Meuse Music Records

Post Luctum – Timor Lucis Review

By Kenstrosity on February 27, 2026 in Reviews, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Funeral Doom, 8 comments

“Even with someone as infinitely absorbent as this sponge, things slip through the cracks sometimes. In 2019, I gave a shout to Post Luctum’s debut EP After Mourning, citing its very promising funereal pall as a welcome comrade to contemporary heavy hitters like Altars of Grief and Slow. Somehow, some way, I completely missed not one, not two, but three full-lengths from the Maryland-based solo artist in the span between then and 2026’s Timor Lucis. But it couldn’t have come at a better time, with the inclement weather demanding tunes of a dour, reposed, overcast character. The only variable left is how much Post Luctum changed in the years since my last visit.” Lighthouse, darkhaus.

Ennui – Qroba Review

By Grymm on February 24, 2026 in Reviews, 49 comments

“Got a question for you all: when’s the last time an album just absolutely, from out of nowhere, blindsided you and kept you enthralled for the entirety of its length on the first play? I don’t mean from your favorite bands (though that’s pretty damn cool, too), but from a completely out-of-left-field pick in the promo sump? Georgian funeral directors Ennui have been toughing it out with their craft since 2012’s Mze Ukunisa, with the then-duo working with what they had available. Now, the duo is a full-fledged band, and on their fifth album, Qroba, they hit graveyard paydirt.” Ennui for you and me.

Old Night – Mediterranean Melancholy Review

By ClarkKent on November 20, 2025 in Reviews, Doom Metal, 14 comments

“Loneliness is a theme ripe for the sadboi genre, and given the epidemic of loneliness in our modern era, it’s a relatable one. Yet Croatian doom outfit, Old Night, tackles a more obscure topic on Mediterranean Melancholy—lighthouse keepers. This record marks the quintet’s fourth since forming ten years ago, and it’s the first with Ivan Hanžek stepping up as lead vocalist, following the departure of his brother, Matej, who left for personal reasons. Sadboi doom is typically ape fodder, as evidenced by the glowing review for Dawn of Solace earlier this year, yet somehow this ended up in my lap.” Night and the melancholies.

Falling Leaves – The Silence That Binds Us Review

By Twelve on September 5, 2025 in Reviews, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Melodic Death Metal, 37 comments

“Doom metal and I have not been getting along much lately. I’ve noticed this in recent years—the slow, the sad, the funereal, it just doesn’t have the impact it used to. Even the stuff I used to love has fallen by the wayside a bit. But something about Dubai’s (originally Amman) Falling Leaves has compelled me to dust off my hat and give it another shot. Maybe it’s the gorgeous cover art. Maybe it’s the fact that The Silence That Binds Us is only Falling Leaves’s sophomore full-length, despite having been around since 2009, with their debut released in 2012. Thirteen years is a long time between albums, but few genres benefit from long, careful consideration like doom metal. Suffice to say, I came into this assignment with high expectations.” Summer’s doom.

God’s Funeral – El Despertar Dels Morts Review

By Lavender Larcenist on August 30, 2025 in Reviews, Doom Metal, Funeral Doom, 19 comments

“Metal is full of niche genres, and within that sphere, doom metal is full of unique variations. Funeral doom, doom metal’s basement-dwelling offspring, is as impenetrable a metal genre as some of the nastiest bands in the business. Trudging, droning song structures, distorted, bellowing vocals, and (as the genre tag suggests) the vibe of being at a funeral can make for a taxing listen on a good day.” Oh, promising.

Soliloquium – Famine Review

By Steel Druhm on April 11, 2025 in Reviews, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 43 comments

“In my never-ending quest to accumulate as many bands as possible that remind me of tragically defunct Finnish doom-death legends, Rapture, I crossed paths with Sweden’s two-man project, Soliloquium, back in 2018 through their Contemplations album. It was an entirely pleasant slab of moody, emotive melancholic death borrowing from early Katatonia, Insomnium, and of course, Rapture. It scratched an itch and made me a fan. 2020s Things We Leave Behind hit just as COVID was starting its assault on the world, and the album’s downcast and depressive beauty became a staple in the House of Steel as we watched the world lock down and drift. Somehow, I missed that Soliloquium dropped a new album in 2022, and I almost missed their latest too.” Somebody is always starving somewhere.

Rise to the Sky – Two Years of Grief Review

By Twelve on June 25, 2023 in Reviews, Death Doom, Doom Metal, 16 comments

“The last time Sergio Catalán released a full-length album—only four months ago, because of course—I opened my review with a rhetorical question: Sergio González Catalán—can anyone stop this man? Does anyone want to? Now, in June of 2023, the answer is clear: only Sergio can stop Sergio, and today, in a sense, he has chosen to act. Two Years of Grief, the sixth full-length release from his solo project Rise to the Sky marks an end to a “series” he began two years ago on the passing of his father, Sergio González Bombardiere.” Productive pain.

Elderseer – Drown in the Shallowness Review

By Steel Druhm on February 3, 2023 in Reviews, Doom Metal, 50 comments

“There seems to be a wellspring of gothic doom in the promo hopper in early 2023, and I’m okay with that. Coming off a heated love affair with Tribunal, I eagerly scooped up the debut by U.K. doomsters, Elderseer and hoped for a similar love connection. Their full-length debut adopts a style in the vein of My Dying Bride, Celestial Season, and early Paradise Lost, with long, winding songs telling tales of great misery and woe. And at a mammoth 68-minute runtime, Drown in the Shallowness delivers more than your fair share of sadcakes and grief biscuits.” Seer me MMXXIII.

Rise to the Sky – Every Day, A Funeral Review

By Twelve on May 6, 2022 in Reviews, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 50 comments

“I don’t generally like change. Even an objectively positive change to my life—a new job, for example—takes some time to win me over. In music, however, I’m a lot more flexible—I love it when things are different, odd, unexpected. Rise to the Sky, the death-doom metal project from Chile’s Sergio Catalán, appeals strongly to the former impulse. Now releasing his fifth full-length release in three years (and sixth total release in the last two), Rise to the Sky’s gradual shift away from “death-doom” and into “just-doom” has been little short of glacial. Every Day, A Funeral is, in many ways, exactly what we’ve come to expect from Rise to the Sky, but familiarity is not something I scoff at, and his material has been plenty solid so far.” In the wake of graves.