From Bandcamp, “ASCIAN welcomes you to a new age of doom. In 2018 the four musicians from Brunswick and Würzburg gathered to sow misery, that will flow in endless streams. Combining inspirations from Doom, Black and Post Metal they create a unique sound of leaden vibes: Hopeless and gloomy, yet filled with a glimmer of melancholy that shines through the dark. Leave all hope behind – Misery is ahead.” The album has seven songs, and “Follow the Serpent” is first. It begins slowly, with a lot of darkness, and it opens like a flower that is trying to bloom but is in fact dead inside. The distorted riff and guttural vocals that follow are disease and death personified.

“The Odium Place” begins with saxophone notes that are very weary, and the grey that hangs in the sky just gets darker. Although some of the sad tones are quite melodic, the punishing riff and guttural vocals leave no absolution for the listener. “The Golden Queen” has a more energetic pace, which is welcomed, because the first two songs were so slow and deadly that they almost caught me in a time loop that I could not get out of. It slows eventually however, and features a combination of gutturals with clean vocal chanting. “Cold Sun” has a title of two words that are in direct conflict with one another, yet the song could not be more aptly titled. The sun is our only real sense of warmth, and if it ever grows cold, life would cease to exist. That is what I get from the song.

“Threnody Spirals” comes out of the gate with heavy, punishing tones and guttural vocals that echo deep beneath you. This song represents the loss of innocence, and the clean vocals drip with that regret. “Fra Lvset” begins with clean guitar tones and the first real sense of hope in the music. Though the storm rages, you can see spots of light and blue skies on the way, and you can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Post-Rock elements come out strong in this gentle offering. “Deathwish” closes the album on downtrodden notes. The thick sound comes at you like a freight train but does loosen up just a bit. It gathers steam, and then it slams the door of absolution and hope shut forever.

Overall, the Doom sound was more pronounced that the Post sound for me, but that didn’t take away from me enjoying the album. Some of the cleans were a bit pitchy, but you can’t deny the power of the gutturals, tearing hope to pieces in front of your eyes.