The Weeping Moon

Drowning the Light released this EP, entitled "The Weeping Moon", in 2008. Around this time, DTL was 5 years old and had already released 5 full-length albums, around 12 or so demos, a few compilations, splits and another EP. Azgorh has gained a reputation for being one of the busiest figureheads in black metal due to his dedication to quantity, but also quality releases. This EP is a short two song affair which spans a total length of 19 and a half minutes and follows the depressive black metal formula throughout. This is not a mind-blowing EP, but it is quite good and worth a listen.

The title track makes up the first half of the EP, and is probably the strongest track on here. It begins with a beautiful, somber guitar riff. This riff is extremely simple in nature and sounds fairly similar to what other bands in this vein of black metal produce. Throughout the EP, the pace of the music ranges from slow and melancholic to slightly above mid-paced, with the title-track containing some blast beats here and there and some faster guitar riffing. But this is not a standard black metal EP and should not be treated like one, rather be treated as a depressive black metal EP. The following track, entitled "The Ruined Soul of a Blackened Past", is probably the lesser of the two in my opinion. It's still a long track, running at 9 and a half minutes, but it's not as effective as the title-track and doesn't boast the same quality in my opinion. It still contains the beautiful, sad, raw yet melodic riffing DTL has pretty much always been known for but it's just not as good to my ears. The synth flute towards the end of this song really is something to behold, however. It's gorgeous and adds a somewhat medieval sound to the song.

Some may see this as just another release in Azgorh's endless catalog of black metal melancholy but it is still a very strong listen, and chances are if you enjoy most of what this guy has put out, you'll eat this up as well. It's probably one of his more depressing releases, probably up there with "Drowned" in terms of misery and sadness, and that's maybe a huge strong point of this EP.