Umbra Nihil - Gnoia
Firebox Records - fdoom-006 - 2005
By Philip Whitehouse
Hailing from the wintry climes of Finland and describing themselves as 'slow obscure metal', Umbra Nihil take pared-down funeral doom and the nightmarish atmospheres of psyche-sludge bands like Rwake, and shape them around sprawling, labyrinthine compositions inspired by the industrial headfucks of Swans and Lovecraftian mythology. If this sounds like your kind of thing, then Gnoia will have you preparing the altar for supplication to the gods of twisted doom metal.
Throughout the seven-track, hour-long journey that makes up Gnoia, guitars, bass, synths, drums, samples, multi-faceted vocals and even flutes combine to create a dizzyingly disorienting but strangely hypnotic tapestry - guitar parts seamlessly split off into intricate dual guitar harmonies, before reconciling for a lurching doom riff, sped-up and reversed vocals dance from left to right in the stereo mix, hiding behind distortion and feedback whilst whispering into your ears - Umbra Nihil manage to veer skillfully between languid and menacing, hypnotic and jarring, atmospheric and malevolent moods with unnerving ease.
The one problem with this release is the somewhat lacklustre production - while admirably clear and balanced, the drums don't have the punch and power that some of the more bludgeoning material requires, and the guitar tone is somewhat thin. Bottom-end in general is rather lacking, which for a doom album (even one as unusual as this) seems pretty strange. However, the material rises above this shortcoming and emerges as a particularly challenging and engrossing listen. Very recommended.
8.5/10
Official Umbra Nihil Website
Official Firebox Records Website
Firebox Records - fdoom-006 - 2005
By Philip Whitehouse
Hailing from the wintry climes of Finland and describing themselves as 'slow obscure metal', Umbra Nihil take pared-down funeral doom and the nightmarish atmospheres of psyche-sludge bands like Rwake, and shape them around sprawling, labyrinthine compositions inspired by the industrial headfucks of Swans and Lovecraftian mythology. If this sounds like your kind of thing, then Gnoia will have you preparing the altar for supplication to the gods of twisted doom metal.
Throughout the seven-track, hour-long journey that makes up Gnoia, guitars, bass, synths, drums, samples, multi-faceted vocals and even flutes combine to create a dizzyingly disorienting but strangely hypnotic tapestry - guitar parts seamlessly split off into intricate dual guitar harmonies, before reconciling for a lurching doom riff, sped-up and reversed vocals dance from left to right in the stereo mix, hiding behind distortion and feedback whilst whispering into your ears - Umbra Nihil manage to veer skillfully between languid and menacing, hypnotic and jarring, atmospheric and malevolent moods with unnerving ease.
The one problem with this release is the somewhat lacklustre production - while admirably clear and balanced, the drums don't have the punch and power that some of the more bludgeoning material requires, and the guitar tone is somewhat thin. Bottom-end in general is rather lacking, which for a doom album (even one as unusual as this) seems pretty strange. However, the material rises above this shortcoming and emerges as a particularly challenging and engrossing listen. Very recommended.
8.5/10
Official Umbra Nihil Website
Official Firebox Records Website
