Atone - Rebirth in Despair

Atone is a funeral death/doom metal band from Portugal, who are dropping their full-length debut album, “Rebirth in Despair,” and it's one heavy pile of doom. 

It’s low, slow, and cavernous—just like funeral doom should be. The album has really stood out to me over the weeks I’ve been listening to it because of how focused it is.  Atone know exactly what they want to play and how to play it.  Unlike some funeral doom, there isn’t a lot of liminal space or ambient passages across the album’s 5 song, 58-minute run time.  This is almost all densely packed extreme doom that flourishes in the world it lives in.   With that being said, there is just enough of that stuff to be effective, generating a unique atmosphere without it taking over the songs and losing the intensity that makes them so great in the first place.

The production/mix is very enjoyable and is one of the reasons the songs stick out so much.  There isn’t much grime or fog over the music—it’s clear for the style and that makes every note, every hit of the drum, every growl/scream really ring out visceral and true.

The album opens with the bold statement of the title track first.  The band, and album, is saying:  This is it.  We are here and there is nothing else to do except to accept it.  Like change itself, things live, die, and the world goes on repeating the cycle.  You can’t beat it.  You can’t stop it. You can only let it happen.  

The title track hits like that.  After atmospheric/clean notes, the weight immediately crushes.  There is real heft to this song; it isn’t heavy for the sake of it but heavy because the musicians clearly fucking FEEL it.  Subtle hints keep the song together even has it threatens to crumble apart, the darkness seeping in little by little

The opening tone of “Labyrinth of Sundered Grace,” is almost sickening, carried forth by disgusting vocals and unnerving guitar tones.  I really like the atmosphere on this one…it’s a bit icy yet grandiose in a way only this type of music can be.  Around the 6:35 mark, a straight up nasty tone settles in with disturbingly deepening growls riding alongside it.  The song builds back up with tragic melodies, the vocals continuing to pull the devastation along with it. 

“Eidolon’s Remnant,” is eerie but surprisingly catchy in places, especially the opening guitar.  This song moves a bit faster, a little more aggressive but also Gothic.  I love the bass guitar, I can hear it rumbling beneath the layers.  The drums are pretty damn energetic too, adding a sort of flare to the doom that helps push it alongside smoothly.  After the 7-minute mark, the song grows more atmosphere, using the guitars as a wall of sound instead of focusing on true riffs but returns to those infertile fields near the end.  

“Asylum for the Unmoored,” also hits pretty immediately; deep tones hit when the distortion does, offering a double layer of doom that is encompassing.  I like the subtleties of this music, the keys dripping down like cold water from the ceiling of an unknown cave. The clean female vocals are absolutely used to great effect and pair perfectly with the growls.  

“Living Ghosts in the Shattered Dome,” is the song and uh…well, it is scary.  The children chanting makes me glad I wrote this review in the daytime and reminds me that I should never play this song alone at night.  What else is scary?  These riffs.  Monstrous.  Lumbering.  Stalking.  Any number of adjectives could be used to describe the song, but the most important thing is that, above all, it is impactful.  

Ultimately, Atone's "Rebirth in Despair" is music that feels like the soundtrack of collapse and yet, also one of rebirth into a new world, however it may be changed.  This is one of those albums that can certainly be listened to on a piecemeal basis but it’s really something else when the numbness that emanates from the songs like waves wash over you from beginning to end. As the last note falls, the echo from within your own soul and mind can be felt like a physical presence even as the body struggles to recover.  Highly recommended.

Rating: Excellent