Doom isn’t for everyone. Nor is Doom that includes copious amount of chamber-influenced violin, rough ‘n’ tumble Blackened sprints, and sadperson, melodic crooning. But that’s exactly the overflowing platter of existential exploration that Oregon’s Exulansis deliver with Overtures of Uprising. Since 2019’s largely unheralded Sequestered Sympathy, Exulansis have decided to isolate their Atmospheric Folk energy to a partner album Hymns of Collapse. Can their more concentrated extreme leanings shout as valiantly as their previously intertwined front?
Exulansis excel when powerful lead melodies collide and weave about the textured landscape they create. Each of the four creations that encompass Overtures makes its presence known with either a resonating boom (“Of Nature & Hatred”, “Dawning,”) or a minstrel lilt (“Overtures of Uprising”, “A Movement in Silence”). Particularly on the back half, which sees Exulansis ripping through a bleeding heart Melodic Black Metal banger (“A Movement…” and a weepy Pallbearer-tinged mammoth (“Dawning”), violinist/sometimes vocalist Andrea Morgan plays an important role in guiding with murk-cutting string leads. Mixing a violin well in Metal presents some challenges though—many groups I’ve heard (SubRosa, Anareta to name a couple), lose something in the process of making those frequencies upfront and audible against the all the mid-scraping elements of a traditional setup. Overtures loses clarity primarily in its twangy tremolo guitar passages on aggressive numbers “Of Nature…” and “Overtures,” which hurts more on the latter track as its long run oscillating between pummel and pause becomes hard to follow. The bass rumble too has an issue with its full growl being known in those same moments, but when the Doom attitude drops the tempo to somber, its clang is thumping and mighty.
Nevertheless, Overtures in its brief run of thirty-two minutes offers plenty to enjoy. Perhaps not enough? Regardless, emotion pours through its highest points (“A Movement…”, “Dawning”) in a way that Exulansis hadn’t quite moved me before. Much like labelmates Panopticon, their previous blend of Folk into an extreme space proved too much a challenge for my full enjoyment. However, stripped down to this lashing and idiosyncratic Black Metal identity, I’m hopeful for the change that this Uprising brings.
