Dwellnought - Monolith of Ephemerality

Dwellnought is a blackened doom band from Italy, who formed in 2023. After a demo last year, they have now dropped their full-length debut album “Monolith of Ephemerality.” The word ‘ephemerality’ actually doesn’t have a single definition but it is most often seen as a concept of things existing only briefly and, academically, it describes a diverse assortment of things and experiences. 

“Monolith of Ephemerality,” is an experience and then some. Its concept may revolve around transitions but the darkness is here to stay. This is a raw album, a concept in of itself that graces black metal often but something I feel we need more of in doom. However, as raw as it is, isn’t to the point of determinant. If anything, it makes the album better. If this darkness is a part of ephemerality then it needs to be as massive and bottomless as possible—and those elements work best in this style as a rough presentation of the dangers. 

The mix is still on point too. The bass can be heard, even when the riffs are at their deepest, and subtle uses of melody don’t go unnoticed amidst the chaos, which unfolds from slow tempos to speedier attacks. The band embraces both black and doom equally and keeps it flowing the entire time. 

The album has 5 songs across a runtime of just under 47 minutes—for me, this is the sweet spot for what the band is presenting to my ears. Any longer and the songs might run together and any shorter, the point might be rushed by instead of hammered in.  

I normally have issues with intro songs but “Slumbering through the Dream of Impermanence," is an exception. It isn’t just some short 40 second bullshit that has nothing to do with the other songs. This is a three minute instrumental that is a perpetual movement of horrific dark grace. This song perfectly sets up the rest of the songs and it bleeds in well to the next one.

“The Final Desire is Unbeing,” is a 17 minute long juggernaut of thoughts I think a lot of people have but are afraid to confront. After the leftover seconds from the intro disappear, the band dives into its void with a harrowing scream and some straight up nasty blackened toned doom riffs. The bass adds to the haunting feel and the faster parts are extreme as anything I’ve heard so far this year. I really like the vocals, deep growls and blackened screams that fit right into the mix and present themselves as yet another deadly instrument. Around the 10 minute mark, the song transforms into a living storm, hell itself raining down.

“Crystalized Flesh Identities Condensed into Wombs of Matter,” is more immediate and more open with its riffs, incorporating more traditional black metal elements but still offering doom metal in terms of tone and atmosphere. Some of the more ambient moments are dour melodies that heighten the feverish brutality on display while still keeping the song very firmly unnerving. The drums are actually quite frightening in their tribal like cadence, a constant warning of the incoming unknown.  

“Ill Whispers,” is a banger of a song that sent my ears through the gauntlet. The first part is fire and brimstone with all the instrumental power one might expect with raw black metal. Around the 3:15 mark or so, the doom comes crawling out to slither across the now wasted landscape. The middle passage is a rumbling earthquake of guitars and bass—and scary as hell. The last couple of minutes divides its time between black and doom textures. This is a rollercoaster ride of a song without being disjointed.  

The album ends with “Beyond the Mind.” and I’m not really sure what this is. Alien? Something from another dimension? My own mind caving it to what I just experienced? Regardless, it’s pure chaotic noise and I think that’s the only way an album like this could in.

Dwellnought’s “Monolith of Ephemerality,” is an album that certainly won’t appeal to the masses but therein lies graceless charm. Fans of extreme metal will find much to enjoy here, especially if you like a more raw, honest approach.  

Rating: Great