From their EPK, "The Weight of Eternity is ANGMODNES' first offering; an album in the works since 2013 and finally completed in 2022. Within its 36 minutes and 21-second runtime, it paints an utterly bleak and hopeless picture of one damned to live on forever, after everything and everyone has long since passed away. The doom laid upon this wretched soul can be seen metaphorically, as those who have lost any sense of attachment to this world and who are so far removed from life as to scarcely be able to think about anything other than death, are they not just as alone? The album contains three songs.
The title track is the first. Solemn piano notes open the song, delicate and sad. A slow and heavy riff takes over, with guttural vocals. From there, some clean vocals mix in to this desolate sound. They almost sound like tears or lamentations from someone who is wrestling with a pain he can't comprehend. The harsh vocals reflect the times when he is losing. "Hollow Earth" begins with another lumbering pace and low, guttural vocals that sound like they are coming from cave deep beneath the earth. Some clean vocals follow as the subject laments "the end of the world." There is an ambient pause around the half-way mark, with some cello strings. Just when you think there might be a reprieve from the pain, the horrid sounds return. There is no escape.
"Under Darkened Vaults" closes the album. It's a 15-minute beast. There is a similar pattern of harsh vocals followed by cleans. The music is gut-wrenching, and made to make you feel emotional about the subject. The lumbering pace lengthens and you begin to see no end to your journey. Snow begins to fall until it blots out all of your sight. Overall, this was a deliciously depressing album, although there was some repetitiveness here and there. The feelings of loss, pain and torture are marked and well executed in the music. Just a little less of the same through three songs would make this an excellent release, as opposed to just a good one.
