IMBER LUMINIS is a one-man project of Atmospheric/Black/Doom Metal formed in Belgium in 2006. Composer Deha has release two full length albums under this moniker. "Nausea" is his third, and contains ten new tracks; a conceptual album about existentialism. From their Facebook page, "IMBER LUMINIS is about the purest melancholic and emotional feelings. It's not your typical DSBM stuff, it's more into a mix of slow doom and slow metal, mixed with post and black metal elements, singings and screamings, ripping your mental bowels apart. A unique blending for a unique journey." "Starting with the End" is the opening track. Deha's vocals are gut-wrenching, and the riffs are mournful and pensive. There is nobility in the chord progressions however as well. It segues immediately into "The "I" has Faded." The anguish continues with a hasty pace. At just over the three-minute mark, it softens somewhat with a change in meter and riff. The connecting four-note guitar chords are splendidly gloomy.

"Introspection" has a great, poignant atmospheric opening. The key notes hang in the air high above you, like layers of color from a beam of light reflecting through glass. Deha's long scream leading into the full instrumentation however is here to remind you that despondence reigns. "We are Not Free" creeps slowly along, with spoken vocals and some chords that alternate between minor and major, keeping the Doom sound from completely taking over, though the vocals screams would hint otherwise. "The Withering and the Wake" has a regal sound from the guitar chord progression, reminding me of the mighty INSOMNIUM. You can really connect with the emotions presented in this song because they are right in your face. "Migraine" is an intense experience, as the title suggests. The lumbering rhythm pulses and pounds you, like a throbbing in your head that never ends. There is some great riff variation here as well. "Nothing Matters" is about as real a statement as there can be. Here we have clean vocal harmonies and some great melodies from the guitars. Hope is pulled from you as any fight you have left is released from your body.

"I Resign" closes the album. At first, clean guitar chords ring out, and then Deha delivers his message in spoken word. The song is beautiful and does not overwhelm you with too much pain and agony. It's a fitting closer to an intense listening experience. The closing lyrics ring clearly, "there is this constant nausea...all around me...and I understand it. I possess it...and it destroyed my heart." Any one of these songs is emotionally weighted enough to lay waste to your soul. But ten of them in succession results in bit of a loss there, because the length and pacing of some of the tracks is too similar. "Nausea" is diverse at peaking your temperance however, and able to run through many different feelings that humans experience. Deha's personality runs strongly throughout the album as well, and his mark as a musician is noteworthy.