7. ATARAXY – The Last Mirror
Spain · Me Saco un Ojo Records
Death metal is no easy business. Having burnt out in the mid 90s and with confidence being declared defunct by the early 2000s, death metal only offers two main paths to artists trying to sneak into the party some 30 years late. The first one is to worship the 90s Floridian and Swedish gods and become part of the new wave of old-school death metal bands. The second path is to turn yourself into a machine and play as technical, brutal and fast as possible. Of course, every so often a band bucks the trend with results of the such of Blood Incantation. This 2022 the exception comes from Zaragoza with Ataraxy’s third full-length album.
A band that by no means should be mistaken with the French death/doom maestros Ataraxie, nor should it be associated with the Italian neoclassical darkwave legends Ataraxia, Ataraxy play solid death metal with a selection of elements that turn their third opus, The Last Mirror, into an eerie yet sorrowful experience. Most of these elements seem to be borrowed from death/doom metal in what results in a cruel alternation of tempos but always preserving a macabre feeling. Indeed, Disembowelment and their more recent spin-off Inverloch weigh heavily in The Last Mirror’s formula. The use of sinister minimalistic clean guitars, arguably a patent of mentioned Australian game-changers, is exploited by Ataraxy throughout the album.
While Disembowelment were deemed back in the days “the most death metal doom metal band”, Ataraxy blurs such a line even further. The Last Mirror features more sections of fast merciless death metal – its guitar work focuses on fast riffing, and, certainly, the album is less atmospheric than related doom metal bands. Adding to the band’s uniqueness are Javi’s vocals. They aren’t deep growls, but lean more towards the side of Asphyx’s Martin van Drunen and his distinct higher-pitch horrifying growls. However, Javi is sometimes even more expressive and dramatic, which certainly fits the aim of The Last Mirror. A highly recommended album for death metal fans, but also for followers of doom of the sorts of Evoken, Dolorian, Ataraxie, Worm and Ceremonium.
.
6. WITH HIDDEN NOISE – Nowhere
Canada · Lost Leader Records
The rather sudden passing of Low’s Mimi Parker in November shook the entire underground rock community. Those who ever had the opportunity of seeing Low live will agree that the chemistry that she and Alan Sparhawk showed on stage was nothing short of heart-warming. Mimi’s legacy is not limited to Low’s flawless output, her influence is such that 28 years after the release of her debut in I Could Live in Hope, there are still albums being released with the minimalistic masterpiece as their main inspiration. One of such albums is Nowhere, the second LP from multi-instrumentalist Charlie Bergen under the moniker With Hidden Noise.
Nowhere is a worthy follow-up to With Hidden Noise’s debut Beside the Sea, which I included in my list of best albums of 2019. With Hidden Noise stands out from the now long-standing shoegaze revival due to its more orthodox attachment to what in the 90s came to be labelled as slowcore. Instead of assaulting your ears with feedback and psychedelic guitar work, Bergen’s inspiration on melancholy and the snow-covered landscapes of the Canadian countryside delivers a subdued and minimalistic sound. Slow tempos, poignant clean guitars and a prominent bass are accompanied by a charming almost whispered voice to create a gorgeous sound. Perhaps stemming from its tempo and minimalism, the challenge in this type of recordings is melody and song-writing. Nowhere doesn’t come short in this metrics – Bergen doesn’t seem to be forced to write a single filler for this LP. Criminally underrated, Nowhere is an album that no fan of Low, Red House Painters, Bedhead or 40 Watt Sun should miss.
.
5. DREAM UNENDING – Songs of Salvation
USA/Canada · 20 Buck Spin
Come think of it, 2022 marked a decade since Pallbearer debuted with their critically acclaimed LP Sorrow and Extinction. At the time, I remember writing something like “these newcomers are showing a fresher face of the doom metal genre”. Now, exactly ten years later, an album with a completely different approach gives me just about the same feeling of a renovated and fresh breed of doom metal. Presented under an incredibly eye-catching cover art, Songs of Salvation, the sophomore album by Dream Unending, pushes the boundaries in multiple directions. However, never do Dream Unending fall into the deceiving charms of avantgarde music. Instead, Songs of Salvation provides an elegant solution to atmospheric metal in a fashion that is, from my standpoint, unprecedented.
More suitable for listening to at night, Songs of Salvation emphasises the use of dissonant clean guitars to paint a tranquil and dreamy portrait in which post-rock seems to cast a long shadow. The nostalgic listener might point the finger at The Third and the Mortal’s 1994 gem Tears Laid in Earth as a clear influence for this type of music. It’s no surprise – if such a thing as “atmospheric doom metal” is an established sub-sub-sub-subgenre, then Tears Lain in Earth must be its cradle. Not known for being a conservative death metal guitarist in Tomb Mold, Derrick Vella explores an even broader palette of textures in this album, and even takes the time to show off some borderline progressive metal solos. The duo also really stands out by mixing such a delicate atmosphere not only with heavy riffs, but also with Godgory-calibre brutal growls.
Despite its apparent complexity, Dream Unending’s song writing skills make Songs of Salvation quite an easy-listening album. So much so that, although this album appears on most of the best-of-the-year lists from respected metal outlets, I believe it shouldn’t remain overlooked by the general rock media – Dream Unending should enjoy the status of bands like Deafheaven and Blood Incantation among indie rock followers. An album for fans of Ahab, The Third and the Mortal, (late) Dolorian, Intaglio, Alcest and (new) Lethian Dreams.
.
4. THE TEMPLE – Of Solitude Triumphant
Greece · I Hate Records
At their second album, bands have two choices: you either evolve and depart from your (hopefully) successful debut’s sound or you hone it aiming for perfection. The latter seems to be the path that the Hellenic doomsters The Temple decided to trend. It’s been six years since The Temple took the doom scene by surprise with their neatly written debut Forevermourn, an album rich in melodies and great vocal work. Hence, saying that recording a worthy follow-up was difficult may be an understatement. This is perhaps why it took so long for The Temple to get into the studio. Nevertheless, Of Solitude Triumphant, The Temple’s new album, is definitely worth the wait.
The Temple continue with their signature sound which the band’s been working on since their 2015 EP As Once Was. However, the two main pillars of their formula, namely guitar melodies and vocals, have reached a more mature stage in this second LP. The guitar work is simply astonishing – It’s not only the fact that The Temple continue to show off their skills for writing melancholic melodies in their guitar solos, it’s also the tone and textures on both lead and rhythm guitars that make this album an absolute delight. This time the band kicks it up a notch and deploy a generous number of fast picking sections that death metal fans will certainly appreciate. On the other hand, vocals are probably one of the most distinctive elements in the band’s credentials. Lacking any screams or growls as per tradition, The Temple resort to double-tracked vocals. However, this time a strong inclination towards a more choir-like sound can be heard. Of course, such a direction provides an eucharistic atmosphere – intention that can be expected from the album’s cover art and its opening track, a choir song.
Of Solitude Triumphant fine-tunes The Temple’s signature sound and takes it into a more mature tier with a marvellous result. Unfortunately, this album is currently only available on CD, we hope for a soon vinyl release. For fans of Isole, Griftegard, Cross Vault, Mirror of Deception, Dautha and Warning.
.
3. COME TO GRIEF – When the World Dies
USA · Translation Loss Records
Misery didn’t end with the demise of sludge metal misfits Grief. Terry Savastano, lead-guitarist and one of the three individuals who took part in the recording of every Grief studio LP, is back with Come to Grief – That’s right, a band named after Grief’s seminal 1994 album. Joining him is drummer Chuck Conlon who was behind the drumkit in Grief’s last studio album …And Man Will the Hunted (2000). Although it wasn’t until this year that Come to Grief released their debut LP, When the World Dies, the band was already in the radar since their first EP, The Worst of Times, hit the record shops in 2017 with the most befitting cover art. Come to Grief never went AWOL during these years. They remained quite active putting out material, but never a concrete full-length debut. So When the World Dies arrives with fewer surprises, but when it comes to artists with such an established sound and reputation, hoping for no changes is the common practice.
Indeed, When the World Dies brings back the spirit-crushing riffs that constantly hit your face throughout the album. Jonathan Hébert’s throat-shredding screams add the expected anger and disgust to everything, including himself. Perhaps a little bit of an odd fish, the title song cracks some faster riffs and catchy basslines but make no mistake, Come to Grief remain miserable, frantic and pissed off.
.
2. MOURNUMENT – Smouldering into Dust
Chile · Ardua Music
Geographically-privileged Chile is home to both the barren landscapes of the Atacama Desert and the magnificent glaciers of Patagonia, all connected by the Andes mountains. Such a contrasting scenery was reported by the defunct Chilean outfit Mar de Grises as a key inspiration for their third album Streams Inwards (2010). Little did we know at the time that this would become Mar de Grises’ epitaph and they’d call it quits a couple of years later. Now, after a decade, the Chilean trio Mournument take by surprise the doom metal scene with an exquisitely executed debut whose primary inspiration is mentioned second-to-none natural landscapes.
Having presented themselves on Bandcamp sporting tags like “doomfolk” and “neofolk”, Mournument aren’t shy to infuse their debut Smouldering into Dust in Empyrium influence. Nevertheless, anybody who has binged on the German duo’s six-piece discography will remember that Empyrium largely prioritise their acoustic neofolk side resulting in highly atmospheric or fully acoustic albums. A similar approach would be followed by the mysteriously vanished Chilean band Uaral. In contrast, Mournument’s fixation with Chilean folklore is healthily balanced with a prevailing melancholic death/doom metal, perhaps still an eulogy to the Peaceville Three. This also allows Mournument to jump off the already overcrowded Agalloch wagon. Yet the Chilean trio borrows the gorgeous acoustic guitar passages and shrewdly exploits an element that is common to both neofolk and doom metal artists: the violin. Although the delicate sound of such an instrument is always a welcome addition in any metal subgenre, in Smouldering into Dust it perfectly fits not only with the sorrowful guitar solos, but also with the poignant vocals of singer Alfredo Pérez. In some key moments, Pérez may even resemble the desperate screaming of Mar de Grises’ Marcelo Rodríguez.
Perhaps the fact that the musicians in Mournument are not precisely newcomers is a hint as to why this album is such an incredibly well written and well executed piece of artistic expression. The album not only brings the Chilean scene back to international attention, it also brings a new hope to the nostalgic fans of the 90s heyday of death/doom metal. For fans of Empyrium, Kauan, Agalloch, The Mist and the Morning Dew, Estatic Fear and Uaral.
.
1. ARÐ – Take Up My Bones
United Kingdom · Prophecy Productions
“Originally, these songs were not meant to be played live”, admits Mark Deeks as he speaks to a packed The Bread Shed in Manchester in what was Arð’s first-ever gig. His personal project, which started as a studio session in 2020, had grown to a full form on that evening.
During 2021, a lot of expectation was built due to the teasing and eventual release of songs from Winterfylleth’s keyboardist Mark Deeks. The surprise element was how much these songs detached from the signature black metal style crafted by Winterfylleth – Mark Deeks’s personal project, Arð, was a doom metal one. Germany’s Prophecy Productions finally would release the full album into the wild in early 2022. Entitled Take Up My Bones, the LP quickly became a favourite among the selective doom metal fanbase.
The sheer inspiration in Take Up My Bones is a rather unique one. The album narrates the story of St. Cuthbert of Northumbria and all the mysteries and darkness surrounding it. The physical versions released by Prophecy feature more historical narrative in the liner notes accompanying each track. All this medieval mysticism is winningly captured by sorrowful melodies, extensive use of keyboards, a cello, and, most importantly, double-tracked vocals resembling monk chants. This mix of spirituality, uncertainty, darkness and sorrow certainly hits the spot for any doom metal fan.
In early December Arð suggested on a Facebook post that Mark Deeks is back in the studio recording new Arð material. “More hymns to be sung, Northumbria will speak again”, he wrote. This adds to the utter success of the project’s debut LP in 2022. From materialization and release, to full live line-up assembly, and to the eventual recording of a follow-up, this whole seemingly unplanned process is clear evidence of pure artistic expression. READ THE WHOLE REVIEW
— PABLO CUSTODIO
.
