Evoken is back.
After a few years of silence, the American band led by Vince Verkay (drums), John Paradiso (vocals/guitar, Grim Legion), Don Zaros (keyboards, Adversvm), David Wagner (bass, ex-Abazagorath, ex-Funebrarum), and Randy Cavanaugh (guitar) unveils Mendacium, its seventh album, on Profound Lore Records.
The album begins with Matins and its few whispers that quickly turn into hoarse, cavernous groans when the slow rhythm kicks in, always complemented by disturbing noises in the background, but which will not hesitate to disappear to let the keyboards offer sweet, haunting melodies. The sound carries away and accelerates, guided by a ferocious blast before returning to its usual haunting tones while the guitars develop piercing harmonics, but they become chaotic on Lauds, the next track. The riffs are much more changeable, shifting from a heavy Doom basis to more aggressive influences, but also to a minimalist and ritualistic break that naturally returns to its saturated heaviness, adding drone spikes before returning to a much more natural and melodious construction, just like on Prime, which offers us soothing tones. Quite short, the track nevertheless allows us a real break before Terce takes its place, reviving the saturation while remaining on a fairly vaporous and intoxicating approach that is quite accessible, which will eventually intensify, becoming more frightening, quickly regaining its anguished touches before an explosive and unexpected finale, giving way to Sext and its reassuring intro. The softness lasts a long time, then eventually gives way to something more rhythmic thanks to the drums, then much darker and finally more imposing, maintaining the ambient melancholy before moving on to None, which hypnotizes us before unleashing its raw power, transforming into a deep lament surrounded by soaring keyboards. Although it’s nearly eight minutes long, the song passes in a flash, as does Vesper, which offers a final warm interlude thanks to the synths before returning one last time to the dark side on Compline, the final composition that reaches almost ten minutes and also features furious drum patterns, once again tinging the rather slow riffs with lingering anxiety and plunging the final moments into terror.
Evoken has been missing from the Funeral Doom scene, but the band has not been idle, offering on Mendacium a true experience in darkness lasting over an hour. Unsurprisingly, the journey is excellent.
90/100
Bonjour, Deathliger! Dave from Evoken here. Thanks for the killer review. Some of the information is incorrect, however. We are not from Australia. We are from the New Jersey / New York area in the US. Chris is no longer in the band and was replaced by Randy Cavanaugh.