At The Edge of the Abyss.... (In The Depths Of R'lyeh - Catacombs)

Member Name: Burning_Darkness

Product:	In The Depths Of R'lyeh - Catacombs
Date:	15/08/09 (16 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Well executed, incredibly atmospheric, good, subtle song progession

Disadvantages: None

'In the Depths of R'yleh' is the debut album by US Lovecraftian funeral doom band Catacombs, with an all-Ancient Ones line-up consisting of Cthulu on vocals and lead guitar, Dagon on rhythm guitar, Yog Sothoth on bass and Sub Niggurath on Drums. Obviously the second half of that sentence is blatantly untrue: Catacombs is in fact a one-man project masterminded by one Xathagorra Mlandroth, also of funeral doom band Hierophant.

The album is an exercise in crushing and oppressive doom very much in the style of genre-veterans Evoken and Esoteric, and its Lovecraftian theme suits the music perfectly, evoking powerful images of immense, aeons-old underwater megaliths, vast subterranean caverns and long-dormant god-like beings of unfathomable age and immeasurable horror. The music rumbles along relentlessly, merging slow, hypnotic and incredibly heavy riffs and simple, plodding drums with hopelessly bleak, slowly ascending and descending guitar melodies and booming, echo-laden growled vocals to create an atmosphere that is at once oppressive and claustrophobic; menacing and urgent. The songs employ masterful use of momentum, with subtle-tempo changes throughout, building gradually from painfully slow depths to threatening, pressing plateaus that never speed up beyond a mid-paced crawl, and though at first it is hard to differentiate between the songs, their individual character slowly starts to shine through across multiple listens.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about the album is that it has all the dynamic of a real band despite being entirely created by a single multi-instrumentalist (who also performs the vocals as well), and the suitably huge and cavernous production is excellent to boot. The darkly fantastical artwork adds yet more depth to the album, too. The album does have something of an ambient feel to it, reminding strongly of Evoken's superb 2007 release 'A Caress of the Void', and whilst wholly engaging also works brilliantly as background music, ideal for putting on when reading, oh, I don't know, the collected works of H.P Lovecraft, say.With a runtime of over 70 minutes it's one epic, draining listen, and seems to go on forever, but in a good way. A hugely powerful and immersive album, 'In the Depths of R'yleh' comes highly recommended to fans of Esoteric, Evoken, Skepticism and Disembowelment.

Tracklisting-

1. In the Depths of R'lyeh 11:16
2. Dead Dripping City 16:38
3. At the Edge of the Abyss 13:29
4. Where No Light Hath Shone... (But for That of the Moon) 12:41
5. Fallen Into Shadow 16:15
6. Awakening of the World's Doom (Reprise) 02:11

Total playing time 01:12:30

Summary: Powerfully oppressive funeral doom