Atramentus - Stygian Review

Ah yes, it is finally time for our token Mariusz Lewandowski review of the year! Lewandowski is a phenomenal surrealist painter who, in addition to many works on his own time, has contributed his talents to metal artwork. Most famously, he has contributed to Xenobiotic's Mordrake, Mizmor's Yodh: Live At Roadburn 2018 and Cairn, and, of course, Bell Witch's Mirror Reaper. If you have Lewandowski commissioned artwork, your album means business, no matter what genre. To me, the grandiose and despondent style that the Pollack displays on these album covers perfectly fit the mood portrayed in doom metal: Sad, slow, and massive. Funeral doom, in particular, takes these aspects and cranks them to eleven, which is why examples like Mirror Reaper are so impactful. The crushing weight of the music is perfectly exemplified by the ominous, looming forces in the art, and it looks like Quebec's Atramentus took the hint. 

The Canadian quintet's debut, Stygian, is a three-song, 44-minute project that is bleak, heavy, and very standard for the genre. It would be a gross understatement to say that most funeral doom metal sounds the same, but for someone who adores the catalogs forerunners of the subgenre like Esoteric, Mournful Congregation, and Bell Witch, I'm pretty used to the somber keyboards, oppressing ambiance, and monolithic distortion. But Atramentus' clean production is almost staggering in comparison to their contemporaries, for an independently recorded release. Where normally the guitar fuzz would occupy most of what we hear, each layer of thick instrumentation is gently placed on top of the mix, leaving a nice breathing room for some of the background textures, like the bass, keyboards, and vocals that pop whenever they are prominently featured.

While the classic funeral doom trope of parenthesized titles is present on here, the length of these additions is more similar to something like power electronics, or really obscure experimental black metal. "Stygian I: From Tumultuous Heavens... (Descended Forth The Ceaseless Darkness)," "Stygian II: In Ageless Slumber (As I Dream in the Doleful Embrace of the Howling Black Winds)," and "Stygian III: Pereniall Voyage (Across The Perpetual Planes of Crying Frost & Steel-Eroding Blizzards)" are all very edgy titles for music that doesn't really match this tone. While nitpicking names of tracks might seem unreasonable, I think the ponderosity of the genre should come in the music, not the packaging. But the cuts speak for themselves in this regard and rectify any overt pretentiousness that one has worried about by the presentation. "Stygian I" is a classic funeral doom track, pounding away in pessimistic animosity. Complete with "organ" interludes matched with whispered vocals, a drum fade out, and a single chromatic guitar breakdown, it marks an excellent start to the first half of the record.

To wrap up side A of this LP is "Stygian II," a dark ambient track that is surprisingly engaging. Even as a five-minute interlude, it keeps the suspense established by the first cut and even builds to the latter half, while a gradual build of swirling atmospheres climaxes into a noisy finish as bells ominously ring in the background. It's very well done and provides almost a foreshadowing vision of the final song, "Stygian III." Beginning with a gradual build accompanied by the most toilet-bowl sounding vocals I've ever heard, the music eventually explodes into the sliding glacier that slowly moves throughout the tracks 23-minute runtime. It grinds to a halt, giving the keyboards time to create a serene and breathy atmosphere, complemented by a faraway choir. The guitar renters and speed slowly builds to a thunderous section of blast beats, shrieking guitars, and primal screeches that were previously unheard on the project. The black metal-like conclusion to Stygian really sells it, and really stays fresh in the mind, even as it fades away for two more minutes of dark ambient. It's definitely unique, and more than welcome to my ears.

For funeral doom, Atramentus actually makes the time fly by, which is somewhat confusing to a veteran listener. Esoteric, perhaps the biggest name in the genre, released A Pyrrhic Existence in 2019 and is an absolute slog to get through, but that's part of the charm of the genre. It is extremely refreshing in that sense and proves that already, the group has a great grasp on the genre and its possibilities, even though it's their first release. Stygian is a solid modern funeral doom album, without a doubt, and definitely takes the top spot in its style for the year*, but it's hard to really analyze how strong it is as a release. This will take much deep listening and a lot of contemplation to truly see where it ends up in our rankings towards December. But don't be surprised if you see another Lewandowski in PMMetalGuide's End of the Year list.

Final Rating: 'Begging, sinking, choking, drowning'

Favorite Tracks: All

FFO: Mournful Congregation, Thergothon, Evoken