The EPK that comes with the music starts as follows: Belgian Atmospheric Post Metal ensemble THE GREAT WHITE NOTHING announce their independently released debut album “Passage I Melancholia”. The album will be released on August 31st 2025 on all streaming platforms. Well, at least we know now when to expect the album, but how do I translate Atmospheric Post Metal into layman’s terms? Well, that is quite simple: the band have taken every sort of Extreme Metal around and used parts of it in order to mould it into their own way of thinking and making music. So, yes, you will hear Metalcore, there are a number of blastbeats, there are moments when you could feel that you are listening to a Progressive Rock/Metal album, and sometimes the atmosphere is very mellow whilst at other times the aggression displayed is almost to be seen as disturbing.

As for a history for THE GREAT WHITE NOTHING, I really couldn’t find anything that would explain when, where and why the band was formed. But het, that’s just distraction noise, as I am here to tell you about the musical side of the album. I have to say that it did take me a few listening sessions, but then it all started to make sense, to e. that is when I decided that I understood the mood changes throughout the music, when I got a feel for what these guys were trying to tell us. Because you do need to know there is a story being told here. As the band explains: With “Passage I Melancholia”, we tell the story of a man leaving his home and known world behind in search of solace in the most unforgiving of places. This album dives deeply into the stories of 20th century Antarctic pioneers, exploring their hardships and fervour. This is not a concept album per se, but we drew inspiration from historical personal accounts and the desolate landscapes of the Antarctic. We took that awe-inspiring, freezing abyss and brought it to life.

Even though I got what THE GREAT WHITE NOTHING is trying to say, it doesn’t automatically mean that I have become a fan of theirs. I haven’t as for me the songs just don’t have that kind of pull that has me wanting to hear them more often. I’m not being tempted to listen to “Passage I Melancholia” time and time again. It might be my age, but for me this album is just a bit too exhausting. If the songs would have been of an outstanding level, I might have looked past that, but as far as I’m concerned, they just are not that good. Oh, and we couldn’t find a video to accompany this review. Sorry.