Ambition is a hell of a thing. It’s what drives practically every artist to push themselves to their best possible forms and what keeps them coming back time and again in a constant effort to better themselves, hone their craft, and provide experiences that cannot be found elsewhere. While there are throngs upon throngs of names out there that try their best to do so, there are but a few that manage to truly challenge themselves in such a way that immediately stands out from the exceedingly dense crowd. It takes guts and daring to bring it to life but also focus and no small measure of talented vision. That’s what separates the hopeful from the masters, and what puts Doubtsower apart from much of its contemporaries. Having already proved itself in its own dark corner of the underground, it’s with this new effort that Doubtsower sought something far more menacing, and it was found.

I don’t know if I would go as far to say that this year has been a standout year for the likes of anything in the ways of blackened doom metal, but it has certainly been an eventful one thanks to the likes of Mizmor, Lightless, and Hell twice over that the genre has been given plenty of representation and quality as the march of time progressed. It’s not terribly often that this sound is given the proper time and presence in order to really explore what it can become, but it was in those three acts that I felt the sound had more than enough to boast about. However, as is the case with many things, there were moves being made in the underground unbeknownst to me. Doubtsower is more than worthy of being called one of the more interesting acts in the particularly extreme corners of doom. It was already last year with its third album, “Nothing Reduced to Everything”, that Doubtsower saw great forward strides in its craftsmanship and quality when it comes to all that it brings to the table.

I figured it would be at least another year before hearing from the one-man act again. Yet, Doubtsower refused to sit still. In hardly any time whatsoever, Doubtsower has not only created its follow-up, but made an achievement the likes of which is an undeniable win for the entire genre: “The Past Melts Away with a Sneer”.

Out of the gate, it’s clear from just looking at this album that Doubtsower tapped into something particularly special. A single continuous creation that stretches to nearly fifty minutes across one expansive track, it’s with the whole of “The Past Melts Away with a Sneer” that we see Doubtsower go to lengths that we seldom get to witness in the world of doom. Only the finest and most accomplished names are able to tackle something of this caliber and it’s the elite amongst those that can only make this sort of creation work. Suffocating and undeniably voracious from beginning to end, “The Past Melts Away with a Sneer” is a singularly surreal experience that sees the very fabric of reality peel back to reveal a cold nothingness that is truly all-consuming. An experimental creation that sees the incorporation of many different styles that all swirl around an undeniable core of blackened doom metal that takes the listener far into the void which Doubtsower holds complete dominion over, there’s no relent throughout the entirety of this piece unless it’s to only further the depths of madness that are summoned and commanded without mercy. Light itself cannot escape such dark power. Take the hand of Doubtsower, and allow the raw power of “The Past Melts Away with a Sneer” to wash over you, remove you from this cyclical existence, and become one with an eternity of nothingness.

Doubtsower has truly outdone itself with this creation. At any given moment, this creation could have fallen apart due to its many given aspects that are constantly swirling and vying for control, yet it’s through complete mastery over its sound and with such nuance that can only be considered meticulous, “The Past Melts Away with a Sneer” is nothing short of a spectacle in virtually every sense. Whatever is to come next, the shadow cast by “The Past Melts Away with a Sneer” is something that will follow Doubtsower even after its ending. Doubtsower should be exceedingly proud of what’s been accomplished here, for it’s a feat of strength and artistry the likes of which we very rarely get to experience.

“The Past Melts Away with a Sneer” releases on November 28th!

LISTEN to Doubtsower on Bandcamp here.

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