Writhing in darkness are what some bands do best. There are throngs of acts throughout the underground that are constantly striving to climb the ranks and show everyone what they can bring to the table such that they get more eyes upon their craft in some form or another, and then there are those that seem to thrive in obscurity where there are few to witness their blasphemous acts with those that do scarred for having done something that seems so immensely simple. In such chaos do we find names that can sit upon the festering floor of the underground for years and avoid contact until somebody stumbles upon a creation that simply must be talked about. With my eyes having fallen upon Ancient Tome, I now find myself in such a situation.

It’s already hard enough to find a quality work of blackened doom metal despite the undeniable potential that the style has always had, and to come across an interesting work of the sound is to come upon a body of work that holds nothing back, is precise in such a brutal craft, and truly embodies all that the darkness is. From top to bottom, Ancient Tome does that and more within the four tracks of its upcoming EP, “The Implications of Ascendency”. A twenty-seven-minute deluge of intensity and bleak nihilism that extends even further beyond its tendencies of black and doom metal to make for a viciously dynamic sound that is always eager to share with the listener so that they become lost in blind madness, this EP dredges upon themes which have always burdened the human soul from loss, despair, and existentialism in such a raw form that this raw metal leaves nothing to chance nor does it offer any sense of reprieve for those who find themselves before such a consuming darkness. Able to throw down riffs but oftentimes opts for a much more primal approach that has a surprising amount of nuance to call its own, “The Implications of Ascendency” has much to boast across its seemingly scant track list with its immeasurable depth coming to life in horrific fashion to make this well-defined approach by Ancient Tome feel as engaging as it is mesmerizing for all that sights that it holds within its many layers of menace that never cease to terrify and fascinate.

Having been a name that only the most devout acolytes of the underground have been able to witness before now, it’s with everything that they’ve acquired beforehand that Ancient Tome becomes a real force of malice with everything that they’ve summoned forth within their third offering. Nothing short of a demented experience that is meant more to deprive you of the will to live rather than giving you any proper sense of catharsis, it’s the slow burn and unyielding darkness that binds “The Implications of Ascendency” into a single package that is nigh on caustic to the touch.

“The Implications of Ascendency” releases on January 20th via Chaos Records!

LISTEN to an advanced track from “The Implications of Ascendency” on Bandcamp here, or via YouTube below.

FOLLOW Ancient Tome on Instagram here.