Ennenga, who has performed on all but one of the band's albums, is joined here by mainstays Jan-Ole Lamberti, Volker Dieken - both on guitars - and Jann Hillrichs on drums - plus new bassist Lutz Neemann (Battue; The Damnation; Damnation Defaced) who joined the band last year. Opening with droning synths, it seems as if the album is going to get off to a slow start with Glass Bleeding - but it is not long before a relatively fast-paced riff kicks in and Ennenga starts to growl. Being a doom album, there are not a lot of fast-paced moments here - which makes this intro section feel pretty energetic. The guitar riffing is simple, but the growls really carry the song early on - with the rumble of the bass also adding plenty of depth. As is typical of this album, though, there is a lot of light and shade here. This faster section makes an impact - but it is not long before the heaviness drops away to be replaced by clean guitars. These jangly chords and some occasional more lead-based guitar playing is where the big comparisons to Swallow the Sun can be heard - with Ennenga delivering his clean vocals against a surprisingly warm backing, even if his vocal delivery can be a bit on the cold side. The song moves back and forth between heavy and cleaner sections, then, with extreme metal trappings on show during the heavier sections - with Hillrichs throwing in a few blast beats and double bass drum patterns despite the faster opening never really returning in full. A melodic guitar solo later builds on some of the clean melodies heard elsewhere, with a few dual harmonies thrown in, whilst black metal trappings follow later thanks to more blasting. Liquid Mourning opens with a pretty memorable, somewhat gothic guitar melody - which soon forms a key early hook behind some mid-paced riffing. Percussive drumming and dense synths are big parts of the early moments of the song - but when Ennenga starts to sing the bass tends to take the spotlight, with a slow-burning verse built around it and clean vocals. Chiming guitar melodies and subtle drumming create a dense sound - with a full doom transition happening shortly afterwards as a growl-led chorus takes over with slow-paced riffing and mournful synths. The constant mix of clean and harsh vocals is a big reason why I have been drawn to this album. Whilst the previous song was a bit more inventive in terms of arrangement, the clean verses and harsh chorus combination works well here - with the slow-burn of the whole song feeling more interesting thanks to the vocal mix. Some simple, but well placed, lead guitar melodies also help - and the song is one of the more overtly hooky here. Overcast opens with some more black metal-esque vibes thanks to some discordant guitar lines and off-kilter riffing - but once Ennenga starts to sing a more typical death metal sound is established, with relatively fast double bass drumming and a galloping groove established. The discordant sounds do resurface as the verse progresses, though, and there is quite a bit of variety as a result. There is much less of a focus on clean vocals this time - meaning that changes in pattern help to keep the song moving. The chorus has a slightly anthemic feel thanks to Ennenga really delivering vocally - whilst the synths up their game to create a slightly more majestic sound, contrasting the big chorus with the changeable verses. Again, choice guitar leads are thrown in occasionally to add extra melody - which is welcome given the general lack of clean vocals here, although they do briefly surface during something of a bridge section later on.
In terms of being anthemic, though, which is not a word I would often use to describe Nailed to Obscurity, Spirit Corrosion is perhaps as anthemic as the band get. The chorus on the last track felt big thanks to the arrangement, but this song has a chorus which is much more typically hooky - with wordless vocal melodies that stick in the brain and pleasing hooks. It feels like a testing the water song - and I can imagine that some long-time fans will dislike it, but the hooks here work well for me. It helps generally that the song is quite melodic overall. It is not one of the album's heavier moments, and clean vocals are largely focused on - making the song the opposite of the last one. Growls are heard during the pre-chorus, and parts of later verses, but generally the song is sung clean with shimmering keyboards and hypnotic guitar melodies a big part of its appeal - whilst occasional chugs and pulsing basslines add depth. The chorus is sure to go down well thanks to crowds being able to sing along to it - and there are slight shades of mid-period Anathema here as a result. The title track returns to a heavier sound from the off with some chugging and groovy guitar riffing, with some slightly industrial drum sounds, but clean guitar melodies in the background help the band's love of atmosphere to shine through. Like the previous song, this is another which is largely sung clean - but there is a much heavier feel to this one, with plenty of chugging riffing and potent drumming, whilst even the clean guitar melodies generally feel much murkier. This is still quite a hooky song, though. It is not as anthemic as the previous number - but the chorus is one which stays in the brain thanks to the slow-burning and earworm nature of the band's melodies, with Ennenga really delivering again. A busy, shredded guitar also helps the track to become another winner - with the fast-paced playing quite different from the more deliberate pace of the rest of the song. Whilst most of the songs here are between four and six minutes long, Echo Attempt is the album's epic at over eight minutes long. It does not do anything hugely different from the rest of the album - but it stretches out many of the ideas already heard into something lengthier. Clean vocals once again dominate - with the verses some of the album's sparsest moments in truth, whilst a slightly heavier opening riff ties the song back to the last one. Short instrumental interludes are used more liberally here, with busier guitar melodies and the occasional lead adding quite a bit to the experience - whilst a floaty chorus with some of Ennenga's highest-pitched vocals on the album sounds a little different from the norm. Lengthy atmospheric sections are included due to the song's length - but whilst it is nice to see the band stretch out somewhat I am not sure that the song needed to be eight-plus minutes long. Allure returns to the clean vocal approach that seems to dominate the album's mid-section following the last song getting heavier towards the end, with the track feeling quite ballad-esque - with dreamy clean guitar melodies and occasional piano lines the only things to back Ennenga for much of the song. It does start to build somewhat as it progresses, with percussive drumming and rumbling bass adding depth - and there are shades of modern Katatonia once the full band join in. The ballad vibes largely remain, but the mechanical drumming works well to shake things up.
Clouded Frame returns more to the album's core sound, with a fairly heavy mid-paced opening riff which is paired nicely with quite a gothic-sounding guitar lead. With the growls being fairly thin on the ground during the last few songs, too, there is more heaviness here - even if the clean vocals still largely dominate. This is another song which goes for a cleaner approach during the verses, which are surprisingly hooky at times, and a heavier sound during the chorus - with growls introduced and big riffing taking over as the chorus approaches. Whilst Ennenga sounds great when he sings clean, perhaps some will find this album a little light compared to what came before. I like the shift overall, and this album is easily the best thing I have heard from the band, but it might be one which sees a few long-time fans feeling somewhat concerned - so a track with more of a vocal balance here is likely a good thing. The growled sections hit hard, especially given the hooky vocals elsewhere, whilst another memorable guitar solo is also welcome. Misery's Messenger opens with some strangely bluesy guitar melodies, and there is a slight Alice in Chains vibe early on, but when Ennenga starts to sing a more typical sound takes over - with percussive drumming and cold synths, before a lengthy guitar-led section showcases some melodic playing. This is another song which reminds me quite a bit of Kataonia, though, with Ennenga's clean vocals sounding quite mournful - and the mix of percussive drumming and a few lead guitar moments only enhances this feeling. What does not sound like Katatonia, though, is the heavy bridge section which comes later - which sees Hillrichs unleashing some punishing double bass drumming to really up the pace whilst Ennenga growls. This section is one of the album's heaviest overall, but the rest of the song is quite typically atmospheric - and it is another good representation of the album's core sound. The album then comes to a close with The Ides of Time, a heavier song overall which includes, after a murky and atmospheric intro, some much more overt riffing - harking back to the album's opening few numbers. Ennenga's growls are back here in the big way, too, with the song maintaining a heavier feel throughout - with kinetic verses thanks to some groovy riffing which have something of a tech metal feel due to their knotty rhythms. There is a prog side to this track then, which works well, whilst the chorus is another somewhat anthemic moment - with clean wordless vocals providing a counter to the main growled lyrics. Whilst the shift to a cleaner sound here is likely why I enjoy this album so much, the heavier moments are still very welcome - and I do think that a few more heavier moments here would have allowed for a better overall balance. Having this closing track be a largely heavy affair really works then, given the clean vocal dominance elsewhere, and there are still some atmospheric guitar leads and the aforementioned chorus hooks to provide a way in. The closing guitar solo feels pretty special, too, and the album ends on a mournful and heavy high as a result. Given my history with Nailed to Obscurity, I was not expecting to enjoy this album as much as I have - but as a slab of melodic death/doom there is a lot to love here. Ennenga is the star of the show with his vocal diversity, but the guitar playing and atmospherics also do a lot of heavy lifting - with the songwriting largely also being tight. Generation of the Void feels like a step up for the German band, and it will be great to see them kick on from here.
The album was released on 5th September 2025 via Nuclear Blast Records. Below is the band's promotional video for Overcast.
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