Emotion is something that music simply cannot be without. It’s the driving force for so much of what we always consume whether it comes in the form of love, longing, loss, excitement, happiness, betrayal, or literally any other emotion that one could ever possibly experience. In metal, however, it’s the stigma that it’s always some form of anger. Obviously, that’s not always the case but that still doesn’t mean even the most jaded of metal fans don’t find stigmas within other styles with each style seems to have its own emotional connotation that many of us come to expect and experience from bands who fall into whatever given sound. When it comes to the dark realm of death-doom, bereavement and loss are two constants that the style finds itself dealing with more often than not simply because it’s so fitting. Yet, some manage to break the mold even if it’s just a little. I’m not sure what all was poured into Pilgrimage’s debut album on an emotional basis, but it certainly hits on all the right levels of one that unashamedly does.

It can be an effortless uphill battle for any band to make a debut that can be worthwhile for listeners with all sorts of challenges in the way, but it’s every now and then that we get an act that has no problem whatsoever breaking through that barrier for one reason or another. When it comes to Pilgrimage’s execution as they brought “Sigil of the Pilgrim Sun” to life, the past experience of each of the band members bore truly wondrous fruit as it’s clear right from the beginning that this isn’t some group of new musicians fumbling around searching for the right proportions of the style in order to make a sound that is both their’s and something that they can be happy with. Rather, the listener immediately gets the feeling of being under a somber, cloud-tinged night sky where the stars seem to gleam with a life of their own while the world spins around us in an endless, careless fashion as we grow, wither, and depart from all that it has to offer, and yet that’s a brief description of the wonder that’s to be found within “Sigil of the Pilgrim Sun”. This is definitely one of those exceptional works of death-doom that catch you off-guard even though, by all accounts, it strikes on all the right notes that a “typical” work of this style normally always would with everything that Pilgrimage brings to the table for this release having that larger than life feel to it that really brings this debut up to a whole other level.

It’s tempting to exalt this release with all sorts of wondrous accolades to deem it as something that rises above to really push what death-doom can be, but that simply isn’t the case and I wouldn’t change that whatsoever. There’s something special to a record that knows exactly what it wants to be sonically with the know-how to bring it to life in exquisite fashion, and that’s just the very base of what Pilgrimage managed to deliver with this phenomenal opening effort. The stones that are laid forth with “Sigil of the Pilgrim Sun” can easily be made into a glorious road to the forefront of what modern death-doom has to offer, we simply must give Pilgrimage the time to craft such a path for themselves.

LISTEN to “Sigil of the Pilgrim Sun” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Pilgrimage on Facebook here.