Doom Metal – Page 5 – Metal Eclipse Reviews

Mortuanima -Bleak Transcendence

Pegah

Mortuanima (“dead soul”) is the debut album by Brazilian Funeral Doom trio Bleak Transcendence, composed of musicians Alexandre Antunes, Michael Siegwarth, and Wagner Müller. This album tells a mournful story of forgotten souls, lost dreams, and the weight of irreversible loss. The artwork, much like the music, blurs the line between life, death, and the unknowable, framing Mortuanima as a chilling meditation on existential horror. The distorted human figure on the cover evokes decay and spiritual corruption, while the mirror serves as a symbolic portal between the realms of the living and the dead. In the background, a shadowy staircase hints at fading memories and abandonment—a fitting visual for an album steeped in sorrow and reflection.

Ornamentos del Miedo – Vacio Como El Tronco De Un Arbol Muerto

Pegah

Sometimes, you don’t need to understand the language to feel the music. That’s exactly how I felt listening to Vacío como el tronco de un árbol muerto, the newly released album by Ornamentos del Miedo. Founded in late 2017 by Ángel Chicote in Burgos, Spain, Ornamentos del Miedo is a one-man Funeral Doom/Death Metal project that delves deep into themes of melancholy, existential dread, and sorrow. After the breakup of his former band, Graveyard of Souls, Chicote set out to craft slow, atmospheric compositions marked by mournful guitar melodies and deeply philosophical lyrics.

Tetramorphe Impure – Sunset of Being

Pegah

Tetramorphe Impure is a one-man Funeral Doom/Death Metal act based in northern Italy, led by multi-instrumentalist Damien. Originally formed in 2006 as a trio, the project eventually became Damien’s personal outlet. Musically, Tetramorphe Impure blends the crushing heaviness of Funeral Doom with the raw force of Old-School Death Metal and the somber textures of early Doom-Death. After a long period rooted in the underground scene, the project finally unveiled its first full-length album, The Sunset of Being.

Messa – The Spin

I have two awkward confessions. First, I almost forgot we’ve got this promo because, well, I now get more emails than a professor on sabbatical. Second, though, Messa has always been interesting and engaging—it’s a band that never really caught me. It always felt like retro-Metal to me, but now that I give The Spin a spin (don’t hit me!), could my opinion finally change? The band has been at it for a while, but it’s never too late for me to start a redemption arc, right?

Tribunal – In Penitence and Ruin

Sometimes in metal, as in life, appearances are deceiving. For example, I’m an invisible Metalhead – you’d never guess I belong to this illustrious community. So when Tribunal‘s Penitence and Ruin promo arrived from 20 Buck Spin, I assumed we had another reliable but predictable old-school Death Metal album on our hands. You know, the typical 3.0/5.0 or maybe slightly better. Oh, but I was surprised to find out this isn’t just a Doom Metal band – it’s a Symphonic Doom Metal band (I can already imagine some of you salivating over that). So, let’s see if this formula works.

Hermyth – Aether

Pegah

Italian cosmic Doomgaze band Hermyth returns with its second album, Aether. In ancient science, “aether” is the fifth element—the essence that binds the other four, the very fabric of existence. Staying true to its name, Aether is a journey through transcendence, guidance, and spiritual ascension, woven into a rich tapestry of ethereal, grandiose, and melancholic soundscapes. The album’s cover art reflects this celestial mysticism, depicting an angel-like figure adrift among the stars against a vast black backdrop—evoking the feeling of being lost, or perhaps found, somewhere in the infinite cosmos.

Structure – Heritage

It’s been a bit of a slow year for Doom so far (hehe!), but maybe that’s about to change – because when you see Structure‘s Heritage cover art, you know there are only two ways this can go: breathtaking and unforgiving Death/Doom, or just a bloated, pretentious mess. There’s next to no middle ground when it comes to releases that take themselves this seriously, where everything feels personal and built through time and pain. There’s not much else I can say to introduce a project that promises so much from the start, yet we all know how full the world is of disappointment. So let’s see what we have here.

Serpent Rider – The Ichor Of Chimaera

It’s been a week full of high-profile releases. So much so that sometimes you lose perspective of what really matters—fami, the underground releases that, with sweat and tears, are trying to give us something different in this valley of darkness we call the world. Serpent Rider might have an angry name, The Ichor of Chimaera might have Black Metal-style art, but that doesn’t mean it can’t surprise us. In fact, I’d bet this is going to punch us all in the liver unexpectedly.

Inborn Suffering – Pale Grey Monochrome

Pegah

Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart. The really great men must, I think, have great sadness on Earth.

Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment

Matalobos – Phantasmagoria: Hexed Lands

Latinoamérica isn’t exactly known for its Death/Doom scene. If anything, the region is celebrated for its Thrash/Death and Power Metal traditions. So, in a way, Matalobos is carving out a path that, while well-trodden in other parts of the world, feels fresh and unexpected in warmer climates. Phantasmagoria: Hexed Lands is their attempt at crafting your typical Death/Doom experience but with a distinctly Mexican Folk touch—and that’s not something you see every day. Here at MER, we’re all about weirdness; in fact, the weirder, the better! (Note: Just sending me weird stuff won’t guarantee a great score, but it’ll certainly make me love the job more.)