0 - Entity Review

DSBM is a genre I have long-fretted to get into. The downright real melancholia associated a good majority of artists who make it is extremely intimidating, and even more so uncomfortable. But recently, I have decided to take the plunge into the pitch-black waters that encompass and secrete from vile and depressing entities like Leviathan, Shining, Nodus Tollens, and Gris, among others, and have reemerged with a very different mindset on the genre as a whole. While what I had thought about the genre does somewhat hold true with groups like Xasthur and I'm In A Coffin, a lot of other groups and projects either lean heavy into dissonant black metal or even into the atmospheric and epic side. For a niche subgenre, the style is actually somewhat varied, which definitely helps in my quest to listen to a lot of it. 

While 0 (or Núll) isn't fully a DSBM band, they certainly have elements of that style in their music. The Icelandic supergroup of black metallers in Naðra and Misþyrming comes together here to create the opposite of their familiar sounds, switching tremolo picking and screeching for swooning melodic lines and almost croon-like vocals. It's hard to call this anything but straight doom metal, yet the black metal influence is extremely prevalent on most tracks, be it from a flurry of blast beats or the other elements listed above. But this project is far from the realms of groups like מזמור (Mizmor) or Yith, where a healthy balance between black and doom is displayed, and more resembles someone like Candlemass or Below, where the variety of doom metal is extra showmanship-like. Big climaxes, epic refrains and lots of chanted are on full display on Entity, and between all of these factors and those from the more frigid of the styles, 0 creates a very unique album, merely in that regard.

Once again mentioning our friend A.L.N. here at PMMetalGuide, his vocal performances, and particularly his whistle scream, are some of the best in the genre. Aside from maybe Charlie Fell of Lord Mantis and Cobalt fame, no one can even reach the intensity and clarity that the מזמור mastermind channels on his releases. But the vocalist of 0, newcomer 'SS,' may need to be placed at number three. The shrieks on tracks like "None" and "Grasping the Outer Hull of the Tangible," are astounding to hear, and with the depressive spin on things, are some of the most emotive and painful vocals to listen to. Usually, with DSBM groups, the vocals are less focused and are made to sound painful, not alluring; Trust me when I claim that on this release, you can have your cake and eat it too. 

The instrumentation shouldn't be discounted on Entity, though. With a simple enough rhythm section, what really stands out is the dueling guitar leads who weave melodies of somber scenes against a forlorn and harrowing backdrop. Each of the main riffs is heavy, sad, and engaging, and between the two players, an extremely imaginative and intriguing hypnotic treble drives the album into its successes. The bass' highlights definitely come, however, and the mid solo in "Conjoin the Vacuous" proves that this mysterious player isn't just following the root. As for drums, the sparse blast beats are tight, and the rest of the sludgy performance is driven by some nice tom and cymbal flourishes that majorly stand out.

Entity shocked me with its beautiful sonic quality and raw, emotive energy that envelops the music with a choking sadness. 0's two releases usher a new era of despondent doom, but this one in particular really drives home the sound of 2020, in a similar way to Nine Inch Nails' two albums from March. The year continues to grow bleaker and bleaker, and releases like this continue to provide an outlet to scream into the darkening void. It's the best doom metal album of the year and deserves to be placed among the veterans' output in the genre of this style.

Final Rating: REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Favorite Tracks: "None," "Grasping the Outer Hull of the Tangible," "(Em)Pathetic"
FFO: Misþyrming, Andvaka, Naðra