In my early school years, I loved listening to the music of Saturnus, My Dying Bride, Tristania, Paradise Lost, Katatonia, Shape of Despair, Tiamat, and many other artists from the Gothic/ Doom  metal genres.
Over the years, I seemed to have greatly outgrown these moods and focused sharply on the various atmospheric and black metal currents.
The dramatic and sometimes overly romantic focus of gothic metal and doom lyrics somehow made me step back and look for other inspirations from some point on.
There is a time for everything in this life, as the saying goes.
However, something struck me the moment I saw Dominia’s album in The Void’s mailbox.
Along with the news of the new My Dying Bride album before Christmas, it was another sign that it might be time to dive  into melancholy, romantic and indulge in a slightly different sensation for a bit.

Dominia is a Russian melodic death/ gothic metal band, active since 1999, originally under the name Tentamentum (until 2001).
The co-founders and until now an integral part of the band , are vocalist, bassist and guitarist Anton Ross (God Eat God, Voices of Grief, ex-Tentamentum, The Nameless Cult) and Denis Sukharev (ex-Tentamentum, The Nameless Cult, ex-Zlomrak), who takes on the rhythm  guitars and backing vocals.
In 2017, after many changes in the core of Dominia, the drummer Oleg „Papa“ Filistovich (Voices of Grief) joins the Dominia family, followed  two years later by the incredible violinist Michael Morozkin.
The four also represent the current cast of Dominia, who worked on the band’s latest, fifth  full length  title, „The Withering of the Rose“, out on January 20th this year through the Morning Star Heathens Music Group label.

Tracklist:

1. I Want to Forget 07:28
2. My Flesh and the Sacred River 5:36
3. Suprema 07:03
4. The Light of the Black Sun 6:01
5. Entombed in Grief 05:46
6. The Elephant Man 07:48
7. Nomoreus 7:10
8. The Withering of the Roses 6:58
9. The Night and the Dark Room 09:06
10. The Song That You Don’t Like 05:36

The melody of „I want to forget“ reminds me  of the work of Cradle of Filth and their song „Nymphetamine“ somehow . The guitar riffs and the weight of the drums combine fabulously with the violin and give the listener an unforgettable experience, a beautiful and slightly mysterious prelude to the second track of the album, „My Flesh And The Sacred River“.
In it, Anton’s alternating clean and heavier death vocals create magic with the senses, in addition to the delicate violin and strong instrumental. A beautiful game between tenderness and strength.
„Suprema“ is a highly emotionally charged song, reminiscent of the atmosphere of Katatonia tracks from my favorite album „Viva Emptiness“, with, of course, many distinctive nuances such as the beautiful guitar work and glowing vocal performance that shape the band’s identity right from the start .
There are so many references to different styles and emotions in the other 7 songs of the album that the whole album seems to me to be an entire painting , crafted with mixed technique and several layers of different textures.
The end result is more than intriguing.
In the seventh track of the album, „Nomoreus“, for example, I hear ritual chants, clear doom  vocals and wonderful harsh black metal vocals,  together with a crushing, flowing heavy instrumental part, accompanied by the sweet violin’s tunes at the end. Beauty.
Each song brings its own emotion and mood, different message and emphasizes different elements, none of which is neglected in the album.

„The Withering Of The Rose“ is a true art – an emotionally charged and dynamic album, perfected and ready to take the listener to their own eerie atmosphere, right  after the first note is played.

Favorite song from the album: „Nomoreus“

You can hear the premiere song from the album,  „Suprema“,  here:

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