Band: DODENKROCHT
Country: Netherlands
Title: The Dying All
Label: Auric Records
Year: 2020
Style: Doom Black Metal

Review:
This band has been active since 2004 and released 3 albums until now, this one being their fourth, but also the first one out on a label, the band working on its own so far. We get an excellent looking 8 panel digipak here featuring all lyrics which are in English and are quite important for getting into the overall atmosphere of this album. Talking about death, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic scenes, after-life punishments, or simply anti-christian statements, Dodenkrocht builds a bleak, misanthropic, sinister atmosphere through its music although melodic passages and melodic inserts are also present quite often. The band blends Atmospheric Black Metal with Doom Death and Funeral Doom even and the result is heavier than expected, extremely dense and suffocating, a soundscape of hopelessness and despair. The rhythms presented here range from doomy, funeral slow lead by melancholic guitar leads and solos, to fast paced frenzy of blastbeats and typical Black Metal tremollo guitar riffs, while the vocals are mostly grim and desperate screams supported by decaying growls creating a dying-like atmosphere. The compositions could have used something to stand out as there is not much to remain fixed to your mind after the audition (except for the overall oppressive impression), but all in all this new album is good, if you give it a chance it will grow on you, but I guess for this to happen it's mandatory to accompany the music with the lyrics otherwise the long tracks (there's even one that lasts for 10 minutes) could become tiresome after a while. A material that's not easy to penetrate, that deserves some effort from the listener as well, one that drains you out of hope and positive feelings, so all in all it's a successful release, isn't it?
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 7.5/10

Contact:
facebook.com/DodenkrochtOfficial
auricrecords.bandcamp.com