Aphotic "Abyssgazer"

    Breaking through the confines of an entropic realm where the rules of time and space cease to exist, Aphotic emerges from the unspeakable void to deliver a truly malevolent full-length album titled, “Abyssgazer.” These Italian extreme metal musicians conjure up some monstrous sounding death doom riffs that will leave listeners feeling like they have become lost in an infinite darkness where all hope of escape is tarnished by deafening dissonant noises. 

    The album cover was done by Chilean abstract painter Rodrigo Pereira who I thought did an exceptional job capturing what Aphotic set out to accomplish on this album. When looking at the album cover and listening to the music, you start to feel like you are being drawn into the cataclysmic abyss which shatters all sense of reality. Musically, the band is extremely talented at composing brutal and massive sounding arrangements. The variety of influences ranging from pulverizing old school death metal to atmospheric death doom, really establishes an unbelievably vivid sounding landscape. 

    I will say that I felt as though some of the tracks on the album stood out more than others, especially songs like, “Abyssgazer” and “Depths Call Depths.” Also, I liked how the band came up with some creative instrumental pieces to setup certain tracks. The three instrumental and ambient tracks “Endzeit,” “Endzeit II” and “Endzeit III,” were very important in terms of building up anticipation as well as complimenting the album’s malicious unpredictable cosmic theme. The acoustic guitar part during, “Endzeit II,” had me completely taken back at first, but in the end it was a calming touch to add right before the next track, “Abyssgazer.” I would say that, “Abyssgazer,” is the strongest song off of the album and features some haunting chord progressions along with this mix of savage death growls and mournful sounding cries echoing through the pitch black musical void. 

    Tracks such as, “Cosmivore” and “Deathward and Beyond,” definitely display a more straightforward brutal old school death metal sound with very abrasive riffs and thunderously loud drum parts. Still, the band continues to thrown in these surrealistic atmospheric elements, and the music is constantly shifting in a variety of chaotic directions. The solid musicianship, dynamic creativity and unbelievably strong production, are a few reasons why I do believe that this album can be appreciated by a wide variety of extreme music fans. 

    Sentient Ruin will be releasing the album on March 24th, and the limited edition red/black marbled galaxy colored vinyl looks down right amazing. Aphotic's "Abyssgazer," is highly recommended for fans of horrifying celestial death doom that opens up a forbidden portal to an endless apocalyptic abyss. Conceptually, this album makes modern horror films look juvenile by constructing utterly behemoth fear inducing compositions. Once the music begins and you stare at the lifeless abyss like album cover, there is no escaping the inevitable death doom mind altering onslaught!

Check out the music video for the song "Abyssgazer" below : 

Order the album here:

https://sentientruin.bandcamp.com/album/abyssgazer