Sundowning : "In the Light of Defeat, I Cease to Exist"

This is the year for atmosphere in sludge and doom, this German  band meets at the cross roads of the two, though just judging from the opening song, there is a darker more mournful sound to the music and less of a punk rock aggression seething under the surface so I am going to say this leans more in the doom direction but things could change after all this is just the vibe I am getting as I listen to the first song. The change the song takes is unexpected and further supports my doom theory. The music becomes more minimal, and the growl comes in. The sung vocals return as well, with a slightly different context. The second song finds it shifting into a more feral pounding of death doom. This changes as there is a weird vocal part that reminds me of Leonard Cohen , before it shifts to a more soaring climax. 

One thing I enjoy about this band are all the colors of sound they bring to the table. The song "A Prison, A Cage" opens with a more thundering stomp of crusty sludge riff then they float off into a more melodic place that reminds me of a heavier Woods of Ypres. The vocals are lower baritone than the singing we heard in the first song. After further listening I gain appreciation for the atmospheric guitar tricks that abound. The death metal vocals feel more doom as well.  "Armour of Indifference" is a turn to abrasive noise in how it churns. Spoken word comes int midway into this more experimental piece.  There is something unnerving and almost Swans like in how they go about this.   

For what they are doing here it is impressive that these songs all manage to stay under the ten-minute mark ,so they are never droning you to death. The last song lingers in the atmosphere. Of course when they build it up into a pounding that is more sonic than metal despite the growl of the vocals in the distance it is hitting my sweet spot. This is the most sludged out moment on the album as it is big and apocalyptic rather than despairing. They do not relent in this attack ,which is fine in the context of the album. The slow burn at the beginning of the song paid off/.  I will round this up to a 9.5, aside from the experimental song it is pretty much a perfect album, if you are looking for doomy music that is sonically heavy this is the album you have been waiting for.  

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