MOURNFUL CONGREGATION

Release Year: 2023
Artist Origin: AUS
Style: depressive esoteric funeral doom metal

second part of The empty shells of gods opens with the very old An Epic Dream of Desire demo era [1995 ] track Heads Bowed, newly performed by these now seasoned funeral doom torchbearers, preserving original rawness while enriching it with a fuller sound, and together with two other songs presenting more cohesive, even slower-unfolding approach with fewer obvious structural shifts and more hypnotically enveloping atmosphere, as guitars press forward with massive, repetitive riffs and restrained melodic rises, concentrating heavier, darker energy, with the longest piece The Paling Crest serves as the emotional core, subtly combining acoustic motifs, hymn-like passages and gradually building tension, while the prevailing melancholy is complemented by a sense of existential calm and faint light