Honestly, you had me at the phrase ‘behind the door of the sepulchre of pain.’ I’m a simple creature, after all, and drama-laced downer doom suits me just fine, feeling feelings and all that. Orlando, Florida, solo-project Somnent‘s second album, Gardens From Graves, alternates between shorter and longer tracks and has plenty of deathly bludgeon to go with its beauty-in-darkness resonance, and oh, I do like the title-track, throaty growls, softer, post-Opeth/Katatonia cleans and all. Giovanni Antonio Vigliotti, who made his debut as Somnent in 2015, has a dry-throat growl that sounds like it genuinely hurts, and the instrumental constructs he places behind it are fluid and purposeful, patient and encompassing. This isn’t everyone’s kind of metal, but even down to its acoustic bonus tracks, it’s a microgenre within doom that’s expressive unto itself.

It’s amazing to think it comes from someplace so warm. The 2017 debut LP, Sojourn, is streaming below. The new record — no public audio yet — refines melody and production alike, just for context.

The PR wire has release details. Gardens From Graves is out Oct. 25 on GS Productions:

Somnent to release second album, Gardens From Graves, on October 25th

Beneath the soil of scars and tears, nestled within a loam of lonely, silent nights and days blighted by cold stares and barbed words lie the patient seeds of fresh hope. A kernel of strength, a tiny heart of iron hidden within the darkness, waiting for the sun. Within the boneyard of loss and spite, behind the door of the sepulchre of pain, small eyes wait and watch for the memories to fade and the clouds of oppression to part…

The pain of emotional abuse and the determination to overcome its lasting wounds, the days of despair along the path to recovery, the suffocating darkness that threatens to overwhelm and that desperate, agonising but wonderful breath of hard fought for air; all of these infuse the intensely melancholic but utterly beautiful melodic death doom metal of Somnent’s new album. Gardens From Graves has the power to carry your heart through each step of this journey and it’s a listening experience that will leave you breathless. There is an honesty and integrity of emotion within these songs that goes far beyond any form of artistry or artifice. The sheer weight of sorrow can at times leave you frantic to escape the gloom, a living thing buried in its sleep, clawing through the earth. Yet the moments of peace, the beautiful melodies woven by the guitar and vocals are sublime. The greatest art is that which makes the listener or beholder feel – deeply and passionately – and the chalice of Gardens From Graves is overflowing with emotion. The rhythms align with your heartbeat, the lead work carries your spirit and the voice immerses your soul in a lake of tears – of pain, of sadness and hope.

Gardens From Graves is the realisation of all the potential displayed on Somnent’s previous releases, the Eventide EP of 2015 and the full length debut album, Sojourn, which came out in 2017. Featuring a guest appearance from Jari Lindholm (Enshine, Exgenesis) and evocative artwork created by Augusto Peixoto (Sinister Realm, In Solitude etc) this exquisite tome of doomed, melancholic metal will be released on October 25th by GS Productions. As winter draws in, clouds will cover the sky and your hearts will be forged anew in the cold flames of grief.

“This sorrow won’t last forever, even if some scars remain”

Tracklisting:
1. Silhouette
2. Acquiescence
3. Despite the Scourge
4. Fragments
5. Gardens from Graves
6. Blackened Heart feat. Jari Lindholm
7. Withered to a Shadow
8. Resolve [Bonus Track]
9. Fragments Acoustic [Bonus Track]

Line-up:
Giovanni Antonio Vigliotti – All music and vocals

https://www.facebook.com/somnent
https://somnent.bandcamp.com/
https://play.spotify.com/album/1Ggg3EBeT4cc5qwJBlz5aB
https://gsproduction.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/GSP-Magazine-671740502863277/
http://gsp-music.com/

Somnent, Sojourn (2017)