Band:	Lethvm
Album:	Winterreise
Style:	Atmospheric sludge metal
Release date:	April 2023

01. Blank
02. Pretence
03. Torrents
04. Carved
05. Mournful
06. Night

I discovered Lethvm in 2019 with their album Acedia, which was some top-tier Amenra worship. Four years on, and the Belgians in Lethvm still resemble their compatriots, but they distinguish themselves a bit more this time around.

If you’re acquainted with Amenra, that opening should give you some idea of what to expect from Lethvm, and the opening track on this album, “Blank”, delivers on some of those expectations; the pained shrieks of Vincent Dessard are eerily reminiscent of those of Colin Van Eeckhout. The clean vocals less so; there’s an almost monastic tone to the deeper, richer singing on Winterreise, and the steady, processional guitar chugs and drums in the middle of this song perhaps accentuate the ceremonial vibe conveyed by this singing. The heavy parts that Lethvm use do sometimes hark to the black-tinged walls of sound that Amenra are renowned for; in addition to the climax of “Blank”, there are also good examples of this in “Torrents” and “Mournful”. However, sometimes Lethvm focus more on grimmer, sludgier tones; the closing stages of “Mournful” are suffocatingly heavy, reminding me of a band like Conjurer at their heaviest.

I’ll make one more comparison to Amenra; soft-loud contrasts are a defining aspect of not just them, but post-metal as a whole, but they are notable for the extent and almost binary nature of the dynamic contrasts. On Winterreise, there are tracks that follow this template, most notably “Torrents” and “Carved”, each of which strip right back midway through and introduce passages reliant on the most sparse musical soundscapes. This isn’t the only way in which Lethvm can introduce levity, however; there are some very occasional dalliances with richer-sounding post-rock tremolos. The most prominent song for this is “Night”, which progresses from a sedate, atmospheric first half into a climax that is almost bordering on blackgaze.

I feel like Lethvm most strongly distinguish themselves from their compatriots in the use of cleaner vocals. An obvious example of this is the guest feature of Elena Lacroix on “Mournful”, whose gentle, almost ethereal tone adds a gothic atmosphere to a quiet midsection that otherwise has an almost blackened atmosphere, particularly when her vocals are overlapped. The song that stands out even more strongly to me, however, is “Pretence”; the melancholic, delicate clean guitar and heartfelt clean singing feels like it would be right at home on an album such as Anathema’s Judgement. It’s a strikingly tender passage, particular on a song so early in the tracklist, and it moves very satisfyingly into the heavier portion of the song, a heavier portion that initially keeps some restraint with the guitars, even with the anguished screams being introduced. Even the heaviness of this song stands somewhat alone on the album, with some filthy grim trudging.

I have mentioned Amenra a lot in this review; it is unfortunate to spend so much time drawing parallels, but I do feel like the comparisons will be inevitable while there remains so much with which to compare the two acts. However, in addition to very successfully channeling the essence of their fellow Belgians, Lethvm do offer a more concise interpretation of that vision, with the longest song here clocking in at 7:28. They also do show some signs of developing their own identity, particularly with “Pretence” and “Mournful”; if they can continue with this development while also still exploiting the strengths of their apparent influences, it will be intriguing to see where they end up going forward.