Album Review – Umus / Voidlit (2026)

Succumb to the heaviness from the debut album by this new Funeral Doom Metal beast, tracing a descent through grief, isolation and spiritual decay toward the gradual disintegration of the self.

Formed in 2024 through a remote collaboration between three musicians based in different cities, Umus was born from a shared vision of Funeral Doom Metal stripped down to its most immersive and atmospheric essence, drawing inspiration from Ahab, Evoken, Esoteric and the shadowy world of dark ambient music, therefore favoring atmosphere, emotional weight and gradual development over technical display or unnecessary complexity. Mixed by Vladimir Lehtinen, mastered by Greg Chandler at Priory Recording Studios, and displaying a primeval artwork by Deni Aktemirov, Voidlit, the debut opus by E on vocals, V on the guitars and bass, and R on drums, is a monolithic and smoke-shrouded work spanning more than an hour across five compositions. Conceived as a continuous narrative, the album traces a descent through grief, isolation and spiritual decay toward the gradual disintegration of the self. Personal loss and social alienation give way to an increasingly inward journey, ultimately confronting the emptiness left behind when everything else has fallen away.

After a grim, sinister intro the music in Ghost Of Grief evolves into a dark beast of doom and fear led by the cadaverous vocals by E, while R delivers those slow and steady phantasmagorical beats we all love so much. Harbinger Of The End also follows a similar apocalyptic, demonic pattern, with the minimalist yet vile guitar lines by V transpiring evil in another blast of classic Funeral Doom Metal magic; whereas a melancholic piano set the tone in the also introspective and somber Oblivion, alternating between moments of absolute heaviness to the deep guttural by E and ethereal passages where V delivers piercing guitar lines. The title-track Voidlit also ventures through the lands of Experimental and Avantgarde Doom Metal, resulting in a massive creature that will consume your soul, with E’s clean vocals sounding insanely haunting, and as a bonus track only available on the physical formats we have Voidlit II, a cadaverous composition that’s definitely worth the extra money, as hypnotic and ghoulish as it can be.

The heaviness and obscurity found in Voidlit  are definitely not for the lighthearted, positioning Umus as one of the must-see names of the current Funeral Doom Metal scene worldwide. The album will certainly darken your thoughts and minds, and there’s nowhere to run once the first riff hits your psyche. You can find more details about those somber musicians on Facebook, and put your dirty, putrid hands on Voidlit from Aesthetic Death’s BandCamp or webstore, as well as from the Ksenza Records’ BandCamp. High quality Funeral Doom Metal is always about our darkest and deepest emotions, exactly like what Umus have to offer in Voidlit, keeping the style fresh while at the same time reaching deep inside our blackened hearts.

Best moments of the album: Ghost Of Grief and Oblivion.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2026 Ksenza Records/Aesthetic Death

Track listing
1. Ghost Of Grief 13:38
2. Harbinger Of The End 11:15
3. Oblivion 11:36
4. Voidlit 15:07

CD/Double LP bonus track
5. Voidlit II 9:44

Band members
E – harsh & clean vocals
V – lead & rhythm guitars, bass
R – drums, backing vocals

Album Review – Felgrave / Otherlike Darknesses (2025)

This one-man project from Norway breaks the mould and offers three lengthy tracks that flow in an intuitive, undulating, almost whimsical manner, touching upon several styles and effortlessly shape shifting through them all.

After dropping its well-received debut album A Waning Light back in 2020, Viken, Norway-based entity Felgrave has crafted an ingenious album melding influences of Avantgarde Black, Death and Doom Metal in a way rarely done before, entitled Otherlike Darknesses, breaking the mould and offering three lengthy tracks that flow in an intuitive, undulating, almost whimsical manner, touching upon several styles and effortlessly shape shifting through them all. Mixed by the project’s mastermind, vocalist, guitarist, bassist and keyboardist M. L. Jupe, mastered by Brendan Sloan, featuring session drummer Robin Stone (Evilyn, Norse), and displaying another beautiful artwork by Adam Burke of Nightjar Illustration, Otherlike Darknesses is a multi-faceted opus and yet has a fairly cohesive sound with exceptional song writing, always engaging while also being unpredictable.

M. L. Jupe ignites his blackened machine armed with his scorching riffs and a menacing atmosphere in Winds Batter My Keep, sounding disturbing, avantgarde and addictive all at once, with the puissant drums by Robin adding an extra dosage of heaviness to the music, resulting in a sonic creature arising from the underworld ready to consume us all. After such a bludgeoning beast we face Pale Flowers Under an Empty Sky, the “shortest” song of the album (which still surpasses the 12-minute mark), beginning in a sinister manner until all morphs into an experimental, dissonant display of Black and Death Metal led by M. L. Jupe’s visceral growls and infernal riffage, also showcasing ethereal, soothing passages; building an instant bridge with the colossal title-track Otherlike Darknesses, offering us all mere mortals 18 minutes of grandiose Avantgarde Black and Death Metal. Futhermore, M. L. Jupe and Robin are on fire during the entire song, demolishing our senses and piercing our minds with their wicked vociferations, incendiary riffs and pulverizing drums, while also bringing forward so many breaks, variations and cryptic moments it feels like countless songs in one in the end.

“I’m super glad to have found a label so excited to release Otherlike Darknesses, an album of experimental, avantgarde extreme metal with many diverse influences, namely 20th century classical music, 70s symphonic prog rock, and the weirder side of 90s black and death metal. The music herein is a meticulously crafted dark yet colourful tapestry that goes far beyond anything I’ve done before, and will reward diligent and attentive enjoyers of unique extreme metal for countless repeats,” commented M. L. Jupe about his newborn spawn and his partnership with the always amazing Transcending Obscurity Records, and you can put your damned hands on such a unique album of extreme music by purchasing it from the label’s Bandcamp, main store, Europe store, or US store, keeping in mind it comes as a hand-numbered eight-panel digipak with full color printing and a metallic effect throughout, in addition to gloss raised UV lamination done on parts of the artwork, a download code and transparent logo stickers. Don’t forget to also see what M. L. Jupe and his Felgrave are up to on Facebook while listening to his new album, embarking on a multi-layered, classy and embracing journey across an array of music styles, all masterfully brought into being by a Norwegian lone wolf that definitely knowns how to turn music into a work of art.

Best moments of the album: Otherlike Darknesses.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2025 Transcending Obscurity Records

Track listing
1. Winds Batter My Keep 18:09
2. Pale Flowers Under an Empty Sky 12:29
3. Otherlike Darknesses 18:00

Band members
M. L. Jupe – vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, programming

Guest musicians
Robin Stone – drums (session)