Skepticism – Companion
Release Date: 24th September 2021
Label: Svart Records
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Genre: Funeral Doom, Death Doom.
FFO: Thergothon, Evoken, Mournful Congregation, Esoteric, Shape Of Despair.
Review By: Martha Skourteli
It’s an honor that I was asked to write about one of the monumental bands of Funeral Doom, Skepticism. These people have put the foundations of the subgenre together with Thergothon, so no matter what anybody will say they have already gained their place in the pantheon of this style and we can all but try to dive into their doomy atmosphere and probably describe poorly our impressions.
Their story goes back to 1991 in Riihimäki, Finland where they started building their already 30 year long career. We’re talking about a band that hasn’t even made changes to their line-up with the exception of adding one more guitarist in 2015 and they have really built an incredible image in terms of consistency.
Keeping their own pace, but staying loyal to offering something new to their fans and writing one more page in the history of music every few years, their new child titled Companion, coming 6 years after Ordeal of 2015, will be given to the public on the 24th of September by Svart Records.
Companion contains 6 songs totaling to 48 minutes of the best quality slow funeral doom that cannot (and will not) disappoint anyone.
Their music is filled with this epic magnificence created by the combination of the guitars and the organ. It always feels like their music surrounds you and you’re so small (almost invisible), totally engulfed in what you’re listening to. The significant slow tempo makes the atmosphere they create even more grandiose.
The presence of the organ sound, which is a signature for Skepticism, is the biggest reason for their superiority and it’s spread throughout Companion in great amounts. It’s just always there to dominate your soul and mind breathlessly.
There is a lurking death metal presence that wants to take charge at times (check the first minutes of Passage where it’s trying to be unleashed).
Matti Tilaeus’ vocals continue to be very slow, coming almost with one word at a time and the lyrics are just and only growled. To be honest, there is no reason to change something that fits like a glove to the overall outcome.
The lyrics deal with nature (Calla), solitude (The Intertwined) or can have a personal meaning for the band (The March Of The Four).
Overall Companion is a great album that has to be in the collection of all fans of Funeral Doom. Skepticism‘s career and their 3 decades offer in the music industry is not measurable. Thinking about it, I’m sure a lot of the people that like them are way under the age of 30 and the rest of us that are not, probably understand better how far we have gone already each time we come to the realization of numbers related to time. I bet there’s still more to come from the Finnish Megatherion and we can now start looking to their next milestone in the following decade.
(5 / 5)
