Angmodnes – Rot Of The Soul

Angmodnes
Rot Of The Soul
Label: Meuse Music Records, Tragedy Productions
Out: March 1^st, 2024
Playing Time: 55:17

To be honest, the anonymity of the line-up almost put me off writing this review. Just the first letters of the names are a bit short. Fortunately, there is the Encyclopaedia Metallum, which at least sheds some light on the darkness. The band Angmodnes hails from Utrecht in the Netherlands and was founded in 2013. But it was apparently not until 2022 that the first single “The Figurehead” was released and shortly afterwards the EP “The Weight Of Eternity”. And in March of this year, the debut album “Rot Of The Soul” was published.

“Beneath” starts with keyboards. Very quiet. A high-pitched female voice can be heard. Even when guitar, bass and drums are added, nothing changes. Abysmally evil growls can be heard. But Y.S. also masters clear vocals. The spoken, or rather breathed, words do little to brighten up the sound. Eleven and three-quarter minutes of gloom. “The Hours” starts more pleasantly with calm electric piano sounds. Later, the instruments are added in a brute but calm manner. And here, too, Y.S. alternates between angry growls and clear vocals. The ethereal-sounding female vocals can be heard again in the background. Even the riff thunderstorms do nothing to change the song’s solemnity. The electric piano also dominates “Agony of the Sun” at first. Later, when the rhythm section kicks in, it speeds up a little. But only a little. “Stagnant” is then an “outlier”, at least in terms of duration. With a playing time of just 8:49 minutes, it is significantly shorter than the other four songs. As before, introduced by electric piano. The title track “Rot Of The Soul” is also the longest track on the album. At first, clean guitars can be heard. Should this song have a more positive vibe? Far from it. At the latest when the instruments and the growls kick in, gloom spreads again. Even the clean vocals can do little to change this.

Five songs with a playing time of just over fifty-five minutes? It becomes clear that they are all massively overlong. There is only one song on “Rot Of The Soul” that doesn’t exceed the ten-minute mark. And every single one scratches the surface of Funeral Doom. You either like it or you don’t. I clearly count myself in the first category.

Track list:

• Beneath
• The Hours
• Agony Of The Sun
• Stagnant
• Rot Of The Soul