Artist: Evoken
Country: USA
Label: Profound Lore
Formats: LP / CD
Year: 2025
I vividly remember my first brush with Evoken. It was late 2002, and my friends and I had called for the help of a local Doom Metal expert to recommend us some records. Amongst the pile containing Esoteric, Thergothon and Skepticism was ‘Quietus’, Evoken’s third album. ‘Quietus’ left an immediate and lasting impact on me, with the monumental ‘Tending the Dire Hatred’ still amongst my favourite songs by the band. I was floored seeing them live at Dutch Doom Days the following year and have followed the band closely ever since. Needless to say, any judgement of new material by the band cannot be completely devoid of nostalgia and anticipation.
Now in the case that you are unfamiliar with Evoken, they are mostly known for playing Doom/ Death Metal of the heavy kind. While some may coin it Funeral Doom, I personally reserve that term to the likes of Worship and Tyranny. Instead, Evoken is equally based on the legendary early work of the British legends of Doom/Death Metal Paradise Lost, Anathema and My Dying Bride, as well as the Australians of diSEMBOWELMENT. Firmly based on slowly crushing heaviness, a remarkable sense for somewhat more pacey sections distinguished Evoken from many of their peers. As years grew by Evoken gradually developed a more distinct sound, in particular highlighted by the more delicate keyboard touches and the rise of melodic leads, ultimately culminating in the majestic ‘Atra Mors’ record in 2012.
‘Atra Mors’ however was followed in 2018 by the not nearly as impressive ‘Hypnagogia’. For the first time in my history as an Evoken listener I felt underwhelmed. Perhaps it was the lighter and more melancholic tone, the less heavy production of it all or my waning interest in the Doom Metal genre, but the album just felt forgettable. Listening back to it now, seven years later, that feeling is unchanged. And, while perhaps unfairly so, it puts a certain charge on Evoken’s newest album ‘Mendacium’.
One conclusion to start off with however, is one of relief. ‘Mendacium’ is a much heavier record, both in terms of production and musically. Indeed, it harkens back to the Doom/Death Metal of ‘Quietus’ and ‘Antithesis of Light’, but not without entirely forsaking the more elaborate usage of the keyboard or the advances in sophistication in the guitar work. The manner in which the album starts off in a very telling. Opener ‘Matins’ has this familiar earthshattering heavy sound with sudden bursts of increased pace, at times crawling as far into Death Metal territories as the band has even throdden. Indeed, it feels much like what diSEMBOWELMENT brought on their ‘Transcendence into the Peripheral’ album‘. It makes the opening song of ‘Mendacium’ feel like a flashback, to times where Evoken included a cover of ‘The Tree of Life and Death’ in their live set. Similarly, the sound of the British Doom Metal pioneers is abundantly obvious in the second track ‘Lauds’. Almost to an extent that it feels like Evoken is paying homage to the very earliest works of My Dying Bride. Yet both tracks also incorporate some newer elements, like the beautiful guitar melody at the end of ‘Matins’. One of the album highlights is ‘Sext’. Starting with entrancing keyboards, the track starts building up by adding two iconic Evoken elements: clean strumming and vocalist John Paradiso’s clean recitations. But then the song twists, with the hard-hitting sound of Vince Verkay’s drums and the heavy guitars joining the fold. It’s a beautiful guitar melody that sings along with the keyboards that pushes the song forward until a sudden twist into darker and more oppressive territories. It’s the following lead here that helps escalate the track further, adding a sense of dread. ‘Sext’ is by far the most elaborate track on the record, constantly shifting and filled with both beauty and fear.
However, ‘Sext’ feels like an exception and highlights a flaw of ‘Mendacium’. And that is, that compared to the earlier works such as ‘Quietus’ and ‘Atra Mors’, the album feels much less organic and sophisticated. At times transitions feel rather abrupt, and there seems more repetition than ever. Obviously, that is one of the hallmarks of the genre, that slow hypnotising repetition that compels you. But at the same time, Evoken always stuck out as mastering subtle changes. While for example ‘None’ is a very recognisable Evoken track, there isn’t a whole lot that makes it memorable. Some of the transitions to more pace, such as in closer ‘Compline’ feel a bit too abrupt and forced. ‘Mendacium’ at times feels like a step taken back too far to the basics. It’s ironic, that the thing that to me held me back from enjoying ‘Hypnagogia’, which was the progression taken too far past the heavininess I enjoyed so much, seems to be the thing I’m missing from ‘Mendacium’.
I’m certainly no longer the same youthful Doom enthusiast that I was in 2002, but Evoken will always remain a special band to me. So forgive me some sentiment in the above words. It seems nostalgia cut me like a double edged sword, carving both precious memories and unrealistic expectations. ‘Mendacium’ is a fine record, in many ways a lot of what Evoken has always stood for. And no doubt I enjoy it more than ‘Hypnagogia’. But it just doesn’t have the same magic to it that it had on ‘Atra Mors’ and before. Whether that’s just me and my sentiment rubbing the wrong way or a deeper underlying thing about Evoken, I leave you to be your own judge of that. Because my love for the band makes me wish so badly that I’m wrong.
