This gloomily titled album starts off on a suitably dark and sombre note. As they tell us, it goes into death-doom territory but not quite. Such is “The Absurdity of a Whole Cosmos”, the instrumental opener of this second full length album from the Spanish band.

To follow, the darkest of clouds descend upon us in the ten minute long “A Matter Lost in Time”. It’s a patient, drawn out affair. What struck me was the eeriness behind these ultra heavy scenes. This punishment is not stifling but open and expansive and developing, which makes for imaginative listening. The pace picks up without losing the sense of annihilation, and the air becomes more dangerous as the boundaries of doom are transcended. The fire continues with “One Last Certainty”, which gets ten out of ten for raw heaviness and nastiness, but does not advance the album to any new point of wonderment.

“As Uembras d’o Hibiernio” starts more suggestively with a weary guitar line and a hanging choir before branching out into swathes of misery. The growling vocalist captures the dark thunder being pumped out on the instrumental side. It’s too grimy to be majestic, but what it may lack in majesty it compensates with its sinister progression. A pungent statement of intent follows this gloomy slab, as “The Mourning Path” rumbles forward. Strong bass lines are a feature of this word and here it underpins this show of death metal force. Slowing down before biting back with a violent but controlled attack is another feature of this and other tracks. “The Blackness of Eternal Night” starts creepily, and crawls forward atmospherically. To continue with such imperious power for twelve minutes is quite an achievement. “The Blackness of Eternal Night” is now truly majestic.

Ataraxy make the most of the tools at their disposal here in this essentially doom-death work, and perhaps unwittingly expose the limitations of the genre. Nevertheless I appreciated the intensity and developments of atmosphere, which are generated in this heaviest and gloomiest of tomes.

(7.5/10 Andrew Doherty)

https://www.facebook.com/ATARAXY-281047751876

https://darkdescentrecords.bandcamp.com/album/where-all-hope-fades