Suffering so you don't have to!
Metalcatto
Oh, how happy it makes me to get another Soliloquium album. Ever since Contemplations, the project has captivated me with its deep and fresh approach to Death/Doom, and though I’ve encountered its latest work as a bit safe, the overall vibe is still one of consistency and love for the game—even if the music sounds like burying your recently deceased pet. Let’s go for it, then.
Thechopstickdrummer
Chris Gebauer is, in essence, a superspreader of black metal grime. Under various monikers, Gebauer has managed over ten musical projects, ranging from a duo with his wife, Anett Hauzu, to multiple depressive suicidal black metal (DSBM) bands. In these undertakings, he mainly sings, but in Exitium Sui, the full set of standard musical apparatus is all under his control. This project acts as an outlet for his efforts on blackened doom metal and dirge-like atmospheres, habits not entirely new to a musician like himself. Exitium Sui’s third full-length, Unravelling, is a curiosity of funeral doom-adjacent textures, but hopefully there’s enough life for me to cling to. Unlike the moods in the majority of Gebauer’s bands, I like living.
Metalcatto
When I think of Meuse Records, I think of sad puppy Death/Doom with clean production. However, Rigorous Sardonicus truly defies the stereotypes, because Diatriba Deorum is just nasty work that feels like it came out of Finland in 1993. I was surprised by the band’s obscene proposal, but that’s not all it had to offer. We need more than slow riffs to be truly impressed at this point, don’t you think?
Metalcatto
It’s almost summer here up north. It’s sunny, warm, and beautiful. What better way to ruin all of that than by listening to some soul-crushing and godless Death and Doom Metal from the pit? In Vespro is dropping this album named Where Silence Used To Sleep, which obviously isn’t going to be about riding into the sunset with all your friends and family singing happy songs. It’s going to make you go back to therapy—or that’s what I hope for. But you know how it is with the mellow stuff. Hit or miss.
Vicky
I would like to dedicate this review to my English teacher, who taught me that there is more to Edgar Allan Poe than just “The Raven”, who helped me see both depth and vulnerability in Poe’s works, such as “Dreams”, “Song”, and “Serenade”.
Metalcatto
Spain isn’t particularly known for its Doom Metal. That doesn’t mean it’s bad, but it does mean that Solnegre‘s Anthems For The Grand Collapse arrives with little pre-existing noise around it, which honestly feels more like a gift than a curse. I’m approaching this thing with no preconceptions or prejudices, just expecting to get trashed in all the right ways. However, Death/Doom can be so derivative at times that there’s still some level of worry lurking in my dark heart. Let’s see if that concern was justified.
Metalcatto
Depression! Now that I have your attention, I know you might be wondering if In Ruins‘ album artwork does justice to the music contained within. Just look at it; I haven’t seen such genuinely miserable, hollow faces since the Soviet Union was still a functioning state. That is precisely why this new album, We Are All To Perish, should hit us harder than discovering our favorite band is playing in town only to find tickets sold out in seconds. Anyway, dry your tears elsewhere, because we need to review this agonizing ride.
Vicky
Being highly passionate about foreign languages and particularly Latin, I have to begin by telling you that Post Luctum comes from “post”, meaning “after”, and “luctum” (from “luctus”), meaning “grief”. At the same time, Timor Lucis also comes from Latin, with “timor” meaning “fear”, and “lucis” (from “lux”) meaning “light”. Ergo, to conclude my complex and meaningful introduction, the band After The Grief will soon release the album Fear of the Light.
Vicky
2025 has been an interesting year for Doom Metal. I mean, let’s take a look back and see what we have witnessed earlier this year: Messiah Marcolin and Candlemass reunited for one show, My Dying Bride split in two and started collaborating with Mikko from Swallow The Sun, Paradise Lost, In The Woods…, Pilgrimage, and various othersreleased new albums. All in all, we had a pretty decent year in Rock/Heavy Metal as a whole, if we overlook the brilliant musicians we have unfortunately lost (Ozzy Osbourne, Ace Frehley, John Skyes, Adam Ramey, Tomas Lindberg, etc.). Hoping I didn’t depress you too much, turn on your sad music and buckle up, kids, ’cause we’ve got a great album to talk about today: Mediterranean Melancholy by Old Night.
Vicky
Doom Metal as a whole is one of the most niche genres out there. It has a little something for everyone, and without a doubt, we all once found ourselves in a Doom Metal song – ranging from slightly less depressive (Candlemass deserves credit for coming up with “please let me die in solitude”), all the way to the even more mournful part (think of this: Swallow The Sun once sang “My old friend will you lay me back to rest? I’ve been suffering so long without you. Come and take me away from this pain”. If that doesn’t scream out Metal Dostoevsky, I don’t know what will).
Metal Eclipse Reviews 