The Medea Project - Kharon: Forbearance

The Medea Project is a doom metal band with origins from South Africa, although according to their Metallum page, they are now based in England.  Their latest album, “Kharon:  Forbearance,” is their third full-length album; they have also released five EPs.  

I’ve reviewed the band’s previous two full lengths but skipped their “Akkadian Artefacts” EP that was released early this year.  No offense to the band but dark ambient/electronica just isn’t my thing.  However, “Kharon: Forbearance” is definitely something that is in my wheelhouse.

This is a unique album because it’s the companion release to their previous full-length album from 2025, “Kharon.”    This album is the raw, unpolished version of the aforementioned release, featuring early demos and rehearsal tracks from the recording sessions.  The Medea Project has always been pretty raw but this pushes the band’s sound to nightmarish, oppressive levels.

Honestly, “Kharon:  Forbearance,” is a scary album and more than a little disturbing in its atmosphere.  But I like this because it seems, despite the nature of the music, most doom bands don’t fully embrace that doom should, well, be anything but safe.  

As always, the band is composed of duo Pauline Silver (drums) and Brett Minnie (Guitars, Vocals) but they make it seem so full and encompassing you would swear it is a full band.   

The atmosphere is immediately drenched in sorrow and a little bit of horror with the opening song, “Absence.”  This takes on a more atmospheric, tribal presence than on the original album.  Although still very heavy, it trades a more death/doom sound for a more ritualistic doom hypnosis effect.  The production/mix is obviously raw, but it works for their sound and the goals they had in mind during the album’s initial birthing.   The raw screams and wails are ghostly and unnerving.  The drums are bumps in the fog, like someone walking through unseen corridors just waiting on something to strike.

From what I can remember, “Purgatory Trapped,” isn’t quite as urgent and fast paced in places as the original one was.  This version, at least in the beginning, takes a more Gothic, spacious path where the silence in between the notes speaks as loudly as the doom itself.  The drums are very impressive in how they lay down a solid foundation for the song to grow from but also how they are atmospheric in their own way and methodical where they place the next note.  The song grows to a roaring inferno in the second half, and I feel the band fully displays just how powerful they are in these moments.

The final song, “Dying Sun,” bears some resemblance to its counterpart on the original album, “Reborn,” but it's different enough that it sounds like a different song or at least one that took a different path. Musically, this one isn’t quite as heavy, at least in terms of distortion but the bass and clean guitar have such low tones that it's heavy in its own way.  The band sounds very apocalyptic and hopeless on this version—perhaps more than they ever have.   

All in all, The Medea Project has an interesting idea with the release of “Kharon:  Forbearance,” and it’s a resounding success.  The band took an open, honest, approach and stripped themselves down to their most chaotic and undistilled form.  This is an impressive work for sure and it's interesting to see the origins of such caustic music.  

You can order the album here at their Bandcamp. 

Rating:  Great