Voluminous on their exhale yet wretched, heaving inward with ominous brutality on this wizened debut full-length Birmingham, Alabama-based death/doom metal quartet Seraphic Entombment manage an impressive first showing, a clever grip upon traditional forms which lingers throughout the extensive dread they’ve outlined for us upon introduction. For the veteran death metal mind awhirl with observational aptitude ‘Sickness Particles Gleam‘ will initially appear familiar in terms of its inspiration and general pieces puzzled into formation yet their first longplayer manages to escape the nonplussed register of generica by way of inventive riffcraft and impressive audiovisual curation. Thought it is the product of sub-genre niche specific fandom extending into participation via a side-project shard there’ll be enough mastery on display here to capture and hold the interest of those hungering for eerie gloom, jogging riffcraft and some proper idiosyncratic vocal work.

Seraphic Entombment formed circa 2017 as a side project from current members of Ectovoid, Exaugurate, and Hegemony with clear enough intent in creation of their own hybridization of traditional United States death metal style with extreme doom metal inspired rhythms and pacing. Their style is exaggerative in terms of its atmospheric values but its arrangements are key to creating this sensation rather than relying on pure sound design/modulation. Consider ‘Mental Funeral‘ the general basal form but early 2010’s esque primals Disma and Cruciamentum who’d placed an emphasis on Eldritch Finndeath and ‘Onward to Golgotha‘ as equally important generational extension on the form, this means heavily downtuned distorted layers of rhythm guitar given three dimensional run of a broadly reverberating space. Their rehearsal space provided this setting for their first demo/rehearsal tape ‘Quelled‘ back in 2019, a two song ~18 minute showcase of two key songs which are prominently featured on their debut LP. While the overdubbed vocals were expressive and wild on that tape that’d be the one part of their sound which doesn’t translate to the real deal, otherwise the general shape of each piece, including stomped-in opener “Vault of Vision”, had been about eighty percent hammered out in terms of composition and already indicative of their tendency to write in 8-10 minute longer form pieces.

Vocalist/drummer C.M. doesn’t go full Chainsaw Massacre‘d howl a la Kyle from Obscene on this record but his vocals do whistle through the death pipes in a similar way, more of a bestial wheeze through the teeth which rolls over some of its enunciation for the sake of transmitting a maniacal, mean sort of presence from within their cavern. If we cut specifically right to the gut-ripping middle of the album and compare past and present entrails “Carried by Claws” emphasizes not only how they’ve shopped and refined those demo pieces in terms of tightening up their action but also the cadence of the vocals matching the percussive turns taken, also the (first of many) zombie moan around ~3:50 minutes into the piece is perfectly placed as a surprising bit that had me looking over my shoulder for a second, clearly immersed at that halfway point in the album. That song likewise places some emphasis on the jogging n’ chugging side of the band which keeps it mid-paced nowadays death metal in terms of simpler hardcorish walks taken for a few minutes a time in order to present readable guitar progressions. I could always use more clever detail in a moment like this, a band like Krypts always finds a way to make every movement count/matter, but they’ve more or less used the transition to build up a dirge and fade out.

That isn’t to say that clever mid-paced death metal riffs aren’t in their gear bag, “Writhing Lungs” is a fine example of trading well between chunkier ‘old school’ zombified twists of phrase and tremolo-picked bow legged riffcraft. Of course I know the folks from Ectovoid can riff all damn day, the kind of musicians who started out playing (real) death/thrash in the mid-2000’s tend to only improve in terms of detail or stringing together longer threads of riff, but I think the challenge here is standing out. The funereal turns taken in the second half of the piece help but for my own taste the album has said all that it really needed to in its first three pieces; Opener “Vault of Vision” does technically mosh in like an old hardcore record for a couple minutes but most of its twelve minute length is wheeling through several stages of introduction, officially kicking into gear just past the seven and a half minute mark. Since they’d built up such momentum the doom they deliver does feel like an effective payoff moment, especially as the first few riffs poke out from within the gloom and a melodic lead run rears its head. If you’re hitting the crowd with that one song for a half hour set job’s already half done and Seraphic Entombment‘s sound/style is well represented. “Angel’s Entrail” is the killer, the one that truly impressed on the full listen and the piece to crack into the depths with its gloomy funeral doom progression always looming around every bend and the unique approach to vocals which helps those moments reach their peak intensity beyond the norm.

The way those first two pieces merge with “Carried by Claws” ultimately feels like the best of what ‘Sickness Particles Gleam‘ has to offer. I reached a circa 2011 level tremolo-picked riff fatigue before the lengthy closer could fully hit me with its rancid steam but without question Seraphic Entombment have been consistent with their shaping of this debut album and the three songs beyond what’d been presented a handful of years ago on their first tape. The high standard promised by that early material is generally delivered herein though I’d gone in expecting more substantive doom influence upon the album beyond pacing, leaving the experience strong in its immersive qualities but lacking in strong contrast of texture and forms beyond a few experting moments. This nonetheless makes for an above average listening experience where the blustering depths of the recording/sound design and their pro-level arrange are likely to be a somewhat familiar but easy hit with folks who enjoy a certain shade of atmospheric death metal and death/doom. A high recommendation.

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