Over the last year roughly I’ve been on a loose search for the best of what funeral doom has to offer nowadays. But the problem is… I don’t know where to fucking start. Sure, I’ve heard and fallen in love with Bell Witch, but where now? Aeonian Sorrow didn’t seem like an act that would help me in my search other than giving me another taste of the style, but their debut album is a great entrance to the genre while remaining progressive in its own ways.

Easily, one of the things that drew me towards doom, in general, was how long the songs can be. Bands like Zaum, Bell Witch, and Towards Atlantis Lights bring the art of prolonging the riff to glorious heights, and that’s what I’ve kind of looked for in funeral doom outside ridiculous heaviness. While Aeonian Sorrow undoubtedly has got the heaviness in spades, their debut album of “Into the Eternity A Moment We Are” isn’t incredibly long when you take individual tracks as the longest is just over 9 1/2 minutes long. But, only one track goes below seven minutes and there are eight tracks in total so Aeonian Sorrow made up with quantity as well as quality, thankfully. “Into the Eternity” has plenty of flavor and variety in the whole length of its hour’s worth of material, and with multiple sets of vocals from a deep, murderous growl to a soaring, beautiful singing that both provide great contrast, strings that bring doom about the entire world itself, and a constant change in sound that keeps everything fresh and interesting for anyone immersing deep within what Aeonian Sorrow has crafted here. And in no small way, what Aeonian Sorrow has crafted here can only be considered a smashing success as by the end you’ll be left wanting more.

Debuts really do tend to be hit or miss since it’s typically a band’s first excursion as a unit, but Aeonian Sorrow makes it seem like they’ve been doing it for decades. “Into the Eternity” is a very important step for me in order to get deeper into the realm of funeral doom, and I can only say that I enjoyed this record thoroughly and it only makes me more excited for what the rest of the style can produce.

LISTEN to “Into the Eternity A Moment We Are” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Aeonian Sorrow on Facebook here.