Tonally attuned to the peril of drowning while espousing the glory of their view of the sun from beneath the waves Oslo, Norway-based funeral death/doom metal quintet GLOOMBOUND achieve both the beauteous and beastly on this impressive debut full-length album. Commanding a fairly broad oeuvre here after just a few years in collaboration these fellowes manage some impressive maturity and variety of forms on ‘Dreaming Delusion‘ as they’re found stepping larger within far more detailed, emotionally resonant headspace. Though they’ve refined and expanded their capabilities and expressivity in the years since their demo tape these folks’ve not scraped away from the guile and ardor of the underground, making for inspired funereal ideation in unregulated motion.

Gloombound formed as a quartet circa 2022 quickly recording a demo tape (‘Astral Exhalation‘, 2023) that’d released early the next year. The style found on that first demo landed nearby the funeral death/doom metal trenches of earlier Ahab as well as Finnish funeral doom (Colosseum, Profetus, etc.) with a spacious yet walking-paced render given to simpler, patient compositions highlighted by Hammond-esque organ as key feature (esp. “Pulled Toward Sepulchre Slumber”). If you’re only just finding out about ‘Dreaming Delusion‘ today and didn’t already pick up a digital copy on Bandcamp back in July the Gruesome Records version I’m referring to today includes that demo tape as bonus content, stretching the experience to over a full hour.

For ‘Dreaming Delusion‘ Gloombound‘ve expanded to a quintet and taken on much busier action as they push more gothic death/doom metal into their funereal expanse while incorporating pronounced fretless bass guitar and spoken word into opener “At the Precipice to Longinquity”. You should get at least the scent of Dream Unending in their modus from that point but with a closer listen and some appreciation for their ideation of classic funeral doom on this record you’ll have to concede that similarity is somewhat skin-deep outside of a few rhythmic flourishes. While the opener makes good on expanding what their demo promised in terms of psychedelia-tinged vision of funeral death/doom I don’t know that they come close to a real one-two punch in the gut and neck ’til standout “An Eternity of Complete Acquiescence” hits, it being their biggest Disembowelment styled freakout unto grinding death/doom movement. The unravel beyond that point is probably the major peak of the full listen for my own taste. While I know most bands in this style move away from death metal quickly these folks kinda nuked the waters with that moment and left me wanting more.

On the second half of the LP “Luminary Dissolution” drops right into a cavernous death metal plod, pinch harmonic-tipped riffs and all, before finding its footing in the spongey and irregular step of the song’s main rhythms. This’ll be a big highlight for folks who’re fans of albums like ‘Antithesis of Light‘ and newer Spectral Voice as it finds a way to sew together rotten underground death metal physicality with the caverne of funeral doom. This would be cool enough on its own as a stylized piece but there are flourishes and movements here, often directed by the bass guitar arrangement, which helped to stamp Gloombound‘s name in skull after a number of spins; Otherwise if you are looking for an expansion of the organ-fed gloom of ‘Astral Exhalation‘ you’ll find closer/title track “Dreaming Delusion” carries on with similarly slow-burning cathedralesque glowering though clean vocals and wandering piano fills build toward grandeur rather than ruination, eventually reaching for a Shape of Despair-level finale which is nigh orchestral within its various peaking moments on end.

‘Dreaming Delusion‘ is a typical debut full-length from the sub-genre rich realm of underground extreme metal in the sense that it is an artist-idealized container for ambitious ouevre (and style) more than it is a showcase of songwriting. With that said it isn’t such an imperfect vessel for their craft which is remarkably neat in its arrange, expressive beyond their years, showcasing some ingenuity in packing versatility into what is an infamously unkempt and trope heavy sub-genre. Though I am the sort of funeral doom fan who insists it is an anti-musical exaggeration by design, a sieve for ungainly emotion not meant to be refined into accessibility, I do believe Gloombound have managed something approachable, connective enough in its dramatism that it should impress even the most hard-nosed grime seekers. A high recommendation.

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