Day: March 11, 2023

Grief Symposium are a new band appearing on the British death doom scene, but only apparently one can use the adjective new to these musicians, given that they all come from the previous experience called The King is Blind with whom, in the last decade, they published two full lengths and a series of works of lesser lengths under the banner of a rather rocky and convincing sound; with this new name, the style becomes slightly more multifaceted, partially contradicting the title of the demo released last year, which was entitled Monolithic Dark Metal. The first full length …In the Absence of Light initially takes up the three tracks present on the demo, then adding four more, including the last one, which lasts a good 18 minutes but is basically an interesting excursion of atmospheric ambient; overall, it is a very convincing piece of work that keeps faith with the concreteness and consolidated tradition of death doom in British lands; rather harsh and linear tracks (Veil of Transformation) are flanked by others with more atmospheric openings such as In the Shadow of the Sleeping Monarch, taken from the demo, thus creating a certain alternation and making for interesting and relatively varied listening, which is important especially if you want to try to carve out a space for yourself in a time when there are so many bands dedicated to these sounds, with the serious risk of ending up homologated in a shapeless cauldron. A weapon in Grief Symposium‘s favour is obviously the past of the musicians involved who, in addition to their experience with The King is Blind, can count others in bands even earlier, such as Entwined and Extreme Noise Terror, which is indicative of a certain ease in handling the material; for this reason …In the Absence of Light is highly recommended, although clearly we are not in the presence of something epochal, but very well executed and convincing, from the first to the last track.

2023 – Church Road Records