Dust from a Dark Sun

I remember when, around 2012-2017, the so-called “stoner/doom metal” scene exploded around Europe and USA, becoming the main subgenre played around local venues and pubs… especially pubs, due to the genre’s famed attraction of drugs, booze and cigarettes. It was supposed to become mainstream around 2018-2019, when High on Fire and Sleep came back with albums more renowned and promoted by alternative media. Then the pandemic came… and the genre seems returned back where it belongs, with several bands disbanding, stopping activity or changing members.

Spain’s Aathma is one of the late-comer acts of the niche, formed in 2007 by guitarist/bassist Juan Domínguez, ex-member of the disbanded Glow, specialized in vintage, 70’s-tending doom metal, who is also the only original member left from its original formation. The project has released four studio albums so far, of which 2023’s Dust from a Dark Sun is the most recent one. Generally, I don’t like most stoner/doom metal releases, because the near totality revolves over overdone 70’s old rock styles and amateurish songwriting/musicianship. This one, however, is quite different and possibly more inspired. Opener Cosmos introduces near-obligatory low-tuned B slam power-chording, but stanzas/choruses feature more cinematic, post-rock melodies, clean vocal lines and epic-sized arrangements.

Buzz-saw synths take precedence on the intro of Impending Fate, where arrangements never rise from sparse drumming/acoustic guitar march-like accents, but dynamics go climatic near the end, while Burned Garden features slightly repetitive and uninspired basic power-chording and monotone vocal lines. The rest of the cuts features more psychedelia-driven balladry with synths (Blood Hands), more ominous multi-tracking akin to Type O Negative (A Black Star) and ritual-based cyclic patterns reminiscent of Tool (Embrace the Ocean). Production is typical digital work with slight errors: apart of the usual hyper-compressed drum hats and undefined guitar/bass, vocals have too much reverb and delay, and sound totally disconnected from the rest: the final track features progressive, increased bit-crush distortion near its end.

I appreciate the psychedelic-oriented ballads on this album, but I do admit that some numbers, which revolve on more simplified doom metal riffs (most exemplified on closer The End of My World) really drag it down, despite the somehow inventive arrangements. Compared to earlier efforts, this release is shorter, more streamlined and even sticking to popular music markets, while, especially on their debut, they sounded like a more hammering replica of Yob and Conan. Though more listenable than earlier efforts, only half of it works for me, while the rest sounds much more conventional and all too derivative of genre clichés, which is what prevented me from appreciating most of its acts.