Thoth - From the Abyss of Dungeons of Darkness (2008)

You don't come across a collaboration this epic every day, but the tortured trio Thoth deliver one of the most severely grim slabs of depressive black metal I have heard recently. The band includes Necro of Selbstmord and Ohtar, Krzysztof of Dark Fury, and the mighty Rob Darken of Graveland, Lord Wind and other fame. The style of the band is generally slow to mid-paced black metal with extremely somber vocals and some atmosphere synthesizers. The album is also doomier than many doom albums I've heard, so you can consider it a sort of black/doom hybrid.

"Waiting for You" begins with a painful, slow riff. Doom chords ride waves of suffering below a sequence of simple repeating notes and the horrifyingly bleak vocals. "...to Kill..." offers a simple series of chords collapsing beneath strings of searing black metal guitars. The way the beat shuffles in beneath this morass of wristcutting is an instant pick-up, an aspirin overdose accompanied by a tolling bell, a truly sinister atmosphere evoked. There is NO LIGHT at the END OF THE TUNNEL. You are FUCKING DOOMED. "Within the Cemetery Crypts" is a gorgeous track with some amazing simple riffs and synths that chime. And then we have the title track to one of the best titled albums! "From the Abyss of Dungeons of Darkness", the perfect English as a second language title, and the track is glorious. "The Parasite" was rather mediocre, but "Time of Solitude" works towards capturing the vibe of these first four tracks. "Omnipresent Cold" and "Chaos Syndrome" are two more beautiful tracks, and the album ends with the haunting guitar instrumental "Emptiness".

The album has a very raw streak to it which adds to the presence of the lamented. This album sounds like it was being brought to you live from a mausoleum, from a trio of grim individuals who mourn the dead below their feet as they prepare to cut up and join them. The cover art sucks and I didn't enjoy one of the tunes as much as the rest, but considering who is involved here it is well worth the while to check out if you like any grim, depressing black metal and really anything Darken is involved with.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

http://www.elegyrecords.com/