Band: A THOUSAND SUFFERINGS
Country: Belgium
Title: Stilte
Label: Immortal Frost Productions
Year: 2021
Style: Doom Black Metal

Review:
Doom Black Metal or Blackened Doom Metal, call it as you will, but that's what this Belgian quartet offer us on their third full-length album. Stilte is the first studio material released on a local label, the band being produced so far by Russian labels Satanath and Symbol of Domination, which is basically also Satanath. 5 long tracks in over 40 minutes of playing time, but 40 minutes that will leave a scar, I'm sure; the material is not easily digestible at all, it's a dragging, depressive, anguished slow Doom Black Metal highlighted by a vocalist that uses mostly a shouting tonality rather than Black Metal shrieks (that appear from time to time though) or clean vocals, and that's something you'll either learn to embrace together with the heavy atmosphere of the record, or it will completely block your way to understanding what Stilte is all about and to actually enjoying it as a whole. Most of the time the rhythms are slow and oppressive, but there are moments of fast paced, blastbeats-driven outbursts of Black Metal take the lead but the overall atmosphere and the production itself remains as oppressive if not even more. To be honest I would have liked a bit more inserts of melodic or sparkling if I may say so guitar leads and solos than what the band proposes, something more to break monotony, but if you're into gloomy, tormented, depressive Metal I'd say give this album a try. The jewel-case CD by Immortal Frost comes with a whooping 20 pages booklet with pretty nice artwork and lyrics (don't know what they are about since they are written in their native tongue), limited to 1000 copies, but it was also released on vinyl and if you're after something like that hurry up, it's almost sold-out!
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7/10

Contact:
athousandsufferings.bandcamp.com
immortalfrostproductions.com

Review to be published in the upcoming issue of Slowly We Rot print magazine!