In all of its many different forms, doom metal is one thing above all else: uncompromising. We’ve seen the sound stretched into so many different forms to become a beast unto itself with incredibly few other styles within the vast realms of metal able to come even close to the influence, power, and evocative nature that can be had within any given work of the sound. Even today, we see bands come around that are able to bring only further excellence to the sound even after everything that has been accomplished in its history. Mourning Dawn has been a player in the game that is not to be underestimated for several years now, and it’s with the arrival of its fifth full-length album that the reputation of the French masters is only cemented even more so.

Whether you want to admit it or not, it feels as though excellence is always lurking around the corner when it comes to doom at any given time. The sheer density and diversity of the style allows many to come into their own while continuing to hold up the pillars that have always made the likes of death-doom a graveyard of emotions and a virtually perfect vessel for all sorts of intensity. Yet, despite holding many of the same tendencies and potential for greatness, blackened doom isn’t given the same reputation or credit that it deserves. Mourning Dawn has always capitalized on that very potential and it’s with “The Foam of Despair” that we see that taken to tremendous lengths yet again with enough flair, passion, and gravitas to catch the interest of even the mildest fan of blackened doom metal. A roiling experience of existential suffering and the collapse of one’s very spirit into a void from which no light spawns from, this is a record that Mourning Dawn should be extremely proud of for all that it pulls off in an exemplary fashion. The raw emotions and constant self-reflection make “The Foam of Despair” particularly raw with the blackened doom in tremendous form the likes of which we haven’t seen in too many acts lately. However, it’s in that time that Mourning Dawn has been honing their craft to truly become something deadly and not to be underestimated lest they harvest the very light of your soul, and “The Foam of Despair” is a damn near immaculate representation of that rise in dominance.

Not nearly enough does the world of blackened doom metal get the justice that it deserves, and it’s thanks to bands like Mourning Dawn that we’re able to see what happens when truly suffering, madness, and despair come together to make for some of the darkest and most compelling forms of extreme metal that one can witness. Seven tracks across a forty-six-minute runtime that goes all-in and shows us just how far Mourning Dawn has come, “The Foam of Despair” is an immense dirge that is something that demands you to surrender your very self in order to come close to the plane which Mourning Dawn operates on.

LISTEN to “The Foam of Despair” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Mourning Dawn on Facebook here.