The review of Doomed‘s debut album had closed with the hope that some forward-looking label would notice the value of this doom death project by German musician Pierre Laube. Evidently Solitude Productions had a longer eye or, if nothing else, was quicker to enrich its roster with what was one of the most pleasant new releases of 2012 in the doom sphere. Pierre’s second work fully confirms the already excellent sensations aroused in the debut, thanks also to a stylistic contiguity, almost inevitable I would say, given the short interval of time elapsed between the release of the two records. As far as possible, the proposal appears even better focused on a death doom based more on impact than on melody; in fact, Doomed‘s merit is precisely the compactness of the sound that manifests itself with granitic riffs and a merciless growl, all cleverly alternated with frequent slowdowns and guitar slashes aimed at cracking the wall of incommunicability erected by a sound that is always threatening, even in moments of apparent calm. Moreover, despite the fact that those who try their hand at this genre often end up resembling in a more or less pronounced way the bands that have marked its history, Laube succeeds in his intention of proposing his own trademark while avoiding falling into excessive references to what others have already composed in the past. Like its predecessor, In My Own Abyss tends gradually to soften at its end; in this sense, the difference between the opener Downward and the closing track Ah Ty Stiep Schirokaja is evident, but this happens gradually through tracks in which the death component gives way to more evocative atmospheres, among which the admirable Alone We Stand, The Ancient Path and Leave stand out. A confirmation then, at close range, for the German musician and a 2013 that promises to be full of news and commitments, between the re-release of the debut The Ancient Path, the establishment of a line-up functional for live performances, as well as the composition of new material for a future third work that, given the premises, could consecrate Doomed as one of the most shining realities of European death doom.

2012 – Solitude Productions