Album Review: Aphonic Threnody – The Great Hatred (Transcending Obscurity Records)

Members of Towards Atlantis Lights, Dea Marica, Arrant Saudade and more collaborate to conjure up the finest kind of death/doom metal that encompasses the best qualities this style has to offer.

Much happens during the course of the hour and Aphonic Threnody are hear to make The Great Hatred as memorable as possible. It will be released on October 16th 2020 via Transcending Obscurity Records.

Six tracks of doom but not the bog-standard doom your dad listens too. Instead, Aphonic Threnody take cues from the slow, blood-curdling style of the past but update it with huge, encompassing melodies, haunting atmosphere and emotive value. On the one hand, the molasses drawl is akin to having worms crawling all over your frozen body. On the other though, the layers electrify the senses making everything feel that little bit more earnest.

It’s a wholly impressive listen and chances are most will be madly in love upon hearing Locura. The first of the six and the first to take listeners through the myriad of highs and lows this album offers.

Interrogation ups the ante though, a very moody start gets darker and doomier. The evolution, subtle. Like sinking into quicksand when you thought the ground was solid. Ten minutes of desperate struggling before being consumed by The Great Hatred.

The title track is such an doom epic, more so then what has been heard so far thanks to the thickness of the guitars which heighten the oppressive feeling of fathomless depths. That it also has some beauty to its more melodic segments is all the more impressive.

Drowning is an apt title for the next track as that’s exactly what it it feels like to be this deep into The Great Hatred. Suffocating doom with welcoming oblivion but first The Rise of the Phoenix and then The Fall. The final pairing continue the absolutely phenomenal efforts Aphonic Threnody have put it so far. Both gargantuan, both affecting and detailed, both cold and haunted but most of all, both modern doom classics.

Easily one of the best doom releases of the year.

Aphonic Threnody – The Great Hatred Full Track Listing:

1. Locura
2. Interrogation
3. The Great Hatred
4. Drowning
5. The Rise of the Phoenix
6. The Fall

Links

Bandcamp | Facebook | Transcending Obscurity Records