Apotelesma – Timewrought Kings

Band – Apotelesma

Album – Timewrought Kings

Country of Origin – The Netherlands

Genre – Doom

Release Date – October 27th, 2017

Label – Solitude Productions

Author – The Great Mackintosh

Doom metal. It’s one of those things that you either get into, or you just don’t. I myself can at times love it and equally loathe it. Sometimes you just want to have a listen to something a little faster paced, or you are a bit down and it can only help to take you further down the tunnel of darkness in your mind.

The other thing that bugs me is that most doom bands leave me with little room to be ridiculous, because it is very serious stuff. Suddenly the urge to be a clown leaves me like the urge to slap the shit out of my fellow human beings when they are being arseholes when I hear it.

When it is done well, and you are up for it, doom as a genre can be almost art. Those that do it well are obviously thinkers and also require the ability to be able to project their feelings of what must be utter misery towards the listener. This band has that down pat.

Apotelesma combine all of the traits of a successful doom band. The ability to make you feel what they must have had to feel whilst writing this epic. Mitch is on duty as your inner feelings of utter helplessness and despair on vocals. Ruben on guitar with fellow string depressor Yuri (who also adds to the misery with backing vocals) produce at one moment utter beauty and the next soul crushing riffs.

The heart pumping blood into this machine of moroseness is fed by the aptly named Dennis on bass (Dennis is such a foreboding name, is it not ha-ha) and Martijn on the drums, but all jokes aside this is a beautiful album. Powerful and moving, food for the soul. Every player in this piece adding their own brush stroke to a picture of sorrow.

Great stuff. The opening to the final song ‘Remnants’ is the perfect picture of a man in two states of mind, none of which appear to be good. Highly recommended for those of a darker nature.

Recommendation: Our doom is already written in the cards, prepare thyself

Rating: 4/5