Officium Triste, Marche Funebre, Wooden Veins und Mourners Lament
15.11.2025 Berlin / ORWOHaus

#Berlin #ORWOHaus #OfficiumTriste #SteelFeed

Record(s) o’ the Month – April 2025

By Angry Metal Guy

“April is the cruellest month,” wrote T.S. Eliot in a poem that no one quoting it has ever finished reading.1 And while Eliot was quite metal in his exquisite, existential despair about WWI or whatever, he never understood true existential dread. I speak, of course, of the dread of being force-fed twenty-five promising albums, half of which are drenched in so much reverb that you feel like you’re swimming, only to realize that you didn’t even review the Record o’ the Month yourself. Regardless, this April continued to be cruel. But this cruelty came bearing bloodied knuckles and a furrowed (and noticably pronounced) brow. Dormant Ordeal took that energy and weaponized it.

It’s not every month that a death metal album crawls out of the woodwork and shatters the Score Safety Counter like a warhammer through a piñata, but Dormant Ordeal—whose new record Tooth and Nail dropped April 18th, 2025, from Willowtip Records [Bandcamp]—did exactly that. Tooth and Nail is a masterclass in (blackened) death metal—”the classic Polish death metal sound”—done right. It’s taut, unreleating, melodic when it counts, and angrier than Angry Metal Guy when reminded of the existence of Disqus. This record hits a sweet spot inside of me best described as the “oh yeah, that’s how death metal is done” spot. The riffs flow, and my brain just opens up the spigots, releasing a veritable tsunami of dopamine. Every riff that cuts, every transition that seethes, and every recognition of the slick, skilled ways that these guys construct songs, I get a nice big kick of that Happy Chemical. Tooth and Nail is dynamic, punishing, aggressive, and better yet, it’s smart. Dormant Ordeal is like a boxer who knows exactly when to drop his guard and knock you out.2 Our very own Tyme was so excited he penned an overwrought review of Angry Metal Guyan proportions. In one of his more uncontainable moments of verbal climax, he ejaculated: “Tooth and Nail represents the absolute best of what Dormant Ordeal can be.” The rest of us wiped down the walls and nodded in agreement. And I, being an instantiation of the will of the staff through my very existence, elected it to be Record o’ the Month.

Runner(s) Up:

Structure // Heritage [April 25th, 2025 | Ardua Music | Bandcamp] — “Solo” doom project Structure did a thing that I never thought possible. It made Steel Druhm feel about a Dutch doom metal project like I felt about The 11th Hour. Oh, also, it crushed our collective will to live in the most painful way possible. A labor of love from Bram Bijlhout of Officium Triste, Heritage is crushing, exquisite, and dramatic in all the right ways. Pim Blankenstein’s vocal contributions take this funeral doom lament to operatic heights. Steel Druhm, while shotgunning his seventh doppelbock, enthusiastically spilled his beer all over the bar while trying to emphasize for everyone slightly louder than necessary that Structure has written “a monumental doom epic that caves in your chest with its raw power and brings a tear to the most jaded eye with its heartwrenching beauty!” He even gave it a 4.5, which is 5.0 in Steel Druhmese. And if none of that convinces you, I, too, concede that this is a great record and I suspect it’s going to be quite present during Listurnalia.

Messa // The Spin [April 11th, 2025 | Metal Blade Records | Bandcamp] — The reason I started doing three, or sometimes four, releases for Record(s) o’ the Month was because there were times when it was just impossible to choose. This month is actually kind of cruel in that all three of these could have been Record o’ the Month without question. Italian doom-jazz mystics Messa put up a good fight with their most seductive release yet. The Spin sheds the sprawl of Close in favor of tighter, moodier bangers. For my part, this is as good as I think they’ve ever sounded. Sharky Shark Boy was right when he said that “Sara’s smouldering, siren-like vocals have hit a whole new level,” lending the compositions a power I don’t remember Messa having. The Spin is doom with eyeliner and a degree in art history—classy, smokey, and ready to crush you with riffs and moody quotes from a Frenchman. While Messa has always had some appeal, there’s something about The Spin that works differently. It’s not like they’re a new band with a new sound, but instead, to quote Sharky Shark Boy, “Rather like using a velvetizer to make your hot chocolate. It’s still hot chocolate. But it’s thicker, richer, and, well, velvet-ier.” Yeah, I think that analogy pretty much says it all. No? Fine, The Dolphin Half of the Aquatic Duo chirped and bobbed overexcitedly: “Music this powerful stands ready to inspire binge listening, tone envy, and, with any luck, another generation hopelessly addicted to six strings screaming at unadvisable volumes.” And that seems like the final word on the matter.

#2025 #Apr25 #DormantOrdeal #Heritage #Messa #OfficiumTriste #RecordSOTheMonth #RecordsOfTheMonth #Structure #The11thHour #TheSpin #ToothAndNail

Structure – Heritage Review

By Steel Druhm

Just when I thought I’d make it to May without awarding the coveted Steel ov Approval, an unheralded project erupts from the Netherlands and forces my unwilling hand. Structure is the labor of love of Bram Bijlhout, who served seven years as a guitarist in atmo-doom deathers Officium Triste. Now he’s putting his own spin on the genre, handling everything save for vocals and drums. In comes the esteemed Pim Blankenstein, also of Officium Triste and The 11th Hour, to handle the former, with Dirk Bruinenberg (Elegy, ex-Adagio) manning the latter. On the full-length debut, Structure prove this project can honor the doom Heritage that birthed it. This is a massive, monolithic slab of doom that paints a sweeping mural across your head and heart, all in gray and black. Crushing and gorgeous in equal parts, Heritage takes you on an immersive journey through the human experience, teaching you about fathomless despair, undying hope, and ultimately, redemption. It’s a staggering work of heartbreaking genius, and something every doom fan needs to know about.

The album opens with what may be the hands-down winner of Song o’ the Year, “Will I Deserve It.” It’s a monumental doom epic that caves in your chest with its raw power and brings a tear to the most jaded eye with its heart-wrenching beauty. Vaguely Bathorycore riffs thunder away as Pim emits inhumanly death bellows, and soon the melancholic trilling calls to the sadperson in all of us. It’s heavy as fook but maintains a forlorn, tragic air, taking one back to the glory days of the Peaceville Three and those early My Dying Bride and Anathema gems. When Bram cuts loose with his soloing at the 4-minute mark, bittersweet beauty blooms like springtime flowers over the grave of a dearly departed, like a gift to remind you that, no matter where their spirit roams, they’re with you always. I could write 750 words about this song alone, but suffice it to say, it’s brilliant. It’s the rare album that can match a radiant moment like this one, but Heritage is far from done with its smoke show. “What We Have Lost” drags things down into funeral doom territory for rib-cracking density before gradually evolving into a more melodic voyage. Bram’s emotive guitar weaves throughout the heaviness as minimalist piano lines plink mournfully, and Mr. Pim shakes the rafters with unbearable pain. It’s a wonder something this intensely despondent can be so captivating, but despite its nearly 8-minute runtime, when it ends, you’ll wish it hadn’t.

“Long Before Me” is even longer yet no less stunning. It’s so morose and gloriously depressive, it’s almost exhilarating. It sucks you in with its funereal trilling and carries you away in its dark embrace. The guitars from 5 minutes onward are so minimalist but pure perfection. The title track borrows much from Warning’s timeless Watching from a Distance, replicating that album’s unrelenting glumness perfectly, only to switch to Bolt Thrower-esque power chugs that threaten your very existence. Surrounding these moments are bright, melodic bits that take me back to Edge of Sanity’s Crimson. Closer “Until the Last Gasp” is a somber instrumental that imparts the same grim emptiness evoked by the denouement of Agalloch’s Ashes Against the Grain, making one feel as if they stand at the precipice of a swirling, matter-annihilating black hole. As the track advances, small hints of hope creep into the droning doom, imparting faint rays of light into the inky blackness. The album climaxes with horns blaring a sad but cautiously uplifting note, giving you the perfect ending to a truly stupendous journey. At 50 minutes, Heritage somehow feels much shorter, and despite the harrowing despair, you won’t want to escape its bleak cocoon. It almost hurts to hear the last strains fade away into silence. I haven’t had that experience in a long time. I’m at a loss to find flaws, and no song feels overlong or bloated. This is an album you must experience as a whole, and it’s shockingly easy to digest in its entirety.

I’m nothing but impressed by what Bram accomplished here. His writing is at another level, and his guitar work is stunning. He does so much by doing so little, always opting for feeling over showboating. His melodic touches are perfect and arrive at ideal times to take some of the burden from the listener’s shoulders. His heavy riffing is spot on, oppressive, pulverizing, and inevitable. He shows a great ability to inject real emotion into the music without leaning too much on Goth idioms. It’s all so well-crafted and defined that Heritage is more like a master’s canvas than a recording. Many moments triggered an emotional response in me, though I strenuously resist such things. Mr. Blankenstein was the perfect choice to provide vocals. His ungodly death roars are powerful and tooth-rattling, and he pairs superbly with the larger-than-life material. He’s the ideal doom-death front man, and this may be his finest hour. Ayreon / Star One singer Robert Soeterboek provides very sparse, understated, clean vocals and does a fine job.

When you spin an album as heavy and depressive as this and immediately want to hit replay, there’s something very right about it, and something very wrong with you. Heritage is as close to flawless as it gets, and I’m unable to pinpoint any areas that could be improved upon. This is a stunning accomplishment, and I can’t do Heritage justice with mere words. You need to experience this yourself. A MUST HEAR.

Rating: 4.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Ardua Music
Websites: structure-doom.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/structure.doom
Releases Worldwide: April 25th, 2025

#2025 #45 #Anathema #Apr25 #ArduaMusic #DeathMetal #DoomMetal #DutchMetal #Heritage #MyDyingBride #OfficiumTriste #Review #Reviews #Structure #The11thHour #Warning

OFFICIUM TRISTE – Hortus Venenum
https://eternal-terror.com/?p=67299

RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://officiumtriste.com/

Even though I knew what the Dutch atmospheric doom death metal sextet was capable of by the excellent Mors Viri²⁰¹³ and The Death Of Gaia²⁰¹⁹, I never expected their 7th album in 30 years, Hortus Venenum²⁰²⁴, released on September 6th via Transcending Obscurity Records, to be this utterly deep and heartshakigly gorgeous […]

#AtmosphericDoomDeathMetal #DispleasedRecords #DoomDeathMetal #HammerheartRecords #HORTUSVENENUM #MelodicDoomDeathMetal #Netherlands #OFFICIUMTRISTE #TeutonicExistenceRecords #TranscendingObscurityRecords

For #SatruDoom by @lpl:

#Qaalm: Borderlands

https://song.link/fz22btwtwh8js

#DeathMetal #DoomMetal #FuneralDoom

FFO #Krigsgrav #Maestus #OfficiumTriste

 DEMNÄCHST!
*Zusammenfassung 27.09. bis 28.10. für Münster

667 The Neighbour Of The Beast
27.09.2024 Münster / Rare Guitar

Crypts
27.09.2024 Münster / Sputnik Café

Demon Eye
27.09.2024 Unna / Lindenbrauerei

Funhouse
27.09.2024 Bielefeld / Forum

Into The Crypts...
27.09.2024 Münster

Officium Triste, Marche Funebre, Woe Unto Me
27.09.2024 Oberhausen / Helvete

Orphaned Land
27.09.2024 Osnabrück / Bastard Club

Phantom Vision
27.09.2024 Essen / Freak Show

Tips
27.09.2024 Oberhausen / Zentrum Altenberg e.V.

Avalanche Effect
28.09.2024 Bocholt / Alte Molkerei

#667TheNeighbourOfTheBeast #AlteMolkerei #AvalancheEffect #BastardClub #Bielefeld #Bocholt #CockSparrer #Crypts #DemonEye #Essen #Forum #FreakShow #Funhouse #Helvete #Herford #IntoTheCrypts #Lindenbrauerei #Munster #Oberhausen #OfficiumTriste #OrphanedL #Osnabruck #PhantomVision #RareGuitar #SputnikCafe #Tips #Unna #ZentrumAltenbergEV #SteelFeed #SteelFeedSoon

 DEMNÄCHST!
*Zusammenfassung 27.09. bis 28.10. für Düsseldorf

Kozoria, Sober Truth
27.09.2024 Köln / Valhalla

Officium Triste, Marche Funebre, Woe Unto Me
27.09.2024 Oberhausen / Helvete

Phantom Vision
27.09.2024 Essen / Freak Show

Tips
27.09.2024 Oberhausen / Zentrum Altenberg e.V.

Act of Creation
28.09.2024 Wermelskirchen / AJZ Bahndamm

Black Mountain Side
28.09.2024 Neuss / Okie Dokie

D-Purple
28.09.2024 Neuss / Hamtorkrug

Forgotten Tomb
28.09.2024 Oberhausen / Helvete

J.B.O.
28.09.2024 Oberhausen / Turbinenhalle
04.10.2024 Köln / Carlswerk Victoria

#AJZBahndamm #ActOfCreation #BlackMountainSide #CarlswerkVictoria #DPurple #Essen #ForgottenTomb #FreakShow #Gebaude9 #Hamtorkrug #Helvete #JBO #Koln #Kozoria #Neuss #Oberhausen #OfficiumTriste #OkieDokie #OrphanedL #PhantomVision #Tips #Turbinenhalle #Valhalla #Wermelskirchen #ZentrumAltenbergEV #SteelFeed #SteelFeedSoon

🇬🇧 Apparently, Dutch death/doom metal band Officium Triste have signed with Transcending Obscurity Records. Their new album, 'Hortus Venenum' ('Poison Garden') will be released through them. The label just put up the first song up on their YouTube channel, titled 'Behind Closed Doors'.

#OfficiumTriste #Netherlands #deathmetal #doommetal #TranscendingObscurity #YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXhnwAxSedo

*Keep referring to your term & conditions*
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This is a photography joke, please don't take it too serious;)
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Background pic: #OfficiumTriste
#sethpicturesmusic #sethabrikoos #photography #sonyalphaa7iii #sonyalphaphotography #cameranu #cameranunl #fotograaf #fotograafnederland

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