Album Review: Soom – Djebars (Robustfellow Prods.)

Soom was founded in Kharkiv at the end of 2013 and after a lot of changes in line-up settled in 2016 with the golden composition of: Amorth – drums, Tomrer – bass, Kova – guitar and vocals. Between the period from 2013 to 2017, Soom recorded three splits with Pressor, Diazepam, Il and Vena, one EP “Fear and Loathing” and one full-length album “Night on the Meadow”.

April 20th 2018 sees them make their return with their new album, Djebars out via Robustfellow Prods.

Preserving the traditions of the first album, Soom creates a conceptual story with Djebars. Opening with a poignant and somewhat stifling melody, it slowly opens up allowing you to breathe deeply from the cold and clean air that comes rushing in.

Combining spoken-word, chaotic doom metal and the darker side of folk. The result of this mixture is unpredictable but incredibly appealing. Burned Out alternates between a feral state and low & dirty bass-heavy melody. It’s an eye-opening listen, impossible to fully comprehend and one that leaves you feeling unsettled.

On the one hand there are tracks like Laughter Of The Night Virgins that are only there to further the albums concept. Then on the other hand there are tracks like Under A Gleam The Dream Is Hidden that come in at 13+ minutes and the 10+ minutes of Poltavian Way that take us on a whirlwind journey of oppressive doom heaviness. It’s a hell of a contrast & it may not sit that well with some.

There’s no faulting Soom’s imagination though. Djebars is an enthralling listen and splitting the epic tracks with short intermissions works to sell the concept of the album as a whole.

Soom – Djebars Full Track Listing:

1. Above The Sequoias: Origin
2. Burned Out
3. Laughter Of The Night Virgins
4. Under A Gleam The Dream Is Hidden
5. Feng Shui Souvenir
6. Poltavian Way
7. Peace And Silence 24 H4Ours
8. Wheelchair
9. Nagno (Bonus Track)
10. Panic Attack (Bonus Track)

You can pick up Soom’s earlier releases via Bandcamp and order the new album via Robustfellow. Find out more/keep up to date with news via Facebook.