“Despite their frosty, dour tunes, the first comparison I draw when listening to Cesariana is Oubliette’s warm and rich The Passage. The second is Ethereal Shroud’s magnum opus Trisagion. Aesthetically falling somewhere between these two disparate references, Litosth’s style sounds epic without resorting to double-digit song lengths, feels relaxed in pacing without lacking passion, and manages to be memorable without possessing especially unique songwriting tenets.” Black haze.
“The somewhat ominously titled…However, It Still Moves is the debut of Chilean death-doomsters Sporae Autem Yuggoth. Without being able to parse the Latin, but being informed by the promo material that theirs is a “Lovecraftian moniker,” all this adds up to quite a foreboding piece. This portent proves pretty accurate upon pressing play. What unfolds is an hour of spooky, synth-accented, gritty death metal that’s essentially funeral doom with a grimy low-fi production.” No sudden movements.
A rare double review arrives with Steel Druhm and Doom_et_Al offering disparate takes on Pale Existence by Greek melodic doom-death outfit Ocean of Grief. Will it be clear sailing or storming seas (ov deep sadness)?
“You could hardly find a more autumnally appropriate band than Clouds. Their name not only describes the most prevalent meteorological phenomenon of the season, their past catalog, and a band roster filled with members from legendary Funeral, Saturnus, and Shape of Despair has established them as a master of atmospheric doom.” Sure, it’s winter. And yes, this record dropped in October. Did you miss it?
“Unheralded veterans of the underground, Mexican misery dealers Majestic Downfall popped up on my radar when I reviewed their enjoyable fourth LP, …When Dead back in 2015. Somewhere along the line I overlooked their 2018 release Waters of Fate, so can’t attest to its quality. However, based on my sole previous experience with the band I eagerly jumped on the chance to reacquaint myself with their latest opus of crushing death-doom, entitled Aorta. Now don’t be fooled by the mere four tracks offered, as Majestic Downfall specialize in long form compositions, unleashing an ambitiously lengthy slab of Peaceville inspired gloom, tipping the scales at a whopping 68 minutes.” The heart of despair.
“Daniel Neagoe is funeral doom’s answer to Rogga Johansson, with no less than ten active bands at the time of this review, according to Metal Archives. Most everyone can agree, however, that his biggest footprint lies with the funeral doom supergroup Clouds, and his mammoth beast Eye of Solitude. Sadly, the latter dissolved in 2019, as Neagoe felt the project came to its logical conclusion. That said, Neagoe teamed up with Clouds guitarist Mihai Dinuta and Eye drummer Siebe Hermans to launch Eye’s spiritual continuation, Mourners.” Happy tragedies.
