Apotelesma - Timewrought Kings (CD)

Review
Reigning Damnation
7.7/10
30.10.2017

Apotelesma is a doom metal band from Utrecht in the Netherlands. They were originally formed in 2012, as Monuments and in 2014, they released an EP, entitled “The December Sessions”, under that name which I was incredibly fond of. Now they are ready with their very first full-length album which is bound to take you on a journey.

Well, what kind of doom metal band is Apotelesma? Their focus is definitely on atmosphere, so it is not in the vein of bands like Candlemass. The way they bring about that atmosphere, however, has changed compared to when they were known as Monuments. Back then, they were utilising more elements from black metal and mixing it with doom metal to create an absolute spine-chilling atmosphere. I am not the world’s biggest advocate for black metal but I do acknowledge how fantastic it can be to achieve different kind of moods within a track. The black metal has been dialled down and the band now use a good mixture of un-distorted guitars, solos, and a bit of clean vocals to create an atmospheric feel when that is what they aim for. You can still expect hard-hitting moments on this record both slow and fast, and on The Weakest of Men we get a little sniff of the aforementioned black metal influence as it takes the front seat when it comes to the riffs in the latter part of that track.

The vocals of Mitch lies somewhere in between black metal and death metal with elements of both, and on this album he added clean vocals to his toolbox as well, even though they are not as prevalent. I have to be honest, it took me a couple of listens to get used to it. That just comes down to that I am used to their EP where there are no clean vocals. After those couple of listens it was clear to hear the impact the vocals have on not just variation and atmosphere, but also the band’s ability to tell a story with its lyrics.

The production on “Timewrought Kings” is an overall step up in quality compared to “The December Sessions”, but even though it has some good elements there are also a few drawbacks. There are two drawbacks for me, which comes down to the mixing. First off, I love the sound they got out of the drums, especially the snare. For this slower type of music it’s perfect with reverb on. If added properly, reverb can do you wonders for the mood of your song or album, and it is applied properly on this record. However, the snare is too low in the mix. The hi-hat and also at times the ride are too loud and they push the snare back which I think is a damn shame. On the track The Weakest of Men there is a blastbeat section and I can barely hear the snare as it drowns to death. That being said, the performance on the drums is really great, and it fits the doom metal incredibly well. There is a good deal of variation and things going on on the ride, hi-hat and so on but without trying to steal the thunder from the rest of the band. The sound of the bass is also very good but it is for the most part too loud in the mix, but there are also times where its volume is fine because it is used as the primary tool for building atmosphere. I absolutely love the solos on this album, and part of that is also the production of them. The solos are used as a tool to impact your listening experience and touch something within you with more slow-paced and melancholic playing. The only problem is the bass, as I mentioned, is too loud at times. When there’s a solo, the bass tries to get in on some of the spotlight that is shed on the solos. But that spotlight should belong solely to the guitar.

The first track, Aural Emanations, is without a doubt my favourite on the record. The way it introduces itself in the two first minutes is simply beautiful. There is not other way to put it. It just sounds beautiful. The musical duality between beauty and brutality, achieved both musically with varied sessions but also with the new addition of the clean vocals, is absolutely marvellous. This is something they also nail on Remnants. The songs on this album are pretty long, as in three out of five songs lasts more than 12 minutes, and I must say that not all the tracks hit a home run with me. Apotelesma are rooted primarily in doom metal, and on this album they like to progressively build up the music with different variations in tempo taking you on a journey upwards and downwards when it comes to the ferociousness of the tracks. There are interesting elements in all of the songs, but I only find myself returning to the opening track, Aural Emanations, and Remnants. I love the mid-section of the latter where the solo comes in after the superb delivery of Mitch’s clean vocals. Why just two song sticks with me is simply just down to the composition of the tracks as there’s not enough meat on the other tracks for me, personally, to revisit too often. And an album that lasts for almost an hour and, primarily consists of songs lasting more than 10 minutes rarely will just never quite be my cup of tea, sadly.

I am so stoked to finally see the band come out with an album after their change of name. This is a band I highly doubt would ever go about making the same album twice, and I really can’t wait to see what kind of experience they will have in store next. If doom metal is the best thing you know then this album will definitely have more mileage for you. Even if it isn’t your favourite thing, I’d bet you can still come away from “Timewrought Kings” with something. This is an album that is perfect for the fall- and winter months. Dim the lights or go for a walk and let this album carry you away.

Author: Alexander Dinesen

Review
Eches and Dust
19.10.2017

Timewrought Kings is the debut album from Apotelesma (formerly Monuments), a five-piec doom outfit from the Netherlands. Apotelesma apparently roughly translates to “the influence of the stars on human destiny” and Timewrought Kings seeks to embody and explore the human struggle to come to terms with the passage of time and the considerable failings of human society, eventually rejecting it altogether. An emotive exploration of these themes is an incredibly ambitious project for any band, let alone as a debut, however, I am pleased to be able to report that Apotelesma have shown themselves to be more than up to the task.

The album’s opening song ‘Aural Emanations’ starts out gently with melodic guitars and winds its way along lazily, meandering and slowly building. Heavy guitars kick in and bring us forward into the light, marching steadily, relentlessly pushing us on to where we are met by the guttural and powerful growls of lead singer Mitch. Moving further onward there is always melody underlying the heaviness, the song keeps pushing forward and developing, never rushed but always evolving. Suddenly Mitch breaks into clean and soaring vocals which offer an unexpected but beautiful contrast to the heaviness and harsh vocals heard previously; before we quickly find ourselves descending again, back into the dark. Was that a momentary glimpse of clarity? Or perhaps a memory of an older, more innocent world? It is difficult to not try and search for meaning and profundity here.

This album is heavy, Apotelesma’s music makes you feel like your face might be melting (potentially in slow motion from the heat of a world ending nuclear holocaust), but this heaviness is achieved without huge amounts of distortion. The high-quality production and mixing mean that everything is crystal clear. This also further enhances the effect of the melodic parts which play a huge role in making this album as good as it is. Bright and fresh are two words which I feel describe this album for me. The emotions this album evokes are very similar to those of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, however, instead of a bleak, dark and barren landscape with hooded and shuffling figures in the distance, the similarly desperate world evoked by Timewrought Kings is sun scorched, blisteringly hot and painfully bright. Furthermore, rather than staring at their feet with hair covering their faces, Apotelesma are standing defiantly, staring you straight in the eyes as civilisation burns all around you.

Apotelesma are generally classified as doom metal, but they themselves admit that they wend their way towards other genres such as melo-black and death metal. I have no idea what genre I would put Apotelesma in, but happily I also absolutely do not care. With Timewrought Kings, Apotelesma have shown themselves to be unique and masterful musicians and this is without a doubt my current top contender for album of the year.

Author: Ed Hart

Review
Doomed to Darkness
8/10
13.10.2017

Apotelesma are a band from the Netherlands that plays a mixture of doom and death metal and this is a review of their 2017 album “Timewrought Kings” which will be released on October 27th by Solitude Productions.

Acoustic guitar playing starts off the album and after a couple of minutes the music goes into more of a heavier and melodic musical direction along with all of the musical instruments sounding very powerful while the vocals are mostly death metal growls as well as some black metal screams.

When the music speeds up a small amount of blast beats can be heard while the solos and leads are done in a very melodic fashion and clean singing can also be heard in certain sections of the recording along with most of the tracks being very long and epic in length, spoken word parts can also be heard briefly and they also bring in an instrumental track which also introduces keyboards onto the recording before returning back to a heavier direction.

Apotelesma plays a style of doom/death metal that is very melodic and atmospheric while also mixing in a touch of black metal, the production sounds very professional while the lyrics cover dark and depressive themes.

In my opinion Apotelesma are a very great sounding atmospheric mixture of doom and death metal and if you are a fan of those musical genres, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE “The Weakest Of Man’ and “Remnants”.

Author: OccultBlackMetal

Review
Iye Zine
7/10
12.11.2017

Timewrought Kings è il primo album degli olandesi Apotelesma ma rischia d’essere anche l’ultimo, visto che subito dopo la sua realizzazione la band ha deciso di sospendere l’attività a tempo indeterminato.

Un peccato, perché questi ragazzi, partiti nel 2012 con il monicker Monuments, con il quale hanno prodotto un ep, paiono padroneggiare con buona disinvoltura la materia death doom e, non a caso, hanno attirato l’attenzione di una label specializzata in tali sonorità come la Solitude. Timewrought Kings è un lavoro aspro e piuttosto parco di spunti melodici, riconducibili a qualche fugace litania chitarristica o nei passaggi che accompagnano la voce pulita, per cui le uniche variazioni sul tema sono quelle ritmiche, sotto forma di momenti più liquidi e rarefatti che si trovano in queste quattro tracce principali (la terza, che dà il titolo all’album, è in realtà un breve episodio strumentale).
Rispetto alla scuola olandese gli Apotelesma hanno attinto qualcosa dagli Officium Triste, soprattutto nelle fasi più rallentate ed evocative, quando l’incedere si fa più dolente, ma della band di Blankenstein non possiedono lo stesso appeal melodico, il che rende l’album decisamente valido ma piuttosto avaro di sprazzi di autentica e dolorosa bellezza.
La tracklist è di valore piuttosto uniforme, con la più rocciosa The Weakest of Men che si fa preferire per la sua organicità unita a diversi ottimi spunti chitarristici, ma il tutto fa ritenere ragionevolmente che gli Apotelesma non abbiano ancora dato per intero quanto sembra essere nelle loro possibilità; a questo punto, non fosse altro che per verificare la fondatezza di questa impressione, non resta che sperare che il periodo di riflessione preso dalla band sia solo un momento di stand-by e non la fine definitiva di un avventura, in fondo, appena iniziata.

Author: Stefano Cavanna

Review
Lords of Metal
8/10

Herinnert u zich de Nederlandse doomband Monuments nog? Waarschijnlijk niet aangezien die slechts één EP met twee nummers uitgebracht heeft en een paar keer opgetreden heeft. Die band heeft de naam in Apotelesma veranderd aangezien er een bekendere Monuments rondloopt die prog/symfo/djent speelt.

Apotelesma komt met ‘Timewrought Kings’ op de proppen via het Russische Solitude Productions. Het is duidelijk te horen dat men voorheen ‘Monuments’ was ook al is de muziek toch ietwat anders, de blackinvloeden die er in Monuments nog duidelijk in zaten zijn er nu zo’n beetje helemaal uit. Wat te verwachten? Melodieuze death doom met wat post metal invloeden, grunt die wordt afgewisseld met cleane zang, vijf nummers die bij elkaar iets meer dan vijftig minuten duren. Oftewel genoeg tijd binnen een nummer om het langzaam op te bouwen en naar een hoogtepunt toe te werken. En dat gebeurt dan ook. Het zit allemaal prima in elkaar en weet een mooie droevige maar toch ook weer hoopvolle sfeer op te roepen. Er zijn stukken die me aan Officium Triste doen denken. Waarom? Geen idee. Het is een gevoel dat ik erbij krijg.

‘Timewrought Kings’ is een prima debuut geworden en een ieder die melodieuze death doom kan waarderen en niet bang is voor wat post metalinvloeden en cleane vocalen moet echt hier eens naar luisteren. Hopelijk is de band snel live te aanschouwen, al zal dat wel niet als ik Metal Archives mag geloven. Daar staat namelijk dat de band ‘on hiatus’ is. Hopelijk duurt die pauze niet te lang, want het zou zonde zijn als men niet verder gaat.

Author: Marcel H.