June 2025 - Featured Release - The Fallen Edition
June arrives with me as the holder of the sacred nomination for The Fallen clan this month. We have enjoyed an early bout of summer here in the UK and what better way to revel in all this glorious vitamin D than with a good old chunk of death doom rumbling away in the background. I have nominated Structure's latest album, Heritage for the feature release this month. In what has been a slow year for new releases of quality in the death doom section of The Fallen, the debut full length release from the Utrecht based, largely, one-man outift is a welcome arrival. I am only a couple of spins into it but have picked up a few points that have made me want to come back to it.
As always, let us know your thoughts in a review or in the thread below. All opinions welcome.
https://metal.academy/releases/59672
I have almost completed an initial listen-through and I've got to say, I am loving this so far. It hits the sweet spot between heaviness and lighter melancholic wistfulness exceedingly well. It also weaves in some nice melodies that hook themselves into you and linger in the mind. I will definitely be returning this for a full review at some point during the month. Great pick, Vinny.
Ex-Officium Triste guitarist, Bram Bijlhout raids his old band for assistance as he drafts in Pim Blankenstein to deliver vocals on his debut full length under his solo outfit, Structure. Not being familiar with Officium Triste at all, I cannot say how much similarity there is here between the two acts. Plus, I do not think it would be best use of the review either, especially given the obvious quality of Heritage. As a standalone, atmospheric doom/death metal act, Structure is a strong offering. How we got here is not necessarily as important as enjoying what we have got here. Heritage is a fine debut album, one that sounds like it has been put together by established artists with a strong ear for immersive compositions that the listener can absorb as opposed to just listen to.
In attempting to put some of the above into coherent reference to parts of the album, one’s attention is immediately drawn to the rich melodies of the guitar that soar alongside the intense weight of the riffs that you would expect to hear on any doom death release. Adopting an almost funeral doom depth at times, the guitars go for the very depths of the sound at times, yet they also create big sounding, almost rock-esque riffs on other occasions. ‘What We Have Lost’ showcases this perfectly. Unafraid to take off into more mid-paced territory, this track develops into much more than standard doom death fare would normally permit. This early, promising trend continues across all of Heritage I am pleased to report, resulting in a very fulfilling experience. Whilst it most certainly is doom death at its core, this is a record that holds no trepidation for expansive compositions.
Clearly well-produced, the sound on the album is big, surrounding the listener in all the glorious tropes of the instrumentation present here. Those keyboards are elevating and elegant, adding distinct majesty to the darkness, uniting with the melancholy of the guitar perfectly. Both elements do really work well in tandem with one another, the guitar comes out with the upper hand still though, maintaining prevalence throughout much of the album. As a reference point, I am reminded often of Shape of Despair when listening to Heritage, such are the acute levels of melancholy and the sense of the sheer distance that is created in the atmospherics. At times I would go further and say there’s a bit of Bell Witch present here also. The dramatic opening to album closer ‘Until the Last gasp’ lives up to this comparison for sure.
If I were being super-critical, I would be asking for a little more from the drums, which do sound a little timid at times. Just the slightest of an increase in space in the mix would have afforded them a greater presence. Whilst this measure of component parts does allow for the focus on the guitars and vocals, it does diminish some of the power behind tracks such as ‘The Sadness of Everyday Life’. There is almost too much of a distance between them and the rest of proceedings. It is a minor compliant however on an album that is a consistent, intriguing and above all else immersive experience end-to-end.
4.5/5
I've never heard of this artist so I might need to pop them onto my to-do list.