Give Stygian a first listen because of the musicians involved in Atramentus. Stay hooked by the music itself. The three tracks of this 45-minute album give the impression of being sucked into the bowels of the Earth, so dark, heavy, and implacable in their typical funeral-doom crawl they are.
Before going further, it’s worth coming back to the Longueuil, QC quintet created in 2012 by guitarist and singer Philippe Tougas (Chthe’ilist, Eternity’s End, and First-Fragment, among others). He composed the songs for Stygian in 2012-2013, then guitarist Claude Leduc (Chthe’ilist, Sutrah), keyboardist François Bilodeau, bassist Antoine Daigneault (Chthe’ilist, Serocs), and drummer Xavier Berthiaume (Gevurah, Akitsa) added their colours as they arrived in Atramentus. The combination of their influences and musical backgrounds is reflected in the band’s style, and is a good indicator of the quality of the product. Add to this the story told by the music and lyrics – on a parallel Earth devastated by the death of the sun, the only survivor of the disaster wanders through the ruins, thinking back to his past life. The concept translates into a gloomy atmosphere, and the incandescent sloth of melodies imbued with sinister black-metal influences.
