Another year, another new Esoctrilihum album. At this point, it could be considered an annual occurrence, since Asthâghul, the only person behind this project, has released an album every year since 2017, sometimes pumping out two a year. We’ve covered a couple Esoctrilihum records here at The Goat Review, to varying degrees of success. Both weren’t without their serious complaints though, with Funeral being too long but at least having marginally interesting songwriting, and Astraal Constellations of the Majickal Zodiac being too long and lacking interesting songwriting. I’ve made it a personal mission to listen to everything Asthâghul has released under the Esoctrilihum moniker, because he’s made some pretty compelling psychedelic black metal records earlier on in his career, but it seems the focus has shifted away from that in the latest batch of standalone singles after Astraal. This left me rather concerned that Döth-Derniàlh would be another jump away from the roots of this project, and sadly, those fears have been realized.
What Döth-Derniàlh lacks in alien psychedelia, it makes up for in synths and exotic sounding instruments: a nyckelharpa and a twelve string guitar. This set of tools may not seem like much, but when your album is 77 minutes and crammed full of ideas, theoretically anything can work. There are some nice moments on Döth-Derniàlh where I can see a glimmer of greatness, even: a folk section that evokes feelings of melancholy (“Atüs Liberüs (Black Realms of Prisymiush’tarlh)”), epic intro sections (“Turiälh (The Gloomy Wheel of Confusion)”), tortured lead sections (“Murzaithas (Celestial Voices)”), and some of the best vocals Asthâghul has delivered, creating a DSBM-esque sound (“Özhirialh (The Mystical Radiance of the Eternal Path)”). Unfortunately, none of these positive bits can outweigh the negatives here. First, this album is still too damn long. It’s thankfully not insultingly long, but a 77 minute record needs to fill that time with interesting songwriting, or as is the case with Döth-Derniàlh, it’s going to be a mostly bloated album composed of a lot of meandering sections that are there for padding rather than substance. The stop-start songwriting is back, too, and it’s as jarring as ever, making section transitions feel awkward rather than deliberate. Asthâghul’s vocals seem to be getting worse, with some awkward vocal moments that break up the reverie of the song akin to letting out a fart in a crowded elevator. Production has also suffered, with the guitar being mostly buried under everything else.
I really want to like a new Esoctrilihum release whenever one comes out. Asthâghul has made some truly great albums before, and I know he can do it again — he just needs to focus more on what made those earlier records great in the first place: that alien psychedelia evoking visions of channeling some unknowable cosmic horror and transcribing those visitations. I’m going to keep hoping that the next Esoctrilihum album will be what I want from this project, no matter how foolish that may be, because that potential is there, but this one just ain’t it.
