Hailing from Denmark, Phrenelith have produced three full-lengths in a little over ten years of existence. Playing a form of deep, dark, cavernous, and atmospheric death metal, the band are at once familiar and yet grasping at worlds beyond. And their latest, Ashen Womb, is no different, the exploding volcano of the cover art a signal of repressed violence that erupts again and again across the album. Akin to the abstract punishment of Immolation and the doom-imbued filth of Incantation without quite becoming a mimic of either, Phrenelith excel at fashioning demonic blasts of lava that harry and punish the listener whilst ensuring a smile is on their face. And if you're new to the band, then Ashen Womb is the perfect place to undergo initiation!

Dark and brooding, it's a torrential series of death metal rumbles that are not without melody yet generally are designed at creating brooding and intense soundscapes. This sense of atmosphere dominates the album from start to finish meaning that it feels like a more cohesive listen than past releases and makes the listen akin to a journey, weighty and important. And the songwriting matches this ambition, with even the intro piece Noemata having a similar vibe to the ensuing, more immediate likes of Astral Larvae with its infectious rumbling riffs, or the almost goregrind frenzy of A Husk Wrung Dry. That's for sure an album highlight, burbling through prime Carcass territory with more technicality on show than expected, matched in energy by Lithopaedion's surging intensity.

Songs generally tend to be on the briefer side, three minutes or so with a few longer pieces, and the aim of the band always seems to be leave the listener wanting more. Nebulae is a six minute exception, hammering percussion beneath a whirlpool of riffing that verges on the progressive, with an extended ambient atmospheric section that goes on nearly the final third of the piece. Atmosphere is truly king here; even with moments like, say, the blackened grandiosity of the intro to Stagnated Blood or the speedy blast of sulphur that is Chrysopoeia, generally the death metal assault is directed at a grisly crawl. And that's no bad thing, not least once you've reached the especially Domination-era-Morbid Angel-esque intensity of the closing title track, beginning slowly with ambience and building up with those diabolically classic riffs. It takes something of a more wistful, melancholic air than the Floridian masterpiece, relying a little more on melody before upping the tempo to black metal speed, the guitars becoming blurs and fading into the surrounding chaos, the music eventually slowing. It's a fine end to a fine album, one that deserves to stand out from the crowd despite the style being popular as of late - Phrenelith are excellent at their craft, and this is another superb album from their dark imaginations.