Fresh exposure of the mysteries and sinister methodologies from behind the funeral veil of death’s decaying face manifest three doorways to doom on this latest mLP from Québécois death metal quartet SEDIMENTUM. Growling from the abyss-mouth into the outstretched ear with deafening gravitational hurl ‘Derrière les Portes d’une Arcane Transcendante‘ finds the band at this most patient, profoundly stated apex where the taut and bizarro density of their craft now loosens into experting strands of riff-and-rhythm intensive ‘old school’ death and doom-toned muse. Armed with a new logo and easily their most memorable trio of songs to date this is an essential late year reminder that these folks still have leagues more potential to unfold from their crypt and realize just yet.

Sedimentum formed circa 2018 via (then) bassist/vocalist (now) drummer/vocalist Math Lépine (Rope, Nath) and guitarist/vocalist A. E. (Décryptal) alongside members of Saccage and Outre-Tombe with some specific focus on atmospheric ‘old school’ inspired death metal with strong death/doom metal influences. This’d caught many ears pretty quick with their first demo tape (‘Demo‘, 2019) a dark and pure underground release that’d built expectations for noisome and bounding movement co-signed with a brutal type of death and doom infused rush. The next few years would refine that sound, producing something more clearly inspired by the grooves of early Tomb Mold and the atmosphere of Phrenelith and Disma in the form of a debut LP (‘Suppuration Morphog​é​n​é​siaque‘, 2022). While that record had been well-received, I’d given it a very high rating and placed it on my Top 100 list for that year, you didn’t see many folks digging all that deep into its intricate and eerie designs and it still appears underrated from my point of view.

For ‘Derrière les Portes d’une Arcane Transcendante‘ I believe they’ve onboarded a new lead guitarist (A.G.B. from Trépas) and now find themselves leaning into the ghastly atmospheric death-doom metal realms that’d afflicted each of their previous releases in some sense. The sound design posited on their demo tape and the gnarled riffcraft of their debut LP translate to a headspace where Finndeath-doom classics and Incantation-esque motion sickness meet up off-center as we find Sedimentum‘s intent reaching for even more surrealistic climes via funeral death/doom adjacent sounds. With shades of Esoteric and Evoken working their tendrils into the reach of these three songs this funereal step is probably most profound in its widest lingering movement per closer “Inhumation Céleste (Au Carillon Mordoré)” but most recognizable on opener “Vilénie” which feels as if it were pulled from the sessions for ‘Antithesis of Light‘ thanks to its main riff, the use of synth and ominous noise-scapes to build tension around the and struggled-at pacing of the song otherwise.

Guitar feedback, guttural roars in descending lilt, and tremolo-picked riffs grinding slow in their mounting pressure all create a foreboding chasm of doomed atmosphere which persists as key collective voice of Sedimentum‘s efforts herein, an obliterative heaviness knotted and noosed along its treacherous path of morbid skeletal death metal forms in patient plodding motion. This comes in strong contrast to the busy, densely set friction of their debut LP, an album which had its own Demilich-ian currency of weirding steps and erratic muse, and instead we find a meandering yet momentum built station here in these ~21 minutes that begins to feel like a weightier directive. In fact “Inhumation Céleste (Au Carillon Mordoré)” manages to combine the odd-stepping riff with dissociative tonality as we step into the ~3:55 minute mark on the song. Dread is the core emotive quality here beyond the surrealistic funeral doom metal atmosphere suggested yet at no point do these folks put down the riff and lose the plot of any of these ~7 minute songs.

Whether this is an exploration or a freshened directive Sedimentum have released three of their best, or, easiest to read and revel within pieces to date which should be beyond appealing to the death/doom metal fan who particularly enjoys the atmospheric possibilities brought on by funeral doom metal inspiration. There is such palpably dark impact felt here that it resembles a leap into another level of notoriety for my own taste and, sure, keep in mind I already felt like this band’s 2022 debut album was far, far above-average. Though it is short I’d choose to see ‘Derrière les Portes d’une Arcane Transcendante‘ as an imposing arrival which bodes well for whatever these folks do next. A very high recommendation.

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