Well, nobody expects a funeral doom band to do anything in a particularly fast fashion and it has been four years since we last heard from these Australians on last album ‘The Incubus Of Karma.’ This is the first of 2 EP’s scheduled for release this year and even though it is not a full-length album, with the 3 songs clocking in at 37 minutes, it’s longer than quite a few such releases.

The genre is all about constructing things from the ground and building them up and that is exactly what we get with the first epic number ‘Mountainous Shadows, Cast Through Time.’ We are greeted by the baroque sound of an organ heralding this sorrowful gathering in to worship at what is more likely to be a funeral than a joyous celebration. Drums crush in and slowly pound with a bellowing cry on their wings, guitars are hefty and the vocals develop with craggy leonine growls. It’s pretty much just as one would expect, ponderous and monolithic, in no rush to get anywhere over the next quarter of an hour. That said its an immersive listening experience for those prepared to wait it out and listen properly in their fast-paced lives and it still rattles through the bones with plenty of weight about it. Guitar lines are melodic adding depth and atmosphere and those inclined to bang heads will have no problems doing so as this is certainly on the heavy side as its “Miasmal matrice” quakes with “Monolithic motions.” You can almost feel the weeping and lamenting of souls, a box of tissues is likely to be handy before one indulges themselves here.

The title track is something a bit different and is an acoustic and much shorter instrumental piece, still it’s suitably tinged with sorrow but perhaps atop the mountain the shadows are moving as clouds are blown and the sun slowly emerges for a while. Guitars weep in a fashion that a classic metal band may inject a solo into their craft and although somewhat indulgent it slowly spreads a touch of warmth.

The last number is an old one from 1995 demo ‘An Epic Dream of Desire’ retouched for the modern era. It does the job of taking back to a time when Anathema were releasing their finest ‘A Silent Enigma’ as far as its melody is concerned as well as sounding more than a little on the Crestfallen side emotionally. Vocals are spoken this time round and are too low in the mix to make them out despite being clean. No doubt it’s a welcome return to those who remember the original track historically but others may well wonder why it’s taken so long to basically record two brand new songs, one of them an instrumental. Later this year we will get the chance to hear how the band develop things, if at all with the second part.

(7/10 Pete Woods)

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https://mournfulcongregation.bandcamp.com/album/the-exuviae-of-gods-part-i