This is the second album from Norwegian black metallers Vemod.
The Deepening contains 48 minutes of dark blackened worldscapes. It’s the sort of record that is worth exploring in a thorough and comprehensive manner, as there are many rewards to be had within its beautifully coated exterior.
The Deepening is black metal with a firm grasp of melody and atmosphere. The music is spacious and vast, drawing the listener in with vistas of rich darkness for them to explore; Vemod craft melancholic soundscapes that are immersive and mood-focused. Black metal’s aggressive bite is here, but it’s channelled in atmospheric directions and used as another tool to aid the band’s vivid constructions. The songwriting emphasises such worldbuilding, and has an introspective heart that can be felt even in the harshest of vocals and coldest of sharp of riffs.
Each track on this record has a voice of its own, and all of them showcase different facets of Vemod’s personality. Classic second wave black metal influences are certainly felt, but across the record you can hear a range of others. For example, the progressive rock-tinged Inn I Lysande Natt, which reminds me of Anathema, or the multifaceted storm of emotion that is opener Der Guder Dør. I should also mention the epic closing title track, with its soaring clean singing and expansive scope that slowly fades to nothing.
The songs benefit from an ethereal, otherworldly aura. They have a feel common to nature-based atmospheric black metal, but coat it in layers of celestial mood. There’s also a blackgaze aspect, which bathes the music in resplendent beauty, while also allowing for moments of fragile elegance and delicate texture to appear. The Deepening fluctuates between dreamy and nightmarish. It’s always despondent, but never bleak. Vemod’s songwriting emphasises emotion, and these songs drip with presence and feeling.
The Deepening is impressive and absorbing. For fans of bands such as Fluisteraars, Alcest, Agalloch, Stellar Descent, Evergreen Refuge, Chrome Waves, Wolves in the Throne Room, and Drudkh, this is definitely one to check out.
Very highly recommended.
Wonderbox Metal 
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