‘Phase’ is Lithuania’s Sullen Guest’s ‘break’ of an album since their last effort in 2021, and it pretty much falls in line with what they started with back in 2018.
A Melodic Death Doom effort but more on the heavier side without much room for symphonics or clean vocals vs. bands like My Dying Bride who are one of the bigger kings of the Doom genre, this music is more along the lines of the slow crawl despair that borders Funeral Doom but not quite as drudging or distortion laden. Harsh growls lead the way through similar to the likes of Mourning Beloveth or early Sullen Route. Riffs and drumming is solid and clear with mid to slow paced churning and overall a strong sense of melody to try to counter balance the harshness of the vocals, but the music still has that depressive weight with little hope in sight.
The band does a great job at conveying atmosphere with tracks such as ‘Assent’ which includes again female guest vocals from Natalija Garnelė who lent her voice on their debut. Her touch adds a bit of Gothic Doom influence in the vein of older Draconian, but her voice is very soft, like a whisper, and doesn’t detract from the harshness of the guitars or growls. Melodically speaking though a lot of the riffs tend to sound the same and carry on a bit, such as on the epic ‘Voice of the Subconscious.’ Like Funeral Doom, Sullen Guest’s approach to the Death Doom Genre is nothing that hasn’t been done before, but those who already know them will appreciate the album for what it is. Those who have not heard them before will find the ‘Phase EP’ a nice introduction to the band to get a grasp of what they do and appreciate it for the heavier Death Doom aspects.
Those who enjoy the more lush Gothic Doom route might want to look elsewhere.
