It is really pleasant to listen to albums of great depth offered by bands from areas of the planet not exactly known for certain musical expressions; in fact, even if some good realities had already emerged from the Colombian underground undergrowth, this debut full length by Season of Grief reveals itself to be a product with a much broader scope, and this is also thanks to the experience of the musicians involved in the project. Back in 2010, Ranndy Garcia and Gerardo Franco laid the foundations for something that would only yield tangible results ten years later, first with the release of the demo Rare & Demos, containing some previously recorded tracks, and finally with The Departed, where the duo was joined by vocalist Julián Suárez. The album consists of four tracks plus intro and unfolds over just over half an hour of intense and poignant death doom, well performed by Garcia and Franco, supported by Suárez’s convincing growl. Dead Moths Garden and Departed from This Life are two gems dripping with pain and melancholy (but For a Moment and Sun Does Not Rise are no less), in which we are given the chance to hear the sub-genre in its most traditional and sorrowful guise, which sees its natural references in early My Dying Bride and Anathema without ever lapsing into calligraphic repetitiveness. Personally, I consider The Departed to be one of the most pleasant surprises of a rather fertile 2022 in this stylistic sphere and, as mentioned, it is significant that it does not come as usual from the cold northern European moors.

2022 – Independent