Review: “Exanimis” by Consecration

A fourth studio album from Norwich Death Doom Metal institution Consecration in a sixteen year career of death, despair, darkness and the occult always seemed to be on the tarot cards after their well received 2022 album “Cinis” even if four years between records feels like an ice age. Recorded and produced Priory Recording Studios by the legendary Greg Chandler (Cryptic Shift, My Dying Bride, Conjurer), it marks their first with bassist Mathew Bollans who joined them in 2023 and features guest appearances from Paul Jones (Enchantment) and Rich Mumford (Malediction). The promise is of something crafted by a band with a deep-seated love for the 90’s incarnation of the genre, drawing on influences from early My Dying Bride, Enchantment and Decomposed but the reality is often stranger than the dream…

The plague winds come from the East without warning as “Herald of Darkness” takes its malevolent shape, the sinister riffs of Liam Houseago and Andy Matthews rising to meet the demonically throat splitting vocals of Daniel Bollans in style. A potent concoction the opening cut is a mid tempo bruiser that sets the scene to great effect, welcoming the discerning listener into a world of perpetual darkness where giant beasts crawl through black tar rivers and resistance is futile. A tasteful solo in the final moments is a nice touch, opening the minds eye with a crowbar for the eight minute monolith that is “Configuration of Lamentation“. The track flows in waves, tempos rising and falling gracefully as the five piece deliver the kind of sonic brutality they have made their name on, longer instrumental passages giving them a chance to demonstrate their powers to full effect.

A 90’s Death Metal infused skull crusher “Submerged in Sand” is the first to have a really impressive technical solo and when it surfaces it slices like a hot knife through butter, adding something epic to a cut of thunderous drumming and rumbling bass grooves. Chandler has nailed the mix and given Jorge Figueiredo a clean, crisp drum sound with which to decimate the weak and thin the heard, something which long time fans will be eternally grateful for. The second near eight minute lament is the soul stirring “Domain of Despair“, its delicate introduction and blues inspired meandering lead guitar work soaked in the waters of mournful regret before the sinister undertones rise to the surface. When they appear, Bollans vocals are a seething mass of hatred that drive down the darkness only to replace it with something more malevolently evil. The bands abilities to craft cuts that capture the feeling of crawling to the four corners of the mind like it was a dungeon hell have long been documented but here they find fresh vim and vigour in doing so.

There is a something medieval about some of these songs and “Harvester of the Forsaken” is a fine example of that, growing in stature with every passing second, the dark clouds of atmosphere engulfing the flames of decent and restricting the air supply. Bollans death growls are almost a spoken word on this monolithic beast, little nuances crawling out of the woodwork like termites as it plays out in captivating fashion. It almost calls for Clive Barker to create another Hellraiser movie just so it can appear on the soundtrack. “The Bitterness of Grief” then changes the dynamic with melancholic lead guitars providing a distinctively Scandinavian feeling introduction before the Bollans begins scraping the resin once more. Those leads resurface in the middle of the track, sandwiched between pummelling passages of mid-tempo Death Metal, the solo in the final third a mesmerising moment. It punches a shaft of light through the dark clouds to illuminate a chamber of gold and bones in majestic fashion.

Mercilessly dark and obsessively deep “Descend into Derangement” has just a hint of the dramatic about it, a flavour of mid nineties Peaceville or Earache Records bands soaking through the bloodstained bandages. Unlike say Frozen Soul where everything is dark and cold, there is an innate warmth to the Death Metal of Consecration that lingers in the mind after each rousing performance and this one is no different, the epic grandeur of their soundscapes a bold contrast to the depraved vocals. Sombre and sobering “Cold Grey Stone” has Funeral Doom inspired qualities over the first three minutes that are nothing short of awe inspiring. There is a clever evolution in the track with a couple of brutal Death Metal passages offering that satisfying crunch, the transition into and out of which is completely seamless. A spoken word adds another textural quality before the majestic lead guitars bring this one home, finishing the album in style [8/10]

Track Listing

1. Herald of Darkness
2. Configuration of Lamentation
3. Submerged in Sand
4. Domain of Despair
5. Harvester of the Forsaken
6. The Bitterness of Grief
7. Descend into Derangement
8. Cold Grey Stone

“Exanimis” by Consecration is out 29th May 2026 via Nuclear Winter Records and is available over at bandcamp