### Anhedonist: Netherwards

#### 20/09/12 || gk

2012 has been a spectacular year for doom metal. I honestly can’t remember the last time a single year has seen so many great releases both from established veteran bands to rank newcomers. Anhedonist, who first made a mark with their “The drear” demo in 2010, returned this year with their debut full length “Netherwards” and this is one impressive start to what I hope will be a long recording career.

Anhedonist basically play death-doom of a strictly old school variety. The sound is thick and murky with a claustrophobic atmosphere as the music shifts effortlessly between old school death metal and lumbering passages of doom. Album opener “Saturnine” is a case in point. Starting in almost complete silence the song starts slow before exploding into a kickass death doom song with an absolutely stunning middle section that is all swirling and dissonant death metal. The song shifts in both tempos and moods and shows off the band’s ability to mix and match these 2 sub-genres in a very impressive manner. “Estrangement” changes things somewhat with a melodic bent to the riffs that’s a bit more European in nature than the rest of the album and provides the only bit of light in an otherwise dark and oppressive album. “Carne Liberatus”, at just over 5 minutes is the shortest of the 4 songs here and the one song that is more pure death metal than anything else on this album. Anhedonist save the best for last though with album closer and 15 minute epic, “Inherent opprobrium”. The song starts clean with a melancholic guitar line and slowly builds in classic doom style as the song takes on a life of its own and the music shifts from melancholic doom to twisted death metal and back again. Themes are repeated, solos are played to maximum effect and the bass provides the song with a thick and at times impenetrable low end. This is just one hell of a song and a fantastic way to finish the album.

What Anhedonist do better than most bands in this sub-genre is an attention to detail. The riffs run the gamut from slow and crushing doom metal to swirling discordant death metal riffing that brings to mind the new school of Incantation worship. The solos are perfectly placed to either heighten the effect of a riff that’s just gone by or to add to the unrelenting atmosphere of hopelessness and despair. The drums shift from slow and plodding doom to twisted and hypnotic death metal and the bass adds a thickness to the band’s sound that is initially lost amongst the guitars but slowly reveals itself to be the backbone on which much of the riffing sits.

I’m repeating myself here but this is one impressive debut album. Whoever’s picking the bands over at Dark Descent is doing a bloody excellent job and Anhedonist deserve every bit of praise that’s come their way since ”Netherwards” came out. This is not an easy album to get into but for fans of doom metal, this album is absolutely essential.

- Information
- Released: 2012
- Label: Dark Descent
- Website: Anhedonist MySpace
- Band
- V.B.: vocals, guitars
- K.H.: guitars
- D.F.: bass
- Z.S.: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Saturnine
- 02. Estrangement
- 03. Carne Liberatus
- 04. Inherent Opprobrium