Dromos - Failing Light

 Dromos is a funeral doom metal band from London, England who formed in 2019.  Their latest release, “Failing Light,” is their full-length debut; they have also released an EP.

This album is a tight exploration of funeral doom while representing the best parts of the genre.  With ‘just’ three songs and a runtime of 46 minutes, it’s a lot more palpable than many albums within the genre.  I think of the reason why funeral doom is underappreciated, even amongst underground metal fans, is that sometimes the genre dives too far into its own sound—it can’t get out of its own way.  For fans of the style, such as myself, there isn’t anything wrong with that.  But for new fans to the genre, it can be a problem. 

Although for me and others it is something we crave, I can still see how a sprawling, 30-minute song with 7 minutes of ambient noise or the same riff for 10 minutes could be off-putting for those who aren’t familiar with the style. That’s why I want to praise “Failing Light,” so much.  It no doubt is pleasing to funeral doom fans–I’d be surprised if anyone had any complaints about it and would meet that person with much cynicism.  However, this release is one I can see being a good entry point to the genre.  

46-minutes is a short runtime for funeral doom, and the longest song is still ‘just’ over 20 minutes in length.  All three songs are long, crushing, and cavernous but, with that being said, none of them languish too long on any one thing nor do they take a minimalist approach.  Each of the three songs are very much riff based and, considering their length, get to the point far more zeroed in than other bands playing the same genre.

I need to sing some praises on its flow as well. The 46 minutes flies by so fast—these songs are cohesive and very well put together on an individual basis.  I can’t be sure but there seems to be somewhat of a theme here, at least musically.  The songs are arranged in shortest to longest.  The first song, “My Final Tomb,” might be about someone’s resignation that the end is coming and they are about to have their own finality?  It’s slow, atmospheric beginning certainly seems like the oncoming of death itself.   I like the atmosphere/ambience in the beginning just before the death growls come in—it isn’t over done and flows nicely into the heavier passage.   The guitar tone here, and on the album as a whole, is crushing and thick as peanut butter.  There is a bit of somber, Gothic atmosphere across the structure as well, particularly when the deep clean vocals arrive.  The melodic rhythm that backs up the cleans is a nice touch–a bit of regality to the proceedings. 

“Death is Silence,” is anything but.  Of course, death is obviously a very personal thing because, in the end, we all die alone.  This is death itself offering up its inevitable service upon the mortal coil–but in a private, almost intimate way. The opening riffs are suffocating but balance a delicate melody as well—heavy without being aggressive.  I love the way the guitars set up the introduction of the vocals.   The drums shine on this one too, keeping the song interesting with a foundation heavy enough to hold all this up but also interesting enough to keep the song winding down its path.  At the 8:18 mark, there is a drop of guitars and bass that is strong enough to knock the wind out the lungs.  The band builds this moment up, letting it drop over and over until the cleans arrive.  The last three minutes of this song are perhaps the most emotional on the album.

“Sinking,” might be the final decay of the body as it returns to the ground.  Or perhaps the fleeting of a soul.  This is definitely my favorite of the three songs, too.  This low bass tones and clean instruments is a fantastic way to open the song and build up the massive structure that it changes into.  The lead guitar is tragically beautiful, pairing so well with the cleans that I could see someone being brought to tears by the passage.  The high death growls are frightening and emotional in their own way–clawing, painful.   The middle passage is a balanced combination of ambient sounds, clean instrumentation and bittersweet vocals—very haunting yet also gorgeous.  

All in all, Dromos’ “Failing Light,” is an impressive debut album that encapsulates everything great about funeral doom but leaves the fluff behind.  This is definitely one of my favorite listens in the second half of the year and those new to the genre should definitely feel welcomed with this release.

Rating:  Excellent