From Bandcamp, “Grave Impressions of an Unbroken Arc” captures the full breadth of QAALM's vision—an album drenched in melancholy and dense with evocative atmospheres. This album showcases the band’s signature ability to fuse immersive doom with melodic black metal, post-metal, and progressive rock, drawing from a vast array of influences. Following up on the success of their previous releases, QAALM continues to push the envelope with a sound that is as massive as it is introspective.” The album has four lengthy songs.

“Borderlands” is first. The opening riff is low and slow, and the mood is solemn. The harsh vocals bring some energy to the song, and have a bite to them, but the cleans are smooth, and mellow. The mid-section brings a sober ambiance along, with clean guitars and melodic notes, and the two competing sounds work very well together. “Shadows Behind the Sun” has a commanding power, almost like the sun itself. Rising massively in the sky, it dwarfs other solar beings in the horizon. With the harsh sounds, we get gritty, aggressive tones, but the cleans wash they away with catchy melodies, especially in the chorus. One of the things that the band does very well is make the transitions in and out of these passages. It’s done so subtly; you never know what is around the corner.

“King of Contradiction” plays with some Progressive elements in the beginning. I love how the song gives the band time to experiment with different sounds, and they take full advantage of that. At every corner, and every turn, emerges an unexpected sound…sometimes biting, and other times lush, and each of them are impactful. Some bands this good at the harsh bite are often not good at melody, but QAALM is adept at both. “Hangman’s Lament” closes the album. Hushed tones emerge from the morning mist as shadows of something that you can’t quite make out. The sturdy riff that follows is augmented with fat psychedelica and melody, and the jovial passage that follows somehow works well. This band is full of surprises.

This was an outstanding album that successfully melded several genres of Metal, including Doom, Sludge, Post, Melodic, and even Progressive, and the way that the band combined these things made a stew with a variety of seasonings. One bite, and you can taste the depth that the band put into the recipe. It’s three parts angry, two parts hopeless, and one part melancholy, all wrapped up tightly with a bow.