The Ultimate Review of When Death Comes

Labeled as a doom collective featuring members of bands like Gallow God or Arcana Coelestia, the international funeral doom project Aphonic Threnody have released the debut album “When Death Comes”, via Doomentia Records, becoming the element that has been missing in their discography that includes two splits and one EP.

Let’s start talking about the band’s trademark that’s easily understood in their slow pace: that pace is complemented by the drums that don’t get only limited to mark the song’s tempo, but they can also fill the tracks with details produced by some timid drumming rolls and by a nice work around the cymbals.

There’s a lead guitar that emerges a lot to give a melancholic sound which transmits to us some yearning. In spite of those sad, yet beautiful, moments, Aphonic Threnody have more obscure incursions that are brought by dissonant passages comprised by a brilliancy that disturbs and contrast with the more melodic instants. It’s evident that there are lead and rhythm guitars, but those roles end to join in “The Children’s Sleep” when both guitars offer two leading compositions that are different between each one, but fit perfectly. Also, in spite of the very long songs, the repetitive riffs can give a catchy power to the album, like in the first track “The Ghost’s Song”.

The most attentive listeners of this doom sub-genre may find some similarities among various vocalists and they won’t be mistaken, because the deep growls are delivered by Arcana Coelestia’s Roberto M – and everything gets more emotional when the painful vocals unite with the guitar’s sense of defeat.

Some spatial atmosphere is inputted in “Death Obsession” due to the keyboard arrangements which, in the background, support the lead guitar that heads the song in a very slow, profound and immensely sad way. Having that slowness in count, this track is the longest one in this debut record reaching the 18 minutes of running time. However, the song increases in intensity and reaches a climax that includes several verses intoned by the vocalist, always, and once again, accompanied by the lead guitar. Still, we will witness a structure’s change giving place to echoed chords supported by string instruments and a piano surrounded by nature sounds – and that’s because of the addition of string instruments that the band touches the top of melancholy, loss and defeat.

As a final note, Aphonic Threnody’s “When Death Comes” is highly suitable for fans of Arcana Coelestia, Ophis or even Profetus.

Originally written at www.againstmagazine.com
Final Score: 27 / 100