Band:	Thragedium
Album:	Lisboa Depois De Morta
Style:	Gothic doom metal
Release date:	November 2023

01. Desagregação
02. Lucefécit
03. The Adorer
04. O Pacto
05. Terra Mãe
06. Nations Fall
07. Pretérito Imperfeito
08. Um Mal Necessário
09. Trimarkisia
10. Lisboa Depois De Morta
11. The Old Oak And The Mandrake Root

While Portugal hasn’t spawned a huge number of international metal acts, they’ve made a sizeable impact on the worlds of gothic and doom metal, with the likes of Moonspell, Heavenwood and Process Of Guilt: perhaps to be expected, from the country whose language brought the world ‘saudade’. One more name to add to the pile is Thragedium, who offer their own unique take on doom metal with their post-hiatus comeback, Lisboa Depois De Morta.

2023 mark 25 years since Thragedium formed, but they’ve only been an active band for a fraction of that period. Two albums in the early 2000s were followed by over a decade of hiatus, before an eventual reunion to release Lisboa Depois De Morta (translation: Lisbon AD) two decades after their previous album. Thragedium, who already had links to Moonspell in their first run (as Fernando Ribeiro guested on those first two albums), further establish their ties with the gothic metal titans; this new album comes courtesy of Ribeiro’s Alma Mater Records, and his bandmate Hugo Ribeiro performs guest drums on the new release. Alma Mater claim that Lisboa Depois De Morta is ‘one of the most outrageous artistic pieces [they] ever released on the label’, and having heard the album, it’s not a hyperbolic claim.

In their first iteration, Thragedium could be referred to as a gothic doom band, much like compatriots Moonspell and Heavenwood. On their comeback album, that same genre classification is faintly applicable; the prevailing genre on the record is arguably doom, which does descend into death/doom, while there are gothic influences remaining in the band’s writing, including moments that take my mind to acts such as Saturnus. However, it’s a very different take on the concept; even discounting for the dramatic improvements in recording quality, the more conventional gothic doom sound from Isolationist is broadly absent this time around.

Instead, one aspect that was a minor factor on those first two releases has been greatly expanded upon. There are segments on Theatrum XXIII and Isolationist in which the Portuguese guitar appeared, although from a quick skim through both albums, its use appears relatively segregated. On Lisboa Depois De Morta, the Portuguese guitar far more integrated album’s composition, and further use of other Portuguese traditional instruments, percussion (such as adufe) and choirs has been incorporated too. In their post-hiatus era, Thragedium are reinventing themselves into a self-stylized neofolk metal band, although this particular take on neofolk is distinct from the Nordic sound that is becoming increasingly prevalent. As far as other bands operating in a similar vein are concerned, probably the act that comes to mind for neofolk/doom fusions is Empyrium, and they’re something of a useful reference point, but this really has a personality all of its own.

At 68 minutes in length, this isn’t the kind of lightweight comeback that bands such as Green Carnation have produced in recent years; Thragedium have fully committed to this album, warts and all, and packed quite a bit of variety into it. “Desagregação” is a really good opener in terms of establishing the band’s methodology on the album; the delicate acoustic guitar both serves as a prelude for the gloomy death/doom that subsequently kicks in, and also as an accompaniment for said metal, the lively acoustic guitar melody working nicely in tandem with the more sedate, sorrowful electric guitar lead melody. After the heavy doomy riffs and growls, a later sequence in the songs sees a reversion back to acoustic sounds; with the drum kit joined by more traditional percussion, the central delicate acoustic guitar motif is joined by a second acoustic guitar reprising the doom metal riff to very satisfying effect.

The album as a whole doesn’t draconianly restrict itself to Draconian-style sorrow; with the Portuguese guitar’s mysterious melody and tone, the ominous group chants and menacing doom riff, “Lucefécit” is more sinister in vibe, while the spacious “Nations Fall” lingers somewhere between eerie and apocalyptic with its atmosphere. In terms of vocals, the metal is commonly accompanied by growls, while the softer passages frequently feature a more hushed tone, but there are sequences with clean singing, such as the ritualistic “The Adorer”, on which a nasally-toned voice works in tandem with the growls.

The folk prevalence fluctuates between tracks; the aforementioned ones are more on the doom metal end of the spectrum, but shorter cuts such as “O Pacto” and “Terra Mãe” are more neofolk than metal. Each part of the equation is similarly compelling (although I probably have a greater inclination towards the folk), and when they fully commit to the acoustic folk for the melancholic quasi-ballad “Um Mal Necessário” (featuring guest vocalist Pedro Oliveira), it’s very effective. Beyond Empyrium, another band that has fused acoustic folk and metal is Agalloch, and while the song “Trimarkisia” in general is perhaps the closest Thragedium get to gothic doom here, the opening with the semi-spoken word is one of several moments that takes my mind to The Mantle. The title track could almost serve as this album’s equivalent to “A Desolation Song”, if it wasn’t for the 12-minute epic that rounds out the record.

“The Old Oak And The Mandrake Root” is something of a manifesto for Thragedium circa 2023; early on, there are acoustic guitars, traditional percussion (from tindrels to emphatic drums), gloomy guitar melodies, and growls, but then subsequently there is a transition from bleakness to a genuinely uplifting second half, one that seems to embody a feeling of rebirth and beginning anew. The gentle singing (including a female singer cameo), the jangling acoustics and accordion delivering mellow melodies: the music that comes most strongly to mind, oddly enough, is “Now We Are Free” from the Gladiator soundtrack. It’s a bit of a left turn, but it’s really quite special, and brings a whole new dimension to an already impressive album.

Thragedium are a name that had eluded me up until the release of Lisboa Depois De Morta, and if I’m honest, if I had heard their first two albums prior to their comeback, I doubt I would have been eagerly awaiting their return. This album is quite the impressive evolution for the group, and one that leaves me hoping that the group will be sticking around for a while to come.