Hailing from Germany, the upstart musicians in ASCIAN are set to bring their brand of slow and heavy to the Doom Metal world with their debut release "Elysion." Released in 2020, each track on this album brings about an oddly warm melancholy: delicate, balanced, and somber, yet heavy and intriguing.

Firstly, there is a distinctly gothic element to the clean vocals. In an almost Peter Steele-esque bass, he expertly lays out the melodic, haunting notes over a field of atmosphere beneath. There are elements of his voice that lean into the realm of TIAMAT's_____ Johan Edlund in terms of tonality, style, and execution. It leaves the listener with a sense of both dread and awe, hearing the words seeming to flow so effortlessly into the air. On the other end of the spectrum, the harsh vocals blend expertly with both the instruments and even the clean vocals tracking alongside. For those fond of Pagan Metal, the recessed atmosphere of the darker growls will offer familiar hints (in line with CELTACHOR and DRUDKH).

Next, it is worth mentioning this album in perspective with other good Doom Metal releases. There are essentially four "full-length Doom Metal" tracks and a nice instrumental filler track that leads into the next. The tempo in each is set mostly to a healthy crawl, so if the listener wanted to, one could easily sit back and meditate. The heavy riffs are quite listenable and have a solid chug to them at times, while the more melodic, single-note clean guitar moments offer an enjoyable Post-Black Metal vibration (think DEAFHEAVEN).

In conclusion, yes: this is some absolutely serious, no-frills Doom/Post-Black Metal that delivers exactly as advertised. If anyone needs a good candidate album to put on and chill out to, this one is a great way to spend about thirty-eight minutes. And the next thirty-eight after that too. In fact, "Elysion" deserves to be on a few repeats.