Dripping cave sounds start off this Croatian Death Doom band’s debut, the atmosphere building up to a sweltering weight and toppling down on your head. ‘The Festering Depths’ evokes the feeling of swimming in pitch black waters at night, disoriented and losing energy quickly, that sense of hopelessness and a looming growing void beneath. Sea creatures are swirling below waiting to feast. The atmosphere is depressing and murky while the production has an emphasis on weight of the strings.
The vocals are low, dark and eerie. Abyssal calls to the void from beyond the event horizon. The guitars sound voluptuous and are tuned down to the basement. The crunch is real and the tone is muddy in a good way. The bass hits like an executioner’s axe which adds some steel behind the already monstrous guitars. Drum production is large and booming sounding, the different elements pop out well, the kick hits like with a muffled ‘clack’ and the cymbals are crisp. I enjoy the tightened up snare, reminds me a little bit of the way drums sound in Grindcore and Brutal Death Metal production sometimes. Not quite the ‘pringles can’ tiny snare but it has a nice ringing pop to it.
‘Beckoning of the Moss Ridden Tombs’ has a huge “dinosaur” riff a staggering riff that sounds like giant worm tunneling through the Earth’s crust. Very dissonant and crunchy with a descending ending riff like a running down a long spiral staircase into infinity. The finale is a real treat the 7+ minute ‘Fields of Flayed Skin’ is some excellent modern Death Doom made with the spirit of the old school. The double kicks are rattling out a thunderstorm and the strings boom with a full bodied low end, just one big torrential storm like the coming of the hurricane.
I enjoyed listening to this relatively short three song release a few times. It harnesses a particularly swampy and lonesome feeling while giving you the gears musically. Everything is audible and crisp without sacrificing any grit. The production is great, the songs are great and I’m definitely keeping these Croatian creatures on my radar to see what they summon forth from the bog next.
