The firm performance of the respective members offers plenty of twisted tempo changes, right from the slow crawling tempo in the opening track “Noemata”. Phrenelith clawing its way back to the old school brutality of the dense guitar sound and the massive sounding double bass bursting with mammoth guttural growls in “Astral Larvae”. The third album emphasizes the atmospheric elements and its ability to consistently pummel the listener through the sonic potency and the tempo changes.

“Ashen Tomb” proves to be more diverse than the previous album, “Chimaera”; there are some occasional death/doom parts. The vocals are just monstrous and brutal and the crushing pace of the drums is extremely fast, with the riffs being inspiring throughout the album. The structure of the scathing riffs in “A Husk Wrung Dry” will blow your mind away as the drums erupt to form a dense wall of sound that scorches your skin to melt.

Phrenelith engulfs you in the slow creeping darkness with that being said, the Dens emphasize plenty of tempo changes, from the grinding percussive work to the low-guttural growls. Under forty minutes, the album presents its supreme heaviness, the guitar enhancing the atmosphere and the slow tempo, that constantly changes. Tremolo riffs that carve out infectious hooks with excellent vocals, the songs are composed with fast, blasting parts, and slower passages.

The grim cavernous sound of the guttural growls spewing molten lava and the instruments flow together perfectly. Phrenelith has upped its game by focusing on blackened tremolos; the album contains nine tracks. The constant riffing and the battering ferocity convey a brilliant mixture that will remind fans of the band’s debut album “Desolate Endscape”.

The sound is heavy, dense, and chunky riffs adding to the slow atmospheric melodies and the doom-crushing paces, and the riffs and the guttural growling in “Lithopaedion” have achieved what the previous album lacked. The Danish quartet infuses the kind of obscurity in each track that fits the crushingly heavy layered guitar melodies adding to the sound.

“Nebulae” prepares you for an intense death metal battering, you will hear some doom-laden passages amid the blistering drums. Some songs start with slow marching drums and only crush you with absolute heaviness. There are many slow and uncanny guitar leads and riffs that morbidly depict the ancient raw death metal sound that emphasizes the flow of the riffs.

“Stagnated Blood” begins at a blistering pace, there are some groovy and catchy leads and riffs that infuse a putrid atmosphere. The mastering art is epic in the third album and this is because of the outstanding writing skills that these guys have achieved a milestone performance.

The riffing quality of “Ashen Womb” has flawless production, the chunky guitar tone would easily rank this album amongst the best death albums in 2025. The album’s highlight is the tempo shifts and the sludgy guitar riffs are flawlessly combined with atmospheric sections to impose a sonic majesty.

Despite the grimy atmosphere, “Sphageion” offers a short ambient interlude that segues into “Chrysopoeia”. The cavernous atmosphere and the guttural growls deliver something similar to the band Undergang giving you the chills.

The mid-pacing tempo of the drums ferociously blasts through the background while the riffs engulf the atmosphere. After the down-tuned riffs, Phrenelith takes the listener into a creepy and atmospheric ride; evoking the grim feeling of bands like Incantation and punctuated by the blistering riffs. Menacing slow and brutally ugly, the drums bludgeon constantly with deep grunts and are executed in a masterful way that only Phrenelith could achieve.

Links