Band:	Swallowed Whole
Album:	Megalomania
Style:	Black metal, Death metal, Doom metal
Release date:	March 2018

01. Ashurnasirpal
02. Leopold II
03. Maximilien Robespierre
04. Hong Xiuquan
05. Domitian
06. Tamerlane
07. Talaat Pasha
08. Jim Jones

Extreme doom, one of my absolute favorite areas of the metal spectrum, often seems to be an area where crafting truly engaging, standout releases is proving increasingly difficult for musicians. Perhaps that feeling is owed to the fact that I listen to so much of it, perhaps to the fact that there truly is some "hidden formula" that's incredibly difficult for musicians to pull off, or perhaps both. Put simply, it's an area of the metal spectrum where the line between the "good" releases and the "great" releases is carved pretty firmly in stone. Thankfully, this year Swallowed Whole is stepping up to show people exactly where that line is carved.

A fairly new one man project of an individual known only as "Atrox," Swallowed Whole is a colossal, frightening maelstrom of (predominantly) doom, black, and death metal. This debut album, Megalomania, reveals many of its overarching themes from the cover art, album, and track titles alone. A bleak, red and black image of a presumable ruler standing atop a massive pyramid before the ruled greets viewers. Track titles referencing ruthless, manipulative tyrants across human history, from Assyria to China to the Belgian Congo, construct the album. This is a dark release, and one that clearly seeks to explore the darker roots of humanity's seemingly insatiable lust for power and the domination of others over time. Indeed, this is an endeavor at which Atrox largely succeeds. A filthy, ravenous sound dominates Megalomania, at times slow, plodding, and painful ("Hong Xiuqan," "Ashurnasirpal") and at others incredibly riff heavy, upbeat, and frenetic, more embracing of the underlying death and black metal influences ("Leopold II," "Jim Jones"). The most interesting feature, however, has to be the fact that Atrox also includes minor atmospheric and melodic breaks throughout the album as well, "Maximilien Robespierre" perhaps being the best example. This technique is admittedly utilized minimally, but it works wonderfully towards adding an extra dimension to the music that gives it a lot more lasting power than other "we play doom and growl for 50 minutes" type bands have.

Having said this, Megalomania is not without its faults, even if they are rather minor in the grand scheme of things. The production especially may be off putting to many, being incredibly murky, lo fi, and, quite frankly overwhelming at many points throughout the album. While this initially bothered me, after repeated listens I somewhat came to believe that really nothing less than this particular production technique would be suitable here, given the lyrical content of the album. Much like other bands one could point to, such as Autokrator or Anaal Nathrakh for instance, the murk and the filth helps to reinforce how terrifying and repulsive the themes being explored are in the first place. Additionally, I personally would have preferred more tracks like "Leopold II" and "Jim Jones" here, that feel a little groovier and really pull off a much tighter fusion between the doom, death, and black than is found elsewhere on the album. Hopefully with refinement in the future, Atrox will push Swallowed Whole more in this direction.

Overall, Megalomania is a release that is quite powerful and frightening for extreme doom. Where many bands that purvey this type of music lately seem to have been shifting more toward exploring atmosphere and melody, Swallowed Whole enters the picture with an album that returns to the style's more malevolent and unrelenting origins, while also hinting at greater layering and more detailed composition techniques in the future. Megalomania certainly won't end up being made for everyone, but if you're a fan of truly hard hitting, dreary music, don't let this one pass you by.

"To me death is not a fearful thing. It's living that is cursed."
~ Cyanide Kool-Aid Man