Seething Beneath Solemnity...

Tethra - Empire of the Void (2020)

With two albums and an EP to their catalog since forming in 2008, the Italian quintet of Tethra has made consistently strong impressions, with the quality of their individual performances and overall crafting resulting in great releases.

Now, with their third album, Tethra stride confidently through an hour's worth of their death/doom metal mixture, working overall atmosphere and individual moments to great effect. Generally speaking, the vocals and drums handle the aggression of the death metal side, while the guitar and bass provide the melancholic doom. But there are also times when the vocals slide into deep wells of longing and regret, or the guitar will burst into raging assault, for example. Throughout the album, the band continually experiments and keeps things from growing predictable or stale, which is a needful concern with both sides of their stylistic heritage.

Whether engaging in slow-paced mood studies (like the title track, for example) or cutting loose with high-action expressiveness, Tethra's work on this album shows the group always focused on making their music come to life. The inclusion of a David Bowie cover (“Space Oddity”) is a surprising touch, but the heavy tenderness the band brings to their treatment of it makes for a memorable twist on the original material. On the whole, it's another strong showing from Tethra, and one that sees them continuing to expand their horizons.

~ Gabriel

For Fans Of; Apothecary, Esogenesi, Illimitable Dolor, Matalobos, Towards Atlantis Lights

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Tethra - Cold Blue Nebula (320 kbps)

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A Crushing Weight...

Frowning - Extinct (2017)
 

Crushing depression and loneliness?  Frowning's got you covered.  Extinct is the latest offering from Val Atra Niteris, the German brain behind Frowning, and it is a plodding, lumbering beast of an album, heavy with atmosphere and foreboding.
Val says of the first track, "'Nocturnal Void' is musically inspired by Worship, lyric is taken from Edgar Allan Poe's 'Spirits Of The Dead', it features guest vocal from Stanislav Govorukha of Suffer Yourself. The idea was to create the atmosphere of a cold, mystical night, and I think I succeed."  And succeed he does.  High notes peal over low growls and ponderous guitars, all at the pace of a desperate crawl.  With a tempo this low, one can't help but make predictions about what comes next, and every time I expected the music to make a depressive turn, it surprised with something slightly more sinister.  It works for the entirety of the album, as cold whispers and lonesome guitars break up these musical monoliths, emboldening and giving context to the ever-present droning.
"Buried Deep" opens with dirge-ish organs and ethereal synth vocals, a stark but not unwelcome change from what's come before.  The vocals in this track remind me of Wolves in the Throne Room's Celestite, minus its prog leanings, and they lend the music a haunting aspect.
The organs make a return appearance along with tolling bells and the sound of falling rain for the closer, a cover of Chopin's "Marche Funèbre".  Appropriate?  Yes.  Too on-the-nose?  Perhaps.  Even so, I can't say I didn't enjoy the hell out of it.  It goes on for perhaps a couple minutes too long, but given the pace of the rest of the album, one should expect the final track of Extinct to take its time.
If you're familiar with funeral doom then there aren't a lot of surprises here, but overall this is a very solid release.
~ Chris

For Fans Of; Catacombs, Loss, Mournful Congregation, Worship

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Frowning - Frederic Chopins Marche' Funebre (Funeral March) 

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