SEEMING EMPTINESS is a doom band formed by Tobias Netzell of IN MOURNING.  The band blends doom, post and dark ambient into an exciting and varied combination. "Bliss Entombed" is their third full length and the first as a full band; the precious two albums consisted of Tobias as a solo project.

This album will feel right at home for fans of OCTOBER TIDE (a band TOBIAS was also a part of before), NOVEMBERS DOOM and even INSOMNIUM.  They don't sound like those bands per say but they do share that same melancholic atmosphere and delicate balance between light and dark elements. It must be noted that SEEMING EMPTINESS does tend to be more emotionally raw than the aforementioned bands. I can hear elements of prog as well, no doubt a part of TOBIAS' very fiber from his time in the equally potent IN MOURNING.

"An Impious End" begins with clean guitar, ambient textures and Tobias' always wonderful clean vocals. The song very quickly descends into death doom madness with those deep and powerful growls spilling forth from Tobias as easy as his cleans do. The song never loses its sense of melody and the aggression is well adjusted to the style and never goes overboard. Indeed, the song writing is just a smooth experience.

"Infernal Charade" has a kick ass opening riff and the lead guitar fits in the perfect style to go with the heavier tone.  The chorus is catchy, with the guitar and vocals working side by side.  And those cleans! Tobias' vocal deliveries, his abilities to both growl and sing are nearly unmatched in modern metal. The last minute of the song is a code of sorts that pays respect to the melodic passages that came before it while also bringing the song to new heights as it closes to an end.

The title track is brooding, a veil of clean guitar and cloudy bass that builds up the song from here. There is a certain groove to this song that hits the spot—it pummels and thrashes with a tight grip maintaining on the song writing. Around the four minute mark, beautifully tragic guitar mixes with the vocals for a dirge of powerful emotive music that constitutes one of the album's best moments. And that growl, backed by the double bass before the song ends? The band pulls out all the stops and ends the song with a bang.

The last track, "Conclusion" is an instrumental that caps it all off, a fitting end for quite the journey. Bliss Entombed" is a solid melodic death/doom album with a lot of variety.  This is definitely one of the better doom surprises of the year.