Thronehammer’s vocalist Kat Shevil Gillham sings and drums on the debut EP, from UK’s Enshroudment.  I’m really an old school doom death fan. I do enjoy new bands in this genre but bands like Morgion, Anathema, Paradise Lost, Dream Death– all their earliest releases, as well as My Dying Bride, all hold a special place in my heart.

This 3 song 21 minute ep brings back that glory as the title track begins with what can best be described as an homage to Winter.  Slow plodding drums with Kat belting out some pretty clear growls. The music is depressive and heavy.   The first ep and debut album from Anathema definitely are monstrous influences. Emotive and atmospheric melodies.  The pained and anguished vocals at the two-minute mark are jarring and unforgettable. The middle part actually has a guitar solo and it’s pretty ethereal. After that part the bludgeoned doom death comes to the front a little more as it reeks of funeral doom.  Plodding and hopeless and if you need a new doom death band to crank on a rainy day, choose Enshroudment.

“Choirs of the Forlorn” starts with Kat belting out a monster growl and her slow plodding drums go from slow to slower.  Vintage Winter and Anathema. I imagine myself sitting in a graveyard drinking blood red wine, toasting all the dearly departed souls as the weeping willow trees sag and sway from the breezy rain and my body from head to toe is drenched and I’m shivering. But I’m not unhappy because this music has a tendency to make me appreciate life and the departed.  Beautiful guitar melodies and more anguished vocals are crafted in that vintage English doom death metal flair.

This finely written ep ends with “A Windswept Demise”.  Kat belting out an opening growl – permeated in anguish and despair.  The guitars are heavy with so much atmosphere it’s impossible not to feel the hopeless nature of the rhythm section. Midway through the song an epic atmospheric softer moment erupts and then gives way to a scream/ growl and back into the plodding funeral doom with some spoken vocals in the background before the growls come back.  A variety of vocal tones end the song and made quite an impression on this writer.  Tones ranging from growls, Kat’s softer vocal tones and almost reminding me of some choral chants.

Enshroudment’s As the Light is Extinguished ep is a beautiful walk down late 80’s/early 90’s doom death metal. Throw in funeral doom moments and you have the creation of one helluva ep. The band logo is perfect with the noose as well as the cover of death welcoming you to your afterlife journey. I would have liked just a little more bottom- end to the production to create a fuller sound; however, that in no way detracts from the quality of this ep.  The ep has a great mix and all instruments sound brilliant.  Killer doom death done the right way. No frills, no happy moments- just plodding depressive and emotive heaviness to create more blackened hearts worldwide. Awesome!

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