Album Review: The Cimmerian – An Age Undreamed Of… (Hyborian Rage Records / Black Voodoo Records)

Los Angeles-based doom/thrash trio The Cimmerian set a crushing tone for the new year with ‘An Age Undreamed Of…’ It will be released on January 10th, 2025, digitally. Physical copies will be made available on CD by Hyborian Rage Records with coloured vinyl to be released by BVR (Black Voodoo Records).

Let’s be honest, nobody wants cheery music in January. It’s a cold, often wet, and mostly miserable time (at least here in the UK) so what we want is something that reflects the dark mood that hangs over everything. Which, unsurprisingly, is where this album comes in. Delivering a titanic doom sound blended with nastier aspects of death and thrash, not just sounding distinctively despairing, but having the weight and thickness to make it all feel so much more intense.

Across mostly gargantuan tracks, The Cimmerian deliver feral and furious force made up of sludge-soaked riffing, brawny percussion, and animalistic vocals. Moving smoothly between the smoothest of doom-focused sounds, experimental melody, and destructive viciousness, while constantly expanding and evolving across the album’s runtime.

No matter what, it’s heavy, that’s the biggest takeaway of the album, but the more you peel away the layers, the more is unveiled. This isn’t a progressive album, but you’d be a fool to not recognise the progressive aspects of The Cimmerian’s sound. They might be doom, and on the danker side of things, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have clever expansions on expected formulas. It is this side of the band, coupled with a thick undeniable dark and miserable vein running through every bit of it, that makes the likes of Silver and Gold, Mournblade, Deathstalker, and Monarch so very special.

Those are some of the more layered pieces, but make no mistake about it, the entire album deserves study. Even if the weight of it all makes for less of a wallowing feeling, and more of a sinking into suffocation feeling. It’s worth experiencing that tension though, especially as there are so many moments where it breaks down and you just get to go a bit wild, head banging style.

As you find yourself trudging through the dark, wet and cold, desperately looking towards the incoming warmer weather and a bit of brightness, put this album on. It won’t make you feel any better, but at least you’re not stumbling alone now.

The Cimmerian – An Age Undreamed Of… Track Listing:

1. Shadow Kingdom
2. Neck Breaker of The Mountain
3. Silver and Gold
4. Darkwolf
5. Mournblade
6. Black Coast Tigris
7. Deathstalker
8. Monarch

Links

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