Review: Athemon – Athemon

Style: Progressive Doom Metal (mostly clean vocals)
Review by: Zach
Country: Brazil
Release date: 11 October, 2021

Gather ‘round, children, gather ‘round! Grandpa Zach will tuck you into bed and tell you a tale of his past. No, this isn’t the one about the Great Djent Wars. This is about his daily games of band bingo! It’s just like normal bingo, except at the end I get a really cool band to listen to. But there was always something old Grandpa Zach kept looking for in his bingo games that he just couldn’t find.

You see, I was looking for something specific. Something that no Opeth-worship band could give me, something that even the most blisteringly fast tech-death couldn’t satisfy. Your Grandpa Zach was looking for his white whale, a progressive doom metal album. And he was stuck for a good long while, long enough for you little rascals to start forming new subgenres of your own. In my ancient mind, I imagined it sounded a bit like Candlemass and Haken had a child. Coincidentally, it’s what these Athemon whippersnappers sound like.

“But Grandpa, the genre that plays one note a year and three-thousand a minute can’t mix. That’s illegal,” you say, as you get up that new blackened progressive djent-grind song. Yes, I’m aware the word’s a bit of an oxymoron. There’s truly nothing “doomy” and prog and nothing “proggy” about doom. But strap in and keep your eyes open, kiddos, Grandpa Zach’s not even done tucking you in yet.

Yes, those Boss Keloid and Dvne boys play one hell of a game of bingo. And they almost had me on the ropes multiple times, just nearly scratching that ancient itch I’ve had since I was but a little lad. But these Athemon guys waltz into the bingo parlor one day, unannounced, and drop everything I’ve been needing for the past eight years in a single debut album.

These guys had it all, my little proglets! This guitarist, Adrian Ribeiro, doesn’t give your poor grandfather a second to catch his breath. His back-to-back pummeling, odd-time riffs dripped with doomy atmosphere. Those leads were enough to make a hardened old soul a little melancholy and let’s not even mention the voice on this man. He gives the great Messiah Marcolin a run for his money. Those operatic vocals brought me back to the days of Nevermore in their prime, but you kids are too young to remember that.

“But Grandpa, this record sounds a whole lot like doom metal. Where’s the prog?”, you say, you impatient grandchild. Kids, this is the prog long before the days of your Peripherys and 45 string guitars. This the traditional kind! The odd-time riffs prog with instrumental freak-outs. I tell ya, kids, I slapped my bingo chip on the “bass solos” square more times than I could count. That Thomas MacLean fellow adds all the prog this album needs, even without Ribiero’s guitar odd time guitar wizardry. The interplay between these two bingo masters is the best use of dissonance and melody Grandpa’s seen since Howling Sycamore. Instead of the Elder-like prog-doom your grandpa’s been so used to, this sounds like a bunch of prog musicians trying to play doom. And my little proglets, they succeed.

After that incredible album climax, ‘I Voice of Mine’, Grandpa thought there’d only be one song left so he could get home in time for his nightly reruns. Nope. These youngsters have the audacity to sit me down for a whole three more songs. Great songs, mind you, but couldn’t they have condensed it down into one big song? As tired as Grandpa gets, he still likes his 10+ minute closers. All I’m saying is these three last little morsels would work so much better combined, but the very end of ‘Birth’ was enough to make me shout BINGO!

And now, my little proglets, I tuck you into bed and give you a kiss goodnight. May you dream of anything but 4/4 and may the Akerfairy come to give you many gifts. Grandpa’s going to sneak away and blast some more Athemon, just not too loud. My ears aren’t what they used to be.

Recommended tracks: Whispers, Seeds of Change, Different From What Was Missing, I Voice of Mine
Recommended for fans of: Candlemass, Nevermore, Saint Vitus, Howling Sycamore, Haken’s bass
You may also like: IOTUNN, Loch Vostok, Silver Talon
Final verdict: 9/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Metal-Archives page

Label: Independent

Athemon is:
– Adriano Ribeiro (Guitars, Vocals)
– Tom MacLean (Bass, Production)
– Gledson Gonçalves (Drums)