Review: “Foreordained” by Phobocosm

“When we wrote Deprived, we decided that our first three albums would be a trilogy, so Foreordained is the last chapter of that trilogy. We made a conscious effort to pace all three albums in a similar manner since we wanted them to be linked – starting with a slow, crushing doom song and concluding with a long, epic, depressive one. It’s not a coincidence… Since death is unavoidable, the end of all life and of our planet is also unavoidable, so there are apocalyptic themes also. The closer ‘For an Aeon’ is about a possible way the world as we know it could end.” ~ Samuel Dufour, guitars

Is the slow trudge through the mire to self immolation predestined and inevitable? That is the question posed by “Foreordained“, the the third part of a trilogy of albums that begin with 2014’s “Deprived“. Adorned in artwork by Lauri Laaksonen of Desolate Shrine, Convocation and Pestilent Hex, the record completes a saga that began life more than a decade ago as Montréal Quebec Canadians Phobocosm, a band who feature in their ranks three former members of Vengeful, explore lyrical themes of apocalypse and philosophy. We should also mention 2016’s second chapter “Bringer of Drought” which found them joined by second guitarist Rob Milley as they sort to expand their sound as he has re-joined the group now this album has been completed…

Searching for her ghost in the fog “Premonition” is the dark, nightmarish vision of a Doomsayer with the kind of foreboding qualities that will leave those who remain unindoctrinated  gripping the pillow tight. It creates an oppressive atmospheric which clings like moss to a damp wall, refusing to dissipate despite the ravenous tempo shift into “Primal Dread“, instead gnawing on the soul like the gravitational pull of a black hole. The second is the deepest, a ten minute magnum opus of larynx destroying death growls from Bayard as he tells an apocalyptic tale of complete annihilation. A cut with slow headbang appeal which may have you starring into the abyss, it finds the band combining Doom and Death Metal to create a behemoth that wanders in dissonance, Gagnon providing the spine upon which everything hangs with an artillery shelling performance throughout. On a record with songs of this epic magnitude, the nuances in his parts stand out as an essential part of the overall crushing aesthetic. Going further down the rabbit hole “Everlasting Void” paints in sonic texture to devastating effect, an assault on the senses that strips away the barriers to play on your darkest fears. Combining Doom, Death and Black Metal elements to create alchemy, this one is the poison you drink until you become immune.

The crushing intensity of “Infomorph” feels like a Boa Constrictor wrapped around the throat, refusing to loosen its grip as Bayard reaches hitherto unheard new vocal lows that scrape the bowels of hell. A lethal performance combined with storm like patterns make for sonic excess in its purest, most destructive form, the unholy trinity of musicians creating something that dominates the landscape with its depravity. There is no rest or reprieve with “Revival“, Gagnon delivering another thunderous performance as Dufour delivers some searing riffs, the skull shattering vocal causing the earth to shake beneath the feet. Bleak and foreboding, the never ending nightmarish sounds feel like being trapped in a vortex with nothing to hold on to as it attempts to drain you of life. As if that wasn’t enough of a punishment beating “For an Aeon” is hypnotic trance inducing with its brutality, bringing the bloodstained shower curtain down on this psychotic vision in vicious fashion. Dark and brooding it has delicate leads that create a sense of tension during the dance macabre, the machine only slowing in the final moments as the force of their sonic weight dissipates… [7.5/10]

Track Listing

1. Premonition
2. Primal Dread
3. Everlasting Void
4. Infomorph
5. Revival
6. For an Aeon

“Foreordained” by Phobocosm is out 8th December 2023 via Dark Descent Records with pre-orders available over at bandcamp