Spheres of Dark Lamentation

The first and so far sole release of the US band Eidolon presents funeral doom metal in two different styles. The main difference between the its two tracks is the emphasis of the guitars and their role in the overall sound. In the opener "In the Shade of Unbeing" the guitars are less prominent, compared with the succeeding Passage to Nonexistence. The sound is slightly more gloomy and less cheerful in the former one, which gives the music a slightly different spin. In the latter the guitar hovers above everything and the "lead" guitar elements and their sound and motifs set the pace, mood and style.

In terms of the overall setup, Eidolon relies on a mixture of guitars, keyboards, drums -- drum-computer -- and vocals as ingredients to create the music. The sound reminds on a mixture between The Howling Void and Nortt. On the one hand there is a certain cheerfulness and emphasis on melodic structures, while the vocals, due to their croaking kind of way, work as a counterpoint to it. As can be expected, there are long passages over which the melodies develop and the band hardly deviates from this over the course of the ep. Some slight exceptions can be found in the opener, whose ambient middle part results in a shift in the style of the track. The sound becomes more intense once this break is over as well as denser and somehow it feels as if the dynamics would receive a slight push as well.

Of course the music is repetitive and relies on the atmosphere that is created by this slow progression of the motifs. Yes, the melodies and riffs are solid, but nothing to spectacular. Somehow it would have been better to add some variation to it and to develop the music to some extent. Those two tracks are a solid presentation of funeral doom. Nothing too spectacular, but also not of the sort that leaves a lasting fascination. There is nothing daring when it comes to these music on "Spheres of Dark Lamentation", only aspects that have been done before. This is not bad, but diminishes somewhat the tendency to give these tracks a spin in the long run.