Tag Archives: atmospheric post-metal

Album Review – Drofnosura / Ritual of Split Tongues (2025)

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A strange beast that’s absolutely comfortable in its own iridescent, translucent skin, this Canadian entity will stun us all with their expansive, stirring, and dissonant new album.

A strange beast that’s absolutely comfortable in its own iridescent, translucent skin, Toronto, Canada-based Blackened/Atmospheric Sludge/Post-Metal entity Drofnosura has been taking elements from multiple styles since their inception back in 2010, finely grounding them, and using the material to sculpt a new body entirely, just like what they have to offer in their sophomore opus Ritual of Split Tongues, following up on their scathing 2019 debut Voidfever. Showcasing a beyond menacing, disturbing artwork by Dusty Ray Art, the new album by W.L.F. on guitars, vocals, and synthesizers, M.A.D. on bass, vocals and synthesizers, and D.A.S. on drums, percussion, vocals and synthesizers sees the band traversing various realms, with a few songs surpassing the 15-minute mark, putting the emphasis on creating a meditative, transcendent atmosphere more than anything else.

Like a vile creature arising from the pits of the netherworld, the trio comes crushing our cranial skulls mercilessly in Selection of a Corpse, with the hammering drums by D.A.S. and the visceral guitars by W.L.F. complementing each other in great fashion. Then in the context of Hindu cremation, Kapala Kriya is a ritual where the skull of the deceased is pierced with a stick during the cremation process, while in heavy music it’s a ten-minute demented creation by Drofnosura where their venomous, minimalist vocal lines will haunt your damned souls for all eternity, sounding almost like the actual Hindu ritual. Then the title-track The Ritual of Split Tongues brings to our putrid ears over 15 minutes of primeval, sinister Doom Metal with Post-Black Metal elements led by the once again slow but fierce beats by D.A.S., followed by ἐγείρω (egeirō), a Greek verb that primarily means to raise, awaken, or stir up. It can also mean to wake up from sleep or to be awakened, as well as it can refer to the act of resurrecting or raising someone from the dead, resulting in a ritualistic interlude that sets the tone for The Well of Seven Heads, where the band shows absolutely no mercy for our damned minds and bodies while their Atmospheric Sludge Metal vein pulses harder than ever during its venomous 12 minutes, flowing into the also atmospheric, gloomy and dissonant Desounen, putting a Stygian ending to an album not recommended for the lighthearted.

Highly recommended for admirers of the music by Blut aus Nord, Devenial Verdict, Eibon, Amenra, Lurk, Isis, Pillar of Light, and The Angelic Process, among others, Ritual of Split Tongues is an astounding album where multiple influences converge to create music that’s at once expansive, stirring, and dissonant, and lingers on in the mind for longer than one would think, with the music naturally evolving within each of the songs as they progress, and it isn’t fatiguing just because it’s done in such an intuitive manner. You can get more details about Drofnosura, their music, live concerts and so on by checking what they’re up to on Facebook and on Instagram (or by clicking HERE), stream their cryptic creations on Spotify, and of course show your support to those talented Canadians by purchasing their bestial new album from their own BandCamp, as well as from the Transcending Obscurity Records’ BandCamp, main store, US store or EU store. In the end, Ritual of Split Tongues is certainly not an album for the lighthearted as mentioned, but let’s face it, that’s exactly what Drofnosura wanted to achieve with their multi-layered, grim and absolutely stunning new album.

Best moments of the album: The Ritual of Split Tongues and The Well of Seven Heads.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2025 Transcending Obscurity Records

Track listing
1. Selection of a Corpse 6:23
2. Kapala Kriya 10:22
3. The Ritual of Split Tongues 15:27
4. ἐγείρω 3:48
5. The Well of Seven Heads 12:28
6. Desounen 15:01

Band members
W.L.F. – guitars, vocals, synthesizers
M.A.D. – bass, vocals, synthesizers
D.A.S. – drums, percussion, vocals, synthesizers

Album Review – Phendrana / Sanctum: Sic Transit Gloria Mundi (2018)

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Immerse yourself in this concept album about a Sanctum, an ethereal place where lost souls find shelter, bringing an amalgamation of sounds and nuances that will at the same time soothe your soul and stimulate your senses.

Anuar Salum, the mastermind behind Mexican Atmospheric Post-Metal Phendrana, is a self-taught multi-instrumentalist based in Mexico City who at the age of 12 started the project under the name Pakistuf, in memory of his grandfather Emilio Kuri Rame, recording a couple of albums and sharing the stage with bands like Alcest, Gehenna and Nader Sadek. Of Syrian and Lebanese descent, Anuar then took the project into a whole new direction in 2016 by changing the project’s main focus and concept, incorporating atmospheric and progressive elements to his music, and eventually changing its name to Phendrana. Now in 2018 it’s time for Anuar and his Phendrana to unleash upon humanity their first full-length opus, titled Sanctum: Sic Transit Gloria Mundi.

Recorded between October 2016 and November 2017, Sanctum: Sic Transit Gloria Mundi (with “sic transit gloria mundi” being a Latin phrase that means “thus passes the glory of the world”) is a concept album about a Sanctum, an ethereal place where lost souls find shelter. The album is divided in seven parts, those being a description of the Sanctum, three transitions from different souls to it, two stories about the past lives of Sanctum inhabitants, and an ode to the night. Featuring an elegant artwork by Mexican artist Caro Fer, based on the painting “Vanitas Symbols in a Landscape” by Dutch painter Matthias Withoos (1627–1703), this whimsical and unique album of contemporary heavy music will beautifully transport you to the Sanctum proposed by Anuar, bringing an amalgamation of sounds and nuances that will at the same time soothe your soul and stimulate your senses in a striking way.

A crescendo of dark sounds invades our ears until Anuar arrives with his harsh gnarls in a feast of contemporary extreme music titled Sanctum, a perfect depiction of modern-day Post-Metal featuring beautiful keyboards thoroughly blended with the song’s riffs and bass lines, with the second half of the song being a progressive and atmospheric sonic voyage. In addition, Anuar definitely knows how to add a touch of poetry to his lyrics (“An ivory gate, with marble wardens / A citadel, enshrined in an ocean of clouds / Hallways born in the heart of the forest / A legacy, a destiny, written in blood.”). Then we face sheer melancholy flowing from Anuar’s smooth guitar lines in The Threshold, a gentle bridge to the full-bodied aria Ethereum, with the song’s lyrics also bringing a sense of introspection to our souls (“Once an arcane blue aurora / Once ethereal, a fragrant memory / Once a sanctum for the shadows / Once a threshold to their twilight.”). Italian guest Vera Clinco (from Caelestis) provides her share of delicacy to the music with her gorgeous voice, with trenchant blast beats permeating the air in total sync with the song’s whimsical keys and atmospheric passages, again showcasing rage and desolation flowing from Anuar’s growls.

The Dream is another gentle bridge provided by Phendrana, ideal for closing our eyes and preparing our spirits for Where Ages Meet, where acoustic guitars ignite a precise extravaganza of modern metal music blended with ambient and rock music. Vera Clinco joins Anuar once again to beautify the overall musicality while the band’s mastermind continues his dark musical path through his raging roars and sharp guitar lines. Furthermore, several distinct elements from the most diverse range of styles are added to the background, increasing the song’s taste considerably. The Bog offers the listener one last breath of instrumental sounds and tones, this time infused with the mesmerizing sound of water, before the multi-layered Gjenganger presents Mexican musician Aracoelium as a guest vocalist, hypnotizing us all with her choir-like vocals, as well as what’s perhaps the heaviest sounding of all tracks with rawer-than-usual riffs and Black Metal-inspired frantic beats. And to make things even more exciting, an otherworldly break brings some peace to our hearts for a while, until Anuar returns in full force with his final stint of harmonious and thrilling devastation.

The music shelter to your lost soul crafted by Anuar and his Phendrana can be fully appreciated on YouTube and on Spotify, and you can always support such skillful artist by following him on Facebook and by buying a copy of Sanctum: Sic Transit Gloria Mundi through his BandCamp page, on iTunes or on Amazon. I confess I wasn’t familiar with the work by Anuar when the project was named Pakistuf, but I’m sure what he’s doing now with Phendrana represents an inspiring and healthy evolution for him as an artist and as a human being, and let’s hope he can continue to put us in a metallic trance with his atmospheric and modern heavy music for decades to come.

Best moments of the album: Sanctum and Where Ages Meet.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2018 Sickness Records

Track listing
1. Sanctum 9:04
2. The Threshold (Instrumental) 1:55
3. Ethereum 9:15
4. The Dream (Instrumental) 1:51
5. Where Ages Meet 7:48
6. The Bog (Instrumental) 2:10
7. Gjenganger 6:58

Band members
Anuar Salum – vocals, all instruments

Guest musicians
Vera Clinco – female vocals on “Ethereum” and “Where Ages Meet”
Aracoelium – female vocals (choir) on “Gjenganger”