Via Invisible Oranges : "Funeral doom metal is demanding. Think about it: the songs are long, the tempos lugubrious, the mood… not so happy. This is the kind of music which needs direct, absolute attention in order to be a fulfilling listen. I recall a time in which the big challenge was to make it all the way through Evoken's Antithesis of Light because it was such a superlatively uncomfortable, brutal listen, and that is simply one of the many "essential" funeral doom listens. Atramentus enter the ring fully realized, with eight years of meticulous planning and and waiting behind their "newcomer" status.
"I personally consider funeral doom to be in a class of its own. It is a style of music that is meant to overwhelm you, to hurt you, to throw you in a cold and desolate place and to make you feel emotions you would rather not face or acknowledge," says mastermind Phil Tougas, also of Chthe'ilist, First Fragment, and many other bands in a new interview. To Tougas, Atramentus's music was meant to be taken in at a deeper level, one in which the raw feeling within the music resonates within the listener. Take in and experience Atramentus's debut album Stygian, which is streaming below.
Monstrous and chilling, the mournful sounds found within Stygian embody the tenets of funeral doom, a lineage dating back to Thergothon, Unburied, and Skepticism. But beyond the actual sounds is a deeper concept, one which ties together all of Tougas's projects. Taking place on a separate Earth, Styigan tells the story of this alternate society dying in limbo. Much like the slow death of this place's inhabitants, Stygian, too, moves with a deep melancholy and forlorn character. However furious each tolling chord may sound, however deep Tougas's growl may be, Atramentus' center is one of tender feeling which is effectively channeled through the difficulty of funeral doom. Learn more about the concept behind this album and much, much more in a lengthy interview with Phil Tougas, which can be read below. https://www.invisibleoranges.com/atramentus-premiere-interview/ Write-up by Jon Rosenthal