The Slovakian cultists DOOMAS have called forth their latest manifestation of dread, which is titled after the lost mythical city where Cthulhu dwells, and R’lyeh captures the essence of that nightmarish realm in its deep aural currents. This atmosphere is conjured through various elements, including a stormy and oceanic introduction on “Cult Yog-Sothoth,” and dark ambient choirs permeate these rites to augment a multitude of riffing horrors. Dismal tremolo layers reflect the murky regions alongside a sinister double bass procession, and heavier distorted patterns are accommodated across rhythms that shift with blasts and rocking beats. Some possess ritualistic qualities, and vocals occasionally match this effect with chanting deviations from their guttural dominance. They also extend to rasps on tracks like “Ia Kingu!”, where frenzied drum fills demonstrate a capacity for intricate percussive technique, and other monstrous forms are encountered while breaks in the chaos offer moments to gaze into an overarching abyss.
These features effectively gather to compose dynamic tonal effects, with a majestic distinction characterizing the melodies and aura of “Abyss,” and alluring keys emerge concurrently with a rhythmic riff structure on “Portal,” a track also channeling malevolence through its ambient substance and areas of pronounced fretwork. Many other melodic or arpeggiated designs are buried among the depths of riffing masses, and “Hounds of Tindalos” embeds them deeper among its pulsing emphasis. A grand spirit turns sinister during “A&Ω,” where an exemplary display of songcraft is observed in the cooperation between different textures, and it escalates as if aiming to summon the most terrible forces. Its attainment soars when followed by a lead melody that expands into soloing, and this is one element which could have been employed more to fully capitalize on each hymn. It returns along with clean-stringed and ethereal shades to seal a massive closing enchantment on “Consumed by the Ocean: Father!”, after “The Crown” descends toward points of crushing death riffage, and the formulas presented here ultimately build on past efforts while inspiring a wrathful upheaval from the Great Old Ones.
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