Danish deathmongers Phrenelith have unleashed a monstrous slab of death metal with Ashen Womb, an album that immediately engulfs the listener in its suffocating atmosphere. From the opening moments, Phrenelith‘s dense, unrelenting sound conjures the spirit of Immolation, bombarding my senses with a massive wall of sound. Unlike many modern death metal acts that polish their recordings to clinical sterility, Phrenelith embrace a slight rawness that adds to their brutal edge. The result feels immediate and organic, yet still meticulously crafted.
Riffs twist and coil through the murk, chiseled into Ashen Womb’s heavy barrage with intricate precision. Phrenelith strike a balance between the overwhelming and the dynamic, ensuring that their songwriting never devolves into a monotonous blur. Each track, while adhering to an overarching atmosphere of dread and desolation, carves out its own unique path. The songs build on one another, escalating in intensity until reaching a final, crushing climax. Compared to its predecessor Chimaera, Ashen Womb takes a more direct approach, cutting through with a force that feels immediate yet still labyrinthine. Though the tracks might seem similar at first glance due to the album’s dense production, careful listening reveals distinct structures within each composition. Phrenelith manage to shape their sound into something gripping rather than monotonous—avoiding the pitfall that plagues many bands attempting the “wall of sound” approach. Instead of a shapeless mass, Ashen Womb presents a suffocating yet immersive experience, dragging the listener deeper with every passage.
The vocal performance also fits the oppressive atmosphere perfectly. Gutturals rumble with just the right amount of phlegm, adding a primal edge without overpowering the instruments. Even the interlude, a thing I usually hate with a fiery passion, serves a purpose here, enhancing the barren and desolate endlandscape the music evokes. With no visible weak spots, Ashen Womb stands as a testament to Phrenelith’s ability to balance atmosphere with engaging songwriting. Every element contributes to the overarching experience, ensuring the album remains gripping from start to finish. While some bands falter in their attempts to create such an oppressive sonic experience, Phrenelith masters it. Ashen Womb leaves me battered yet enthralled by the sheer weight of its execution — an album that demands attention and rewards those willing to be dragged into its abyss.
