Welcome friends to the haunted halls of doom, where heavy ancient vaults loom high above, candles flicker, and skeletal spectres seductively beckon — with teeth bared within their vapors. Our guides through these chilling domains will be the Austrian band Endonomos.
Endonomos is a new name, but one that’s likely to spread quickly because of the power of their self-titled debut album, which will be released by Argonauta Records on August 26th. It’s the brainchild of Austrian multi-instrumentalist, producer, and session musician Lukas Haidinger, who is mostly known for playing extreme Metal for bands like Profanity, Nervecell, Distaste (and many more).
Through Endonomos, he has indulged his long-held affection for Doom, joined by his friends Armin Schweiger (drums), Philipp Forster (guitars), and Christoph Steinlechner (guitars) — who are obviously off on a tangent from their main musical pursuits too.
Well, but Doom is a varied domain. Where within it have Endonomos gone?
In a nutshell, one could say that the music is a blend of sinister and menacing Doom/Death, yet with the epic melodies of classic Doom Metal. You’ll appreciate the truth of that when you listen to the song we’re premiering today through an official video. Its name is “Atropos“. Lukas has shared these reflections about the track:
“For our second single we chose a significantly more sinister sounding song and one of my personal favourites. It deals loosely with the “vanitas” motif, yet focussing rather on inevitability and human inability.
“With this song you will get a further glimpse at the different aspects of the upcoming album, and we are more than excited to show you it’s entire face soon!”
“Atropos” is indeed a song of many facets, and some of them we venture to say will be unexpected and even startling as you follow its winding path. In one aspect, it sounds fragile, and is indeed supernaturally seductive. That becomes evident from the outset, when guitars ring in ethereal tones and the bass begins to warmly hum. That music is sombre and sorrowing, and there’s an undercurrent of tension within it too.
In another of its facets, the music stalks like a wounded beast. Cruel, distorted chords abrade the senses and the kick drum punches hard. The lead guitar slithers like a serpent and wails like a siren. The riffing jolts, and the words come in gritty cavernous growls and agonized howls. Misery flows through the music, but even here the wailing melody seduces the senses with its beseeching tones.
In yet another of its facets, the song transforms through a beguiling instrumental excursion that evolves into a jazzy, progressive interlude which casts its own smoky spell — a spell broken in the final closing segment, where the song jolts again and a glorious guitar solo elevates into the stratosphere. The vocals also transform, into soaring but crestfallen song, and the track’s sorrowful central melody burrows ever deeper into the mind.
Endonomos was written in 2019 and 2020, arranged in late 2020, and recorded, mixed, and mastered in spring/summer 2021 by Lukas Haidinger in his DeepDeepPressure Studios. Keep an eye on the links below to learn when pre-orders begin, and be sure to check out the first single from the album (“Wither and “Thrive“), which we’re streaming after the links.
Credit for the fantastic cover art (oil on canvas) goes to Endonomos drummer Armin Schweiger (todt und deibel ink).
ENDONOMOS:
https://www.facebook.com/Endonomos
https://www.instagram.com/endonomos
https://endonomos.bandcamp.com