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Apotelesma - Timewrought Kings (CD)

doom death, Solitude Productions, Solitude Productions
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466.67 Р
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SP. 129-17 x
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'Timewrought Kings' is the debut album of the Dutch doom band formerly known as Monuments, and the result of many hours of arduous, passionate, and sometimes frustrating work. Following the EP, 'The December Sessions', 'Timewrought Kings' chronicles one's apprehension at the transience of time and a growing disgust at the weakness in man, yet clinging on to some measure of hope and pride rooted in a sort of staunch steadfastness, and eventually abandoning society altogether. In a sense, one is wrought, or made into that which one is, by the inescapable arrow of time, constantly pushing one into a ceaseless industriousness celebrated by modern society.

Tracklist:
1 Aural Emanations
2 The Weakest Of Men
3 Timewrought
4 Our Blooming Essence
5 Remnants

Artist:
Apotelesma
Artist Country:
Netherlands
Album Year:
2017
Title:
Timewrought Kings
Genre:
doom death
Format:
CD
Type:
CD Album
Package:
Jewel Case
Label:
Solitude Productions
Cat Num:
SP. 129-17
Release Year:
2017
Barcode:
4627080611245
Country Of Manufacture:
Russia
Review
Moshpit Nation
4/5

Doom metal. It’s one of those things that you either get into, or you just don’t. I myself can at times love it and equally loathe it. Sometimes you just want to have a listen to something a little faster paced, or you are a bit down and it can only help to take you further down the tunnel of darkness in your mind.

The other thing that bugs me is that most doom bands leave me with little room to be ridiculous, because it is very serious stuff. Suddenly the urge to be a clown leaves me like the urge to slap the shit out of my fellow human beings when they are being arseholes when I hear it.

When it is done well, and you are up for it, doom as a genre can be almost art. Those that do it well are obviously thinkers and also require the ability to be able to project their feelings of what must be utter misery towards the listener. This band has that down pat.

Apotelesma combine all of the traits of a successful doom band. The ability to make you feel what they must have had to feel whilst writing this epic. Mitch is on duty as your inner feelings of utter helplessness and despair on vocals. Ruben on guitar with fellow string depressor Yuri (who also adds to the misery with backing vocals) produce at one moment utter beauty and the next soul crushing riffs.

The heart pumping blood into this machine of moroseness is fed by the aptly named Dennis on bass (Dennis is such a foreboding name, is it not ha-ha) and Martijn on the drums, but all jokes aside this is a beautiful album. Powerful and moving, food for the soul. Every player in this piece adding their own brush stroke to a picture of sorrow.

Great stuff. The opening to the final song ‘Remnants’ is the perfect picture of a man in two states of mind, none of which appear to be good. Highly recommended for those of a darker nature.

Recommendation: Our doom is already written in the cards, prepare thyself

Author: The Great Mackintosh
Review
All Around Metal
4/5
07.12.2017

Attivi dal 2012 al 2015 come Monuments – monicker col quale registreranno l’EP “The December Sessions” -, gli Apotelesma prendono questo nuovo nome nel 2015 per l’appunto e con “Timewrought Kings” arrivano alla pubblicazione del primo full, grazie alla Solitude Productions. Un lavoro che, purtroppo, rischia di poter essere già il canto del cigno per la Doom/Death band olandese, andata in pausa a tempo indefinito proprio dopo l’uscita del disco.

Già il solo fatto d’esser parte del roster della Solitude Productions mi faceva ben sperare. E lo so, si tratta di un ossimoro, visto che l’etichetta russa è specializzata soprattutto in Doom/Death e Funeral Doom, due generi dove il termine “speranza” è praticamente bandito. Tralasciando le amenità quello che intendevo è che la Solitude è molto attenta in ciò che produce e nel suo campo, per quanto mi riguarda, è sinonimo di qualità assoluta. Gli Apotelesma non fanno eccezione, dandoci in pasto un disco in cui tematiche esoteriche si accompagnano ad un sound cupo e decadente. Tristi arpeggi e passaggi atmosferici trovano spazio insieme a momenti più duri e catacombali, quasi al limite del Funeral Doom, come ad esempio nella bellissima “The Weakest of Men”, highlight di un album che sulle prime sembrava non dovesse colpirmi, complice qualche imperfezione nell’opening “Aural Emanations”… imperfezione che è andata però scemando già col procedere della prima traccia, lasciando spazio ad un disco che fa quel che è l’onesto lavoro di un album di questo genere: andare a colpire nei punti più sensibili l’emozioni dell’ascoltatore. L’eterea, mistica “Timewrought” risulta essere un magnifico intermezzo, prima che i nostri calino negli abissi con le due lunghissime tracce conclusive. E noi con loro, grazie a (o per colpa di) “Our Blooming Essence” e “Remnants”.

Ed è coi nostri, di resti (trad. in inglese: remnants”), che facciamo i conti alla fine dell’ascolto di “Timewrought Kings”. Come ogni band di questo genere che si rispetti, gli Apotelesma riescono a mettere l’ascoltatore di fronte a quel che ha dentro: tristezza, malinconia, solitudine, sono le sole compagne che si riesce ad avere quando si ascolta una band Doom/Death (o Funeral pure, se è per questo) che sa fare il proprio mestiere. Sinceramente non ho idea del perché gli Apotelesma siano al momento fermi, ma sarebbe un vero peccato non dare seguito ad un album così bello come questo loro debutto.

Author: Daniele Ogre
Review
ZwareMetalen
8.4/10
30.12.2017

Nummer vijf en tevens de laatste in de serie “Te goed om te laten liggen” komt van het Nederlandse Apotelesma. Deze band ging voorheen door het leven als Monuments, maar werd te vaak verward met de Britse gelijknamige band. Vandaar de naamswijziging. Timewrought Kings is in ieder geval het debuut en als we pech hebben ook de zwanenzang aangezien de heren gelijk een pauze voor onbepaalde tijd hebben genomen. Het album is uitgebracht op het Russische Solitude Productions dat een constante stroom van doom/death op de markt weet te brengen, maar het meeste hiervan ontstijgt de middelmaat (helaas) niet.

Gelukkig geldt dat niet voor Apotelesma want deze heren weten hier echt een overtuigend debuut neer te zetten. Waar we ze op hun EP onder de andere naam al hebben leren kennen als een band die doom mengt met invloeden van black metal en wat post-metal wordt die lijn hier door getrokken. De opener brengt direct vanaf het begin vooral sfeer en afwisseling en trage riffs die doorbroken worden door snellere stukken met blastbeats. Grunts en screams welke opeens doorbroken worden door cleane vocalen die de boel echt opfrissen. Een gitaarsolo tegen het eind waardoor de eerste ruime negen minuten voorbij zijn voor je er erg in hebt. Deze afwisseling weet de band het gehele album vol te houden en zo ook de aandacht van de luisteraar nergens kwijt te raken. Op The Weakest of Man zijn er bijvoorbeeld opeens Nederlandse vocalen die opduiken en net weer wat extra’s brengen. Deze vocalen zijn wat mij betreft echt een schot in de roos en had dit dan ook graag vaker terug gehoord op het album.

Met deze plaat komt er een einde aan de serie “Te goed om te laten liggen” voor het jaar 2017. Dit betekent zeker niet dat ik hiermee alles van dit jaar ook de ruimte heb gegeven die het verdiende, maar wel dat ik jullie een paar albums onder de aandacht heb kunnen brengen waarvan ik denk dat ze het verdienen. Neem dus ook deze lokale helden uit Utrecht mee bij het samenstellen van jullie lijsten en geniet van al het nieuws dat er nog gaat komen!

Author: Wouter
Review
Metal Temple
7/10
27.01.2017

“Timewrought Kings” is the debut release by Dutch band APOTELESMA: unfortunately, this might be their too early swan song, as, born in 2012 under the moniker MONUMENTS, just after publishing this album on November 2017, they went on indefinite hiatus. This is a pity indeed, as these guys appear to know how to handle their death doom: harsh songwriting, with few space for melodic insertions, beside some guitar melody or sections underlying clean vocals passages.

“Aural Emanations” opens the album juxtaposing beauty and harshness, with the insert of clean vocals over their doom sound building up over its 9 mins length. “The Weakest of Men” is a solid track, containing a remarkable guitar work. “Remnants” is enhanced by awesome clean vocals in the midsection. All the tracks and sections, whether going down on the doom side or elevating toward atmospheric black metal, show an underlying remarkable songwriting and album design: our fellow Dutch can weave their music on several different layers, using both a harsh or a mellow approach.

Although having shown with this work a certain degree of maturity, APOTELESMA deserve and need to continue their path, barely covered so far: it would be a real pity to waste their potential with a prolonged hiatus. They haven’t reach their peak; some flaws might indeed be noticed along the tracklist but all hints to a lot of unexpressed rage and ability.

Author: Riccardo Gaffuri
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