In the internal booklet notes, the Tbilisi-based duo thanks Greg Chandler and the Albion’s Esoteric for their music, influence and inspiration that have allowed Ennui to carve out an important place for themselves within the European funeral doom scene. Founded in 2012 by David Unsaved and Serj Shengelia, the Georgian band has released no less than four full lengths (including now End of the Circle) marked in the purest funeral doom sound, serious, incompromissory, becoming a cult name within the fertile Eastern European scene. For any connoisseur of this difficult but emotionally rich and atmospheric art, Ennui are a guarantee: none of their works has ever disappointed me and I have always found the typical stigmata of the funeral sound, and also in this monumental work, made up of three tracks for 74 minutes, everyone will find intense minutes of extreme pleasure. One must, as is well known, be able to find the right time to detach oneself from the surrounding world and immerse oneself in a parallel universe, where emotions flow pure and stimulate our nerve endings, towards moments of absolute pleasure. It is certainly a demanding but extremely satisfying listen, and I am sure that those who follow the scene will have already savoured the notes of the mammoth title track (over 30′), which strikes the perfect balance between evocative soundscapes, conducted by liquid keyboards and telluric doom stratifications. This alternation, conducted naturally and without mannerisms, keeps the tension of the track high, leading us into dreamlike zones of our psyche, where the desire to abandon ourselves and let ourselves be transported into other dimensions takes over. A magnificent track that, despite its immense length, one wishes would never end. Ennui, after having hypnotised us with these notes full of bitter despair, give us the coup de grace with the other forty minutes of The Withering, divided into two parts, which takes us into darker and more sombre territories; the keyboards maintain a more defiladed profile and the guitars, with their methodical and slow march, trace a road full of despair and ‘sadness’. Beyond the power expressed by the duo, one must grasp the various nuances in the melodies, in the tones of the always very expressive growl, in the evolution of the journey that is proposed to us and that we undertake… each note creates a unique atmosphere and the inspiration is not lacking: the fresco created is profound and majestic. Definitely among the funeral records of 2018. (M.Pagliaro – MetalEyes 8/10/2018)

2018 – Non Serviam Records