What separates ‘Susurros Espectrales’ from a less interesting Death/Doom record is that ‘Pendulvm’ rarely stays in one speed for long. A considerable part of the album’s runtime is spent in the slow and heavy territory, then the drums suddenly pick up the pace to something more hardcore-ish and the mood of the music shifts without sounding awkward or forced. The slower parts are when the album resonates the most, heavy guitars and atmospheric elements are dominant and there is weight over every note. But as the guitars accelerate, the music never seems to crawl and it gives close to 50 minutes of run time plenty of motion.
Both aspects are bridged together through the vocals which aren’t as deep and cavernous as in many Death/Doom releases and it is more raw, in your face yells, which has a more desperate feel and emotional impact than I would have thought. Worm can definitely be heard in the haunting parts of ‘Susurros Espectrales’ along with Hooded Menace in the sludgy heavy parts, even some ‘Mizmor’ in the raw emotional side which doesn’t mean those bands are sonically similar but more that ‘Pendulvm’ doesn’t just use heaviness as simple brutishness.
‘Susurros Espectrales’ is a good release that understands how to crawl and when to run as well.
