At Dusk – Condemned

“Condemned” will haunt you, and leave you wanting more. USBM artist At Dusk has delivered a serious contender for 2019. A masterful blend of depressive and atmospheric Black Metal that gives us lucky listeners a taste of sounds in the vein of Xasthur, only more horrific.

With is droning guitars that pour on raw ambient tone, it resurrects those old feelings brought from records such as “Det Som Engang Var” by Burzum. The mix of raw and atmospheric styles are blended to near perfection. The vocal performance may very be the highest peak of this emotional journey. Korihor’s vocals here are vile, cold, painful, and deliver a visceral grit that hold just the right amount of that cave effect to make them most chilling. Although it rolls out only 4 tracks, do not let that deter you from going after this one, for it clocks in at just over 51 minutes of misanthropic bliss. To note this records diversity, you need not look past the fourth track entitled “Maligned”. “Maligned” opens with a near séance vibe, then rolls into a highly atmospheric grove that is filled with slow and haunting breaks that add highly to the overall feel of the record, before rolling back into the depraved distorted tones of At Dusk.

This may be an album that floats under the radar this year, but it comes highly recommended as it is truly dark and very powerful, give it a listen and see for yourself. (Azag Galla)