Day: November 21, 2022

First full length for Mournument, a Chilean band led by Ulf Niklas Kveldulfsson, a musician already known above all for his work with Æra’s atmospheric black, and Alfredo Perez, vocalist in various groups such as Lacrymae Rerum, Mourners Lament and The Ancient Doom among others; the sound offered in Smouldering into Dust is a death doom with rather atmospheric traits that, at times, is reminiscent of another high-level debut this year, that of Arð, a British project with which there is in common is the use of vocal solutions with liturgical traits, although the growl alternative is used much more conspicuously, as well as a writing style oriented towards the evocation of a poignant melancholy. The use of acoustic guitar and violin contributes to raising the introspective load of a work that sees its peak in a marvellous song like A Funeral Poem, with a melodic line that is difficult to remove from memory, without this clouding the rest of the tracklist, made up of five other tracks with a considerable emotional power. This excellent first step by Mournument, who are completed by drummer Cristian Krono Alarcón, further enriches a Chilean doom scene that regularly continues to provide great satisfaction to fans of the genre in its various facets.

2022 – Ardua Music