Hailing from Ukrainian underground comes Lacrimorphosis, an introspective and fantasy driven dungeon Synth act with a cozy yet mystical atmosphere conjured in his first three releases. After dipping his toes in the black metal world with the single Frigid Terror, Lacrimorphosis continues down that path conjuring depressive and cold black metal. With their latest release, Sunset of Endings, the band presents their full array of skill with the black metal sound, continuing to conjure raw, and depressive black metal into a fully fledge idea.
The groove is undeniable after the first track. With raw and fresh sounding riffs, impressive drumming and the occasional background synth just to add a bit more texture to the overall wall of sound is rather refreshing to hear in the world of overly produced (or even sometimes under produced) black metal. Striking that raw balance between grit and clean, Sunset of Endings definitely feels like there was a lot of effort put into it despite being a one man project. The guitars truly shine all throughout this album, with catchy and fresh tremolo picked riffs fused with a frigid and melancholic atmosphere it hits the nail on the head for truly atmospheric black metal. The vocals are also on point, with harsh vocals being barked out, they’re not a centerpiece for the band as the instrumentation really carrys it all throughout. Despite this band having a sonic history of fantastical dungeon synth, it doesn’t play that prominent of a role in the sounds of this album. More so acting like an accent for the guitars and especially the vocals on certain tracks.
Looking back on the band’s previous dungeon synth releases, Lacrimorphosis has kept the essence that they started with. Cold, melancholic, and nostalgic for a time that was and wasn’t, forming a fantastical wintery fantasy that only gets darker when expressed through black metal. I also really enjoy the fact that the approach to dungeon synth is a lot more unique compared to other artists. Not using chiptune retro sounds and sporting a more robust and symphonic feeling that really helps push the atmosphere forward. The first couple attempts at black metal were interesting, the first single Frigid Terror felt like it could’ve easily been apart of this album, while their EP Крізь тонку душу… Has a more well polished approach, then stepping back into the raw demo style production of Гріходіяч which certainly feels like it has a bite to it with it’s gritty production and raw synths. If you combine those two releases into one, it makes sense how this band ended up with this album and the style that they choose which is very much uniquely them.
All in all Lacrimorphosis is a rather unique approach to more depressive style black metal, and Sunset of Endings is clearly an impressive approach to that sound. With raw production, a cold atmosphere, and an emotional sound, Sunset of Endings is what I think a textbook black metal album should sound like. Well worth a listen, and be sure to check out their dungeon synth releases if that strikes your fancy as well.