I’m always on the hunt for more interesting atmospheric black metal. It’s a genre I can’t seem to get quiet enough of. Luckily for me, it seems the genre is on the ascent in previous years and there’s no shortage of both veteran bands still making great music and newcomers flogging to the flag of blast-beats, acoustics, and deep, contrasting black metal. To this former category we can now add Dawn of Ouroboros, an Oakland based band which make the kind of epic, satisfying, and varied black metal for which I long. Tomorrow, they’re releasing a standalone single titled “Sorrow’s Eclipse” to kick things off for their upcoming release, The Art of Morphology, which we are proud to premiere here today. Head on down below to stream it!
During its almost nine minute run time, “Sorrow’s Eclipse” does a lot of things right. The guitar tones are especially worth noticing, alternating between the more thick and stolid sounds of the backing guitars and the piercing, treble-heavy intonations that mark the track’s solos. The bass adds beautifully to these sounds, either thickening out the bottom of the main chords or contrasting really well with the higher pitches. The vocals are also obviously part of this track, whether the harsher, closer-to-screeching vocals are the deeply melodic cleans.
The contrast between the two runs throughout the track; like all good atmospheric black metal, the track draws its strength from the balance between heavy and soft, loud and quiet. With “Sorrow’s Eclipse”, Dawn of Ouroboros have also added slight symphonic and melodic elements to the mix, reminding us of bands like Vallendusk or Sojourner with their grand style of black metal. Head on over to the band’s Bandcamp above to buy the single and keep your eyes peeled for more from their upcoming album, The Art of Morphology!