Band:	Plaguewielder
Album:	Chambers Of Death
Style:	Atmospheric doom metal
Release date:	August 25, 2015
A review by:	Auntie Sahar

01. Existence Is Our Exile
02. Drowned
03. Casket Of Dying Flesh
04. Father Suicide
05. The Funeral March

Listening to Plaguewielder is a lot like looking at one of those optical illusion pictures.

That is to say, the band gives you a difficult time trying to discern what they are exactly. Chambers Of Death, the full length debut from these Luxembourg newcomers, is an album that delights in hiding its true intentions, as it appears to morph more frequently the deeper you get into it. At their heart, Plaguewielder are a doom band, but the waters they choose to submerge that doom in tend to shift and sway at a wild, unpredictable whim. "Existence Is Our Exile" seems easy enough to grasp: some thick, pulsating doom gets topped off by a bit of a "blackened" aesthetic, complete with tremolo picking, shrieks, and a subtle keyboard for added atmosphere. Yet if you think you're going to be dealing with a blackened doom album from this opener, you're in for a few surprises.

A huge factor in the sound of Plaguewielder is the maintenance of a good sense of atmosphere: the relaxing, melodic type that sucks you right in, and this atmosphere comes to weave itself in and out of the heavier aspect of the music in various degrees all throughout their debut. Sometimes it's just sprinkled in, like with that awesome organ sound that dominates "Casket Of Dying Flesh," and at other points it serves as a departure from the doom sound entirely, such as on "Father Suicide" or the almost psychedelic approach on "Drowned." It's clear that Plaguewielder borrowed many stylistic influences when it came to building this sense of atmosphere, and as a result, it can become hard to pinpoint one exact sound that they're set on pursuing here... which can be highly satisfying if you're looking for diversity, but perhaps a bit frustrating as well if you're looking for consistency.

With Chambers Of Death, Plaguewielder are playing around with a ton of great ideas, but they seem a bit unsettled on where exactly they're going with them. It's also somewhat disappointing that this album has three of the same tracks that were previously featured on their 2013 EP on it, as it means that over half of it is essentially old material. Having said that, however, this debut is still an incredibly fun listening experience, with all of its various twists and turns, despite the fact that it could afford to be a little tighter. One thing that you really can't complain about with these guys is a lack of originality, because they've got the vision and the drive for sure. Their formula could just use a bit of refinement, and I for one will definitely be keeping a sharp eye out for what they do next.

Check it out on Bandcamp