said, Pestilential Hymns is still a fun listen and shows much promise toward a more unified future vision. My complaints seem easily attributable to growing pains and self-discovery, which, of all possible faults, are among the more commendable ones. And if there’s a choice between taking risks and retreading solid ground, I’ll support evolution every time.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Memento Mori
Websites: Bandcamp | Instagram
Releases Worldwide: October 20th, 2025

#2025 #30 #AmericanMetal #BeastieBoys #Death #DeathMetal #Evoken #MementoMori #Mortiferum #Oct25 #Pestilence #PestilentialHymns #Review #Reviews #Svrm #Thaumaturgy #WolvesInTheThroneRoom

Thaumaturgy – Pestilential Hymns Review

By Spicie Forrest

Changing your sound must be equal parts thrilling and intimidating. On the one hand, it’s an opportunity to explore and flex your creative muscles, to see what else you can do. On the other hand, it may alienate your listeners, but more simply, it may just be unsuccessful. This is the crossroads at which we find Kansas-based Thaumaturgy. While their debut, Tenebrous Oblations, was a cavernous voyage through Mortiferum’s lightless catacombs, sophomore effort Pestilential Hymns, is a notable departure from that sound. Founder KT has brought on the equally mysterious TG and DS to realize this new sound.1 Is this evolution a confident step forward or an ill-conceived stumble?

Thaumaturgy’s sophomore effort is indeed a big change from their debut, but it’s got the same bones. The reverberous cobwebs that swaddled Tenebrous Oblations may be gone, but the murky, serpentine structures remain, often taking on a blackened char in the clearer production. “The Oncologist’s Hymn” and “Awaken Ares” showcase this well, employing textures that evoke SVRM or Wolves in the Throne Room, although more sinuous than Cascadian. Pestilential Hymns further departs from its predecessor with new vocalist, TG. KT still provides deep, cavernous roars as a backing vocalist, but TG looks to Death and Pestilence for inspiration, employing more howl than scream or growl. This would be concerning were it not for the added classic death/thrash riffcraft of those forebearers that complements TG’s performance. The last major change in Thaumaturgy’s sound is the inclusion of synths, most often used to augment or reinforce the atmosphere fostered by their newly blackened edge (“Plague Ritual,” “Neuroticism Triumphant”).

The deployment of these new elements on Pestilential Hymns is a bit of a mixed bag. Riffs and leads seared black bring a compelling gothic tone to the album that pairs well with that classic death metal sound (“Forced March”). Thaumaturgy’s two main styles—classic death and cavernous death—largely alternate as TG and KT pass the mic, creating a shifting landscape that keeps me invested through Pestilential Hymns’ 46-minute runtime. This separated approach does, however, encourage comparison between such regimented styles and passages, and I tend to gravitate toward and appreciate one over the other. An approach more melting pot and less mosaic may have alleviated this pain point. In a rare attempt at a more cohesive whole, “Entropic Hegemony” features a great deal of interplay between vocalists, but the Beastie Boys call-and-response style employed can be distracting.

Each element of Thaumaturgy’s new sound holds its own in isolation, but solid combination or incorporation is an area where the band could improve. Synths sprinkled throughout Pestilential Hymns do succeed in establishing atmosphere and evoking intended emotions, but only when embedded within tracks rather than serving as outros to them. Throughout the album, there’s a combined four minutes of synthy outros that don’t do much more than delay the oncoming track or blunt a strong finish (“The Oncologist’s Hymn,” “Awaken Ares,” “Forced March”). Add a handful of instrumental passages that linger overlong (“The Shadow Approaches,” “Plague Ritual”), and bloat and pacing become real issues. This is exacerbated by interlude “An Ignominious End.” I like the atmosphere it builds—I immediately thought of Evoken’s exhausted shuffles—but at 2:30 and as the penultimate track, it kills any momentum leading into the album’s end. Smaller doses of this energy could have been incorporated into the meat of proper tracks to better effect.

Pestilential Hymns feels like a step back from Thaumaturgy’s debut, but one made out of exploration and experimentation. It’s a dip in cohesion, not a dip in quality. Everything here succeeds individually, and the majority does so holistically as well. But there are a few fundamentals—pacing, synthesis, bloat—that this broadened focus neglects. That said, Pestilential Hymns is still a fun listen and shows much promise toward a more unified future vision. My complaints seem easily attributable to growing pains and self-discovery, which, of all possible faults, are among the more commendable ones. And if there’s a choice between taking risks and retreading solid ground, I’ll support evolution every time.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Memento Mori
Websites: Bandcamp | Instagram
Releases Worldwide: October 20th, 2025

#2025 #30 #AmericanMetal #BeastieBoys #Death #DeathMetal #Evoken #MementoMori #Mortiferum #Oct25 #Pestilence #PestilentialHymns #Review #Reviews #Svrm #Thaumaturgy #WolvesInTheThroneRoom

Thaumaturgy – Pestilential Hymns Review

By Spicie Forrest

Changing your sound must be equal parts thrilling and intimidating. On the one hand, it’s an opportunity to explore and flex your creative muscles, to see what else you can do. On the other hand, it may alienate your listeners, but more simply, it may just be unsuccessful. This is the crossroads at which we find Kansas-based Thaumaturgy. While their debut, Tenebrous Oblations, was a cavernous voyage through Mortiferum’s lightless catacombs, sophomore effort Pestilential Hymns, is a notable departure from that sound. Founder KT has brought on the equally mysterious TG and DS to realize this new sound.1 Is this evolution a confident step forward or an ill-conceived stumble?

Thaumaturgy’s sophomore effort is indeed a big change from their debut, but it’s got the same bones. The reverberous cobwebs that swaddled Tenebrous Oblations may be gone, but the murky, serpentine structures remain, often taking on a blackened char in the clearer production. “The Oncologist’s Hymn” and “Awaken Ares” showcase this well, employing textures that evoke SVRM or Wolves in the Throne Room, although more sinuous than Cascadian. Pestilential Hymns further departs from its predecessor with new vocalist, TG. KT still provides deep, cavernous roars as a backing vocalist, but TG looks to Death and Pestilence for inspiration, employing more howl than scream or growl. This would be concerning were it not for the added classic death/thrash riffcraft of those forebearers that complements TG’s performance. The last major change in Thaumaturgy’s sound is the inclusion of synths, most often used to augment or reinforce the atmosphere fostered by their newly blackened edge (“Plague Ritual,” “Neuroticism Triumphant”).

The deployment of these new elements on Pestilential Hymns is a bit of a mixed bag. Riffs and leads seared black bring a compelling gothic tone to the album that pairs well with that classic death metal sound (“Forced March”). Thaumaturgy’s two main styles—classic death and cavernous death—largely alternate as TG and KT pass the mic, creating a shifting landscape that keeps me invested through Pestilential Hymns’ 46-minute runtime. This separated approach does, however, encourage comparison between such regimented styles and passages, and I tend to gravitate toward and appreciate one over the other. An approach more melting pot and less mosaic may have alleviated this pain point. In a rare attempt at a more cohesive whole, “Entropic Hegemony” features a great deal of interplay between vocalists, but the Beastie Boys call-and-response style employed can be distracting.

Each element of Thaumaturgy’s new sound holds its own in isolation, but solid combination or incorporation is an area where the band could improve. Synths sprinkled throughout Pestilential Hymns do succeed in establishing atmosphere and evoking intended emotions, but only when embedded within tracks rather than serving as outros to them. Throughout the album, there’s a combined four minutes of synthy outros that don’t do much more than delay the oncoming track or blunt a strong finish (“The Oncologist’s Hymn,” “Awaken Ares,” “Forced March”). Add a handful of instrumental passages that linger overlong (“The Shadow Approaches,” “Plague Ritual”), and bloat and pacing become real issues. This is exacerbated by interlude “An Ignominious End.” I like the atmosphere it builds—I immediately thought of Evoken’s exhausted shuffles—but at 2:30 and as the penultimate track, it kills any momentum leading into the album’s end. Smaller doses of this energy could have been incorporated into the meat of proper tracks to better effect.

Pestilential Hymns feels like a step back from Thaumaturgy’s debut, but one made out of exploration and experimentation. It’s a dip in cohesion, not a dip in quality. Everything here succeeds individually, and the majority does so holistically as well. But there are a few fundamentals—pacing, synthesis, bloat—that this broadened focus neglects. That said, Pestilential Hymns is still a fun listen and shows much promise toward a more unified future vision. My complaints seem easily attributable to growing pains and self-discovery, which, of all possible faults, are among the more commendable ones. And if there’s a choice between taking risks and retreading solid ground, I’ll support evolution every time.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Memento Mori
Websites: Bandcamp | Instagram
Releases Worldwide: October 20th, 2025

#2025 #30 #AmericanMetal #BeastieBoys #Death #DeathMetal #Evoken #MementoMori #Mortiferum #Oct25 #Pestilence #PestilentialHymns #Review #Reviews #Svrm #Thaumaturgy #WolvesInTheThroneRoom

Old Year – No Dissent Review

By Tyme

Amidst the tenebrous shadows of Boise, Idaho’s underground metal scene, death-doom dronesters Old Year first formed as a duo in 2017 and were content from the outset to operate in secret, as a rumor, a cathartic side-project contained behind closed doors. Until 2021, that is, when Old Year grew from a duo to a trio comprised of founding guitarist/vocalist Robert Taylor Roark, drummer Jered Veeneman, and newcomer bassist Skyler Rezendes, and saw fit to emerge from their post-pandemic dungeons of self-isolated slumber to unleash dark arts on stages across the Boise underground. UK record label Apocalyptic Witchcraft took note of Old Year’s eleven-minute eponymous single in 2023, then signed the three-piece to a deal, resulting in the band’s forthcoming debut full-length, No Dissent. Does Old Year have what it takes to make a ripple in the ichorous pool of their chosen genre, or will they drown in the quick sands of missed opportunity?

Old Year’s droning form of doom metal is big, and No Dissent leaves little room to argue the point. Rezendes’ massive, tectonic bass lines shift under Roark’s squealy guitar feedback, distortedly sustained chords, and morosely haunting leads, conjuring an atmosphere that fans of Khanate, Evoken or Hell might appreciate (“Rotting Illusion”). Veeneman’s drums, monstrous and restrained, serve as the twisted backbone that keeps the rest of the band from getting too far ahead of themselves, expertly managing the funereal tempos, while Roark’s guttural roars, a mix of Incantation’s John McEntee and Bolt Thrower’s Karl Willetts, resound cavernously over the whole cacophonous affair, just this side of discernible. Tried and true death doom tropes are adhered to, boundaries left unstretched as Old Year seem less intent to innovate than devastate.

What drew me to Old Year is the result of something I refer to as the Jute Gyte effect, and not because Old Year share much of anything in common with Adam Kalmbach’s atonal dissonant metal project either. But because, while sumping the promo pit for something to snag, I was listening to a few minutes of No Dissent’s advance track, “Mechanical Birth,” and what I heard, though initially dismissed, refused to leave my mind, demanding I return to it. Which is precisely how I ended up falling for Jute Gyte’s Perdurance, and why I ended up pulling Old Year out of the murky waters. It just so happens that “Mechanical Birth,” with its eleven-plus minutes of relentless, pulsing death doom decimation, encapsulates every weapon at Old Year’s disposal and executes it all at a high level, making it an album highlight.

With a compact run-time of thirty-six minutes, No Dissent is an appetizer of the drone doom genre. While this personally nonpluses me, there may be purists, especially those of the funeral variety, who rabble over No Dissent’s length, shouting, ‘Why it’s barely an EP!’ And though I appreciate the bite-sized nature of Old Year’s debut, the album itself, wrapped in production that, though loud, complements what No Dissent is trying to do, consists of four separate tracks that, when taken as a whole, flow more like one continuous thirty-six-minute song, each one beginning and ending in very similar waves of screechy feedback. This undulation, combined with the simplistic construction of each song’s core, does wrap No Dissent in a drone that belies the album’s intent. There is nothing here that moves the genre forward in any way, at least not in ways that bands like Hellish Form are pushing things, perhaps rendering No Dissent too short, sweet, and simple for some.

For the interested yet uninitiated, Old Year’s No Dissent wouldn’t be a bad place from which to launch your journey into the death doom drone world. Its short run time and solid, albeit overly simple, representation of the genre could serve as training wheels, guiding you to bigger and more complex adventures. No Dissent didn’t blow my socks off, but I can see myself returning to it because it’s big, powerful, and doesn’t demand hours of my time. For now, I recommend you try plumbing its depths as well, and know that I will be scanning the horizon to see what Old Year does next.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Apocalyptic Witchcraft
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: October 24th, 2025

#2025 #30 #AmericanMetal #ApocalypticWitchcraft #DeathMetal #DoomMetal #Drone #Evoken #Hell #Khanate #NoDissent #Oct25 #OldYear #Review

Evoken – Mendacium Review

By Steel Druhm

New Jersey’s Evoken is one the big names in the very niche genre of funeral doom. Since 1994 they’ve been churning out lengthy, unhurried odes to despair and tragedy, taking heavy inspiration from the Peaceville Three era while forging a path of their own. Albums like Quietus and Antithesis of Light are regarded as funeral doom triumphs, and you can depend on Evoken to deliver carefully crafted epics full of emotionally harrowing moods. It’s been a long time since 2018s Hypnagogia dropped, and 2025 finally sees these Garden State downers resurface for 7th full-length, Mendacium. And when I saw full-length, I mean FULL, as this beast runs over an hour with songs typically in the 9-10 minute framework. Funeral doom can be a tough sell to many, even when executed adroitly. Will there be an appetite for an hour-plus of what Evoken have prepared for the ears?

Nearly 10-minute opener “Matins” isn’t what I would call a soft intro to the Evoken experience. It’s eerie, ominous funeral noise with heavy, drawn-out doom riffs, cavernous death croaks, and nerve-jangled synths, but as the monster shambles forward, more melodic touches emerge from the miasma. Sad, forlorn piano keys twinkle in that My Dying Bride way, and a vaguely Gothic mist swirls below the heavier assault. Sudden upheavals of blast beats and trem riffs jumpstart the energy, and tempos are toyed with just enough to keep things from becoming a faceless mush of doom plod. The package is what Evoken have done before, and it isn’t showing new textures so much as moving established genre pieces around on the board. The forlorn guitar lines and solos ache with emotion, and a feeling of suffocating hopelessness is maintained throughout. Is it a chore to get through? That will depend on how well you stomach funeral doom, but even for a fan like me, it does feel a bit long by the end. “Lauds” is another 10-minute death march, but a bit more “urgent” in its pacing, with more emphasis on force and less on atmosphere and nuance. The dramatic spoken word bits can be a take-it-or-leave-it element, but the riffs are meaty and heavy, and there’s a sense of danger here instead of just grief. It’s got genuinely gripping moments, and the vaguely liturgical feel of the synths and ghostly choirs is a nifty touch, but Evoken drag segments out past the point of usefulness with resultingly diminishing returns.

For my tastes, “None” is the album highlight. Though typically slow to get locked into gear, once there, you’re greeted with gripping death and black vocals and a rising intensity that feels like it’s on the highway to Hell. There’s real menace here, though restraint and leaden pacing are still the watchwords. The extra weight from the riffs helps keep attention, though Evoken still tests your patience with stretched-out segments of minimal action. Closer “Compline” dives deeper into classic doom and the salad days of My Dying Bride and Anathema with mostly positive results. I especially like the banged upon piano keys, which hint at something disturbing. The big obstacle across Mendacium is the way Evoken build their long-form compositions. They can often feel flat and undynamic, even by funeral doom standards. The tracks with the most routine tempo shifts work best, but even they feel 2-3 minutes too long. This isn’t a new issue for the band, but it seems to have become more pronounced starting on Hypnagogia. There are long segments that could appear on a new age meditation album, where you can sit and zone out to the astral plane. That’s fine, but I don’t want lots of that in my funeral doom.

John Paradiso and Chris Molinari offer a fair amount of heavy doom riffs, and there are plenty of plaintive harmonies that speak of melancholy and despair. They aren’t the most dynamic riff authors out there, but they know how to set a mood and build atmosphere. Paradiso’s vocals are effective, his death roars booming and menacing and his evil blackened cackles sounding suitably demonic. I’m not a fan of the spoken word bits, but that’s a genre-wide issue and a personal preference. Vince Verkay does a lot on the kit when let off his leash by the funerary slogging. He’s one of the bright spots here, and I find my attention drawn to his playing frequently.

Evoken are pros at this style of doom, and Mendacium is solid, competent funeral doom with some writing snags that take it down a few notches in effectiveness. Too many moments evoke spa time, sitting with cucumber slices on my eyes rather than sobbing inconsolably at a loved one’s grave. I need less spa, more funeral. This may be one of the most restrained things to ever come out of New Jersey, and that’s not a selling point for Yours Steely. Still, if the mood is right, this could lull you into an early grave. A muted endorsement.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Profound Lore
Websites: evokenofficial.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/evokenhell | instagram.com/evoken_doom_official
Releases Worldwide: October 17th, 2025

#2025 #30 #AmericanMetal #Anathema #DeathMetal #DoomMetal #Evoken #FuneralDoom #Mendacium #MyDyingBride #Oct25 #ProfoundLore #Review #Reviews

For #SymphonicMonday by @sariash:

#Funeral: My Own Grave

https://song.link/gfpncmwnm9k2x

It's #FuneralDoomMetal, but come on, if this is not symphonic enough, I don't know what is.

FFO #EtMoriemur #Evoken #MournfulCongregation

Altar of Betelgeuze – Echoes Review

By Dear Hollow

My experience in the doomier side of death metal is skewed. While many of the olde drank deep of the greats in the canon of Incantation, Asphyx, or diSEMBOWELMENT, my first experiences in the low and slow were Saturnus, Swallow the Sun, and Evoken’s more contemporary fare.1 One classic album that did speak to me in hushed whispers through its grimy and thickly menacing approach to death metal was Winter’s sole 1990 LP Into Darkness. A similar harbinger of the sound like many of the above, it relied more on death metal than doom, utilizing the latter only to bring out the sickness with each movement. Finland’s Altar of Betelgeuze utilizes this classic template of riff-first fed headfirst into the doom machine, but they do so by adding a slight green fuzz to their proceedings.

Echoes is the quartet’s third full-length since the act’s conception in 2010. While featuring the armaments and cavernous bellows of Incantation or Winter, it also is armed with a stoner doom fuzz and vocal influence from Candlemass. However, you can be sure that the “married iguana” haze does not subtract from Altar of Betelgeuze’s intention of crushing your skull in. Each of Echoes’ tracks features thick and punishing riffs with charismatic death metal vocal performances, with a fuzzy sprawl reminiscent of acts like Weedeater and Om. Ultimately, Echoes is by no means a genre-defining or challenging album, but it finds Altar of Betelgeuze tapping into earthmoving heaviness.

There are no frills on Echoes – no fancy-ass intros, ambient interludes, or atmospheric pretense. Altar of Betelgeuze wastes no time hitting you with a skull-crushing riff in opener “On the Verge,” a pummeling affair of mammoth echoing drums, thick riffs with a gritty undertone, and hellish bellows commanding the movements. This punishment continues in “Embrace the Flames,” a more upbeat precipice of death metal. “Conclusion” offers a more crawling and sprawling stoner approach, dwelling in a subtle plucking style that capitalizes on the riff – a torch that “A Reflection” carries on with more fuzzy riffs and drawling leads. The title track is the album climax, a patient nine-minute odyssey that never lets up on its density, its stoner influence weaponized to saturate every negative space. Altar of Betelgeuze’s no-frills approach, combined with its mammoth production unafraid of grit or grime, makes for Echoes to be a force to be reckoned with.

Two tracks that call the album into question are not due to lack of quality, but simply their placement, namely alongside the highlight “Echoes.” Case in point, “Salvation” is by no means a poor track, but its jarring stoner-doom focus and Candlemass-esque barked vocals with a stark lack of death metal make its relatively toothless sound forgettable. Similarly, and more problematic, “Fading Light” must attempt to take up the mantle after “Echoes,” but its replication of the previously focused riffs pales in comparison due its sudden lack of exploratory songwriting, making its inclusion questionable. At least “Salvation” is a unique inclusion in stoner fuzz and barked vocals, while “Fading Light” feels almost entirely unnecessary. On a nitpicking level, “Conclusion” may feel underwhelming after “On the Verge,” while “A Reflection” is its weaker and more forgettable version. Although commanding, the vocals of Matias Nastolin are just a tad too loud in the mix, somewhat drowning out the riffs periodically.

Even if my perception of death/doom is skewed, I still had a great time with Echoes. Altar of Betelgeuze doesn’t pretend to be the best thing since Incantation. The trio offers a slow-motion beatdown that will get your head bobbing in a doom-centric style that doesn’t feel too slow, but rather finds the sweet spot of tempos that capitalizes upon the groove. Featuring a nice set of tracks that neatly weaponize stoner and traditional doom in ways that saturate rather than dominate, the focus is refreshingly straightforward and tastefully pummeling. Playing it close to the vest until the epic “Echoes,” Altar of Betelgeuze offers not the next chapter of doom, but a reason why people love it.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Self-Released
Websites: altarofbetelgeuze.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/AoBofficial
Releases Worldwide: March 22nd, 2024

#2024 #30 #AltarOfBetelgeuze #Asphyx #Candlemass #DeathMetal #DeathDoomMetal #diSEMBOWELMENT #DoomMetal #Echoes #Evoken #FinnishMetal #Incantation #Mar24 #Om #Review #Reviews #Saturnus #SelfRelease #StonerDoomMetal #SwallowTheSun #Weedeater #Winter

Altar of Betelgeuze – Echoes Review

By Dear Hollow

My experience in the doomier side of death metal is skewed. While many of the olde drank deep of the greats in the canon of Incantation, Asphyx, or diSEMBOWELMENT, my first experiences in the low and slow were Saturnus, Swallow the Sun, and Evoken’s more contemporary fare.1 One classic album that did speak to me in hushed whispers through its grimy and thickly menacing approach to death metal was Winter’s sole 1990 LP Into Darkness. A similar harbinger of the sound like many of the above, it relied more on death metal than doom, utilizing the latter only to bring out the sickness with each movement. Finland’s Altar of Betelgeuze utilizes this classic template of riff-first fed headfirst into the doom machine, but they do so by adding a slight green fuzz to their proceedings.

Echoes is the quartet’s third full-length since the act’s conception in 2010. While featuring the armaments and cavernous bellows of Incantation or Winter, it also is armed with a stoner doom fuzz and vocal influence from Candlemass. However, you can be sure that the “married iguana” haze does not subtract from Altar of Betelgeuze’s intention of crushing your skull in. Each of Echoes’ tracks features thick and punishing riffs with charismatic death metal vocal performances, with a fuzzy sprawl reminiscent of acts like Weedeater and Om. Ultimately, Echoes is by no means a genre-defining or challenging album, but it finds Altar of Betelgeuze tapping into earthmoving heaviness.

There are no frills on Echoes – no fancy-ass intros, ambient interludes, or atmospheric pretense. Altar of Betelgeuze wastes no time hitting you with a skull-crushing riff in opener “On the Verge,” a pummeling affair of mammoth echoing drums, thick riffs with a gritty undertone, and hellish bellows commanding the movements. This punishment continues in “Embrace the Flames,” a more upbeat precipice of death metal. “Conclusion” offers a more crawling and sprawling stoner approach, dwelling in a subtle plucking style that capitalizes on the riff – a torch that “A Reflection” carries on with more fuzzy riffs and drawling leads. The title track is the album climax, a patient nine-minute odyssey that never lets up on its density, its stoner influence weaponized to saturate every negative space. Altar of Betelgeuze’s no-frills approach, combined with its mammoth production unafraid of grit or grime, makes for Echoes to be a force to be reckoned with.

Two tracks that call the album into question are not due to lack of quality, but simply their placement, namely alongside the highlight “Echoes.” Case in point, “Salvation” is by no means a poor track, but its jarring stoner-doom focus and Candlemass-esque barked vocals with a stark lack of death metal make its relatively toothless sound forgettable. Similarly, and more problematic, “Fading Light” must attempt to take up the mantle after “Echoes,” but its replication of the previously focused riffs pales in comparison due its sudden lack of exploratory songwriting, making its inclusion questionable. At least “Salvation” is a unique inclusion in stoner fuzz and barked vocals, while “Fading Light” feels almost entirely unnecessary. On a nitpicking level, “Conclusion” may feel underwhelming after “On the Verge,” while “A Reflection” is its weaker and more forgettable version. Although commanding, the vocals of Matias Nastolin are just a tad too loud in the mix, somewhat drowning out the riffs periodically.

Even if my perception of death/doom is skewed, I still had a great time with Echoes. Altar of Betelgeuze doesn’t pretend to be the best thing since Incantation. The trio offers a slow-motion beatdown that will get your head bobbing in a doom-centric style that doesn’t feel too slow, but rather finds the sweet spot of tempos that capitalizes upon the groove. Featuring a nice set of tracks that neatly weaponize stoner and traditional doom in ways that saturate rather than dominate, the focus is refreshingly straightforward and tastefully pummeling. Playing it close to the vest until the epic “Echoes,” Altar of Betelgeuze offers not the next chapter of doom, but a reason why people love it.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Self-Released
Websites: altarofbetelgeuze.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/AoBofficial
Releases Worldwide: March 22nd, 2024

#2024 #30 #AltarOfBetelgeuze #Asphyx #Candlemass #DeathMetal #DeathDoomMetal #diSEMBOWELMENT #DoomMetal #Echoes #Evoken #FinnishMetal #Incantation #Mar24 #Om #Review #Reviews #Saturnus #SelfRelease #StonerDoomMetal #SwallowTheSun #Weedeater #Winter

Altar of Betelgeuze – Echoes Review

By Dear Hollow

My experience in the doomier side of death metal is skewed. While many of the olde drank deep of the greats in the canon of Incantation, Asphyx, or diSEMBOWELMENT, my first experiences in the low and slow were Saturnus, Swallow the Sun, and Evoken’s more contemporary fare.1 One classic album that did speak to me in hushed whispers through its grimy and thickly menacing approach to death metal was Winter’s sole 1990 LP Into Darkness. A similar harbinger of the sound like many of the above, it relied more on death metal than doom, utilizing the latter only to bring out the sickness with each movement. Finland’s Altar of Betelgeuze utilizes this classic template of riff-first fed headfirst into the doom machine, but they do so by adding a slight green fuzz to their proceedings.

Echoes is the quartet’s third full-length since the act’s conception in 2010. While featuring the armaments and cavernous bellows of Incantation or Winter, it also is armed with a stoner doom fuzz and vocal influence from Candlemass. However, you can be sure that the “married iguana” haze does not subtract from Altar of Betelgeuze’s intention of crushing your skull in. Each of Echoes’ tracks features thick and punishing riffs with charismatic death metal vocal performances, with a fuzzy sprawl reminiscent of acts like Weedeater and Om. Ultimately, Echoes is by no means a genre-defining or challenging album, but it finds Altar of Betelgeuze tapping into earthmoving heaviness.

There are no frills on Echoes – no fancy-ass intros, ambient interludes, or atmospheric pretense. Altar of Betelgeuze wastes no time hitting you with a skull-crushing riff in opener “On the Verge,” a pummeling affair of mammoth echoing drums, thick riffs with a gritty undertone, and hellish bellows commanding the movements. This punishment continues in “Embrace the Flames,” a more upbeat precipice of death metal. “Conclusion” offers a more crawling and sprawling stoner approach, dwelling in a subtle plucking style that capitalizes on the riff – a torch that “A Reflection” carries on with more fuzzy riffs and drawling leads. The title track is the album climax, a patient nine-minute odyssey that never lets up on its density, its stoner influence weaponized to saturate every negative space. Altar of Betelgeuze’s no-frills approach, combined with its mammoth production unafraid of grit or grime, makes for Echoes to be a force to be reckoned with.

Two tracks that call the album into question are not due to lack of quality, but simply their placement, namely alongside the highlight “Echoes.” Case in point, “Salvation” is by no means a poor track, but its jarring stoner-doom focus and Candlemass-esque barked vocals with a stark lack of death metal make its relatively toothless sound forgettable. Similarly, and more problematic, “Fading Light” must attempt to take up the mantle after “Echoes,” but its replication of the previously focused riffs pales in comparison due its sudden lack of exploratory songwriting, making its inclusion questionable. At least “Salvation” is a unique inclusion in stoner fuzz and barked vocals, while “Fading Light” feels almost entirely unnecessary. On a nitpicking level, “Conclusion” may feel underwhelming after “On the Verge,” while “A Reflection” is its weaker and more forgettable version. Although commanding, the vocals of Matias Nastolin are just a tad too loud in the mix, somewhat drowning out the riffs periodically.

Even if my perception of death/doom is skewed, I still had a great time with Echoes. Altar of Betelgeuze doesn’t pretend to be the best thing since Incantation. The trio offers a slow-motion beatdown that will get your head bobbing in a doom-centric style that doesn’t feel too slow, but rather finds the sweet spot of tempos that capitalizes upon the groove. Featuring a nice set of tracks that neatly weaponize stoner and traditional doom in ways that saturate rather than dominate, the focus is refreshingly straightforward and tastefully pummeling. Playing it close to the vest until the epic “Echoes,” Altar of Betelgeuze offers not the next chapter of doom, but a reason why people love it.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Self-Released
Websites: altarofbetelgeuze.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/AoBofficial
Releases Worldwide: March 22nd, 2024

#2024 #30 #AltarOfBetelgeuze #Asphyx #Candlemass #DeathMetal #DeathDoomMetal #diSEMBOWELMENT #DoomMetal #Echoes #Evoken #FinnishMetal #Incantation #Mar24 #Om #Review #Reviews #Saturnus #SelfRelease #StonerDoomMetal #SwallowTheSun #Weedeater #Winter