Band:	Defiled Embrace
Album:	The Nether Earth
Style:	Death doom metal
Release date:	September 06, 2024
A review by:	AndyMetalFreak

01. This Blackened Half
02. Defiled Embrace
03. Cold
04. The Nether Earth (In Shade Of Rotten Trees II)
05. Pieces [feat. Reut Paz Natovich]
06. Mausoleum
07. Dim
08. Erase All That Is Pure

Embrace this one man's passion for death doom and The Nether Earth.

We so often associate great death doom bands with Northern Europe (Scandinavia and the UK specifically), but Defiled Embrace was established in Israel by vocalist and songwriter Matan Kedar. Kedar formed the project in 2021 after 11 years of writing songs for various bands he was associated with during this period that never quite materialized. With the help of several session musicians, he released Whispers Of The Forest in 2022, a reasonably solid full-length debut that never quite received the recognition it perhaps deserved. Defiled Embrace is back two years later to present sophomore album The Nether Earth, on which Kedar as vocalist and songwriter is joined by session musicians Omer Cohen of Edellom (guitars/bass/keys), Iftah levy of Prey For Nothing (drums), and Reut Paz Natovich (vocals).

The album's opener "This Blackened Half" isn't blackened in the metal style sense, but the theme the song represents certainly is. The track begins in typical death doom fashion with crushing mid-tempo riffs, deep, heavy bass, rolling, thunderous drum beats, and beastly death growls. However, enchanting keys, dark whispering chants, and lighter, more melodic guitar work are layered throughout, adding wider dynamics to an already immersive melancholic soundscape. The band's eponymous song opts for a more symphonic route, adding a variety of neoclassical elements in the form of piano and various string instruments, along with light background synths. The song itself offers a more melodic and less traditional interpretation of death doom.

The album is off to a solid start, although perhaps more so performance-wise than for the memorability of its songwriting, and this applies for the next few tracks as well. "Cold" is a song as bleak and chilling as the title would suggest, through its repetitive, heavy chugging rhythm, and desperate howls and growls signifying a sense of unbearable suffering. "The Nether Earth (In Shade of Rotten Trees, Part II)" is a song equally melodic as it is crushing, the light heavenly synths and soft melancholic guitar strings adding to a majestic and sorrowful atmosphere, whilst the beastly growls and higher-pitched shrieks work in tandem with heavy instrumentation. "Pieces" then breaks the mould as the lightest and most melodic song on the album; it also contains a catchy looping chorus featuring angelic guest singer Reut Paz Natovich.

Unfortunately, the album's quality doesn't necessarily pick up from here, although that's not say that the remaining 3 songs fall below the standard set by the rest of the record, as there are a few highlights still to come. "Mausoleum", for instance, contains some exceptional lead guitar work, whilst closing track "Erase All That Is Pure" has some striking atmospheric moments, including the sound of gentle crashing waves behind a soft acoustic melody building up to a finale that presents the heaviest and most crushing section of the entire album.

I don't believe Defiled Embrace has quite reached the upper echelons of death doom, but where this project differs from competing bands within the sub-genre is with its unique naturalistic sound; there's an authenticity about the way the band presents this cold, eerie, sorrowful soundscape. The style of The Nether Earth also incorporates a softer, more melodic side, and mastermind Kedar delivers an undeniably passionate performance. If the project continues in this manner, we can expect great things going forwards, I'm sure.