Band:	Melancholia
Album:	Book Of Ruination
Style:	Doom metal, Sludge metal
Release date:	November 2023

01. Ode To Ruination
02. Sunscathed
03. Circadian Throes
04. Yersinia In Bloom
05. No Place Of Honor
06. Caught In Eternity's Jaws
07. Din Of Gangrene Angels

We cover a lot of bands in Clandestine Cuts, and many of them are of a very good standard, but there are those certain few acts who almost seem to guarantee future triumphs with the quality of their initial recordings. Melancholia is one of those bands, and they absolutely confirm that early promise with Book Of Ruination.

The Washington duo put out a sizeable bunch of EPs in the years following their formation in 2017, but it was the fourth and final of these, 2021’s Static Church, that caught my attention when Nik covered it for the March 2021 Clandestine Cuts. We weren’t the only ones that were impressed, however, as less than a week after that article went up, Static Church had disappeared from streaming services due to Melancholia signing with Brutal Panda Records: a worthy signing if there ever was one. Perhaps the security of this backing gave Melancholia the ability to take the next step, as after 4 consecutive years with EP releases, the band took the year off and have now crafted their full-length debut, Book Of Ruination, which is just as monstruous as anticipated.

There are certain bands that have a particular instrumental tone that is so exceptional that it distinguishes and elevates them; for example, LLNN’s impact is absolutely heightened by the gravity-bending density of their guitar tone. Melancholia are another example of this; there’s something about that guitar tone that is so sickening that it instantly makes their vicious sludge sound that much more intense. One tone from Static Church that is perhaps less present this time around is the cleaner post-metal instrumentation that took over sections of Static Church; there’s quieter snippets that pop up, most notably the muted opening minute of “Circadian Throes”, but in general Melancholia have little time for quiet contemplation here. This is a consistently malevolent, abrasive chunk of sludge, and while some of those more melodic touches could have perhaps added something to this release, it’s not something that was necessary when the experience of listening to Book Of Ruination is so gripping.

If you want hooky riffs, look no further than the emphatic, nasty churn that kicks off opening song “Ode To Ruination”, a mid-tempo cut with more of a focus on groove. There’s a towering heaviness to the onslaught of thick riffs on this song, accentuated by the bilious vocals, and the songs that incorporate atmospheric tom drumming, such as “Sunscathed”, add extra depth to Book Of Ruination. However, there’s no speed limit on this album; when they need to push the extremity, Melancholia are more than capable, as demonstrated with the blasting on the almost blackened sludge assault that is “Circadian Throes”. Additionally, the overlap between hardcore and sludge as styles is further demonstrated on the frantic “Caught In Eternity’s Jaws”, which effortlessly switches between punky drum patterns and full-pelt blasting.

Most of the songs tend to keep to one prevailing vibe throughout, whether it’s the mid-speed brooding of “Ode To Ruination” and “Sunscathed” or the doominess of “No Place Of Honor”, but Static Church did have a 10-minute song on it, and Melancholia, without reaching that limit, do dabble with longer songwriting towards the tail end of Book Of Ruination. As frenetic and savage as the first half of “Caught In Eternity’s Jaws” is, after a brief quiet pause midway through, the band slow things right down for an emphatically heavy couple of minutes.

There’s little to fault here; Melancholia are certainly capable of expanding their sound further by dabbling with a more post-metal approach on a song or two, but it’s really not necessary when they can pump out track after track of beastly sludge with a production that fits it perfectly, and a taut 38-minute runtime that allows all that venom to be taken in without overwhelming the listener. Melancholia have a very bright future in the sludge metal scene, but that was already obvious with Static Church; Book Of Ruination simply confirms what was already known.