For all intents and purposes, the modern world of death-doom is in amazingly capable hands. Ever since the dawning of the sound, we have been treated to truly magnificent displays of grandeur, darkness, and evocative metal the likes of which you can’t quite get anywhere else in all of metal with bands veteran and fresh still able to deliver that glory in large amounts even after these decades. Every year gives us new offerings that give us a long list of reasons as to why we just keep on coming back to the sound time after time with it not always being the more experienced bands that knock our socks off. With only their second full-length album but with loads of passion and intensity to back it all up, Asphodelus has certainly put forth one hell of a performance.

While there are more than enough bands out there that bring to the table plenty of material that has a great understanding of heaviness, evocative themes, raw intensity, or some combination of the three, it is not common whatsoever to see an act come around and deliver it all in peak form without having been around for decades already. Despite being around for eleven years now, Asphodelus makes it sound as though they’ve been claiming the throne of death-doom for much longer with everything that they’ve brought to the table for “Sculpting From Time” damn near the very definition of jaw-dropping.

Eight tracks that are as gorgeous as they are magnificent in stature, Asphodelus doesn’t waste so much as a microsecond. There isn’t a single factor of “Sculpting From Time” that is lacking as Asphodelus pulls from death-doom new and classic with their material interwoven with Ancient Greek themes to add a sense of old-world majesty into a particularly vicious potion that makes as much use of the gloom born from the original vein of death-doom as the Finnish death metal influence binds it all together to make for something monolithic but a true sight of macabre beauty that you simply cannot turn away from. Pile on top of all that a tremendous sense of glory to make “Sculpting From Time” not just a record that dares to embody much of what’s come before, Asphodelus made damn sure to make it an experience you won’t easily forget. Whether it’s the riveting range of the vocals, expansive instruments that are not content in throwing down some simple riffs with an occasional solo for some semblance of flavor, the stunning atmosphere that graces the entirety of the album, or the constant march forward into the horizon beyond that keeps “Sculpting From Beyond” continuously enthralling, Asphodelus has certifiably made a creation that is more than worthy of our attention and respect many times over.

Should this record be propelled into the hearts and minds of the current death-doom scene at large or become a real gem of the underground that only the few and fortunate are able to stumble across, Asphosdelus should be extremely proud of what they’ve wrought no matter which of those become reality. There is much to pick apart within the vast reaches of “Sculpting From Beyond” with a single listen not nearly enough to see all that there is to be had within this massive creation, and those who find themselves lost in its canyons and its lore should consider themselves lucky to be drowning in such magnificence.

“Sculpting From Time” releases on August 25th via Hammerheart Records!

LISTEN to advanced tracks from “Sculpting From Time” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Asphodelus on Facebook here.