#140 Flork Reviews: Endless Well - Сцяжынамі Лёсу {By Paths of Fate} (2024)

 

Endless Well - Сцяжынамі Лёсу {By Paths of Fate} (2024)
By Flork (IG,  FB)

With Christmas quickly approaching, I was excited to hear that Endless Well had recently released their third full-length album. One reason is that I enjoy listening to this group immensely. I first heard them around a year ago and was instantly mesmerised by the contrasts in sound this symphonic doom metal band produces. I remember at that time Чырвоная ніць {Red Thread}, took top spot on my Spotify library for months. It is such a cool disc with plenty of occasions when Maryia Bulda’s beautiful operatic vocals lulled me into a trance, like a Greek siren luring me into her realm with her irresistible voice.  And with a backdrop of heavy instruments behind her, I felt like a sailor in a stormy sea, with Maryia’s voice as a beacon to safety and solace. 

And like Чырвоная ніць {Red Thread}, Сцяжынамі Лёсу {By Paths of Fate} still makes me feel this way. It continues to take doom metal to different and higher levels. Having formed in 2017, the 5-member group from Minsk are purveyors of the spirit of doom, with their unique style of symphonic doom metal slowly reaching beyond the boundaries of the genre. It’s also important to note that this album is conceptual in nature, since it is anti-war and incorporates images of love, birth, and death with a backdrop of Belarusian folklore behind it. 

What strikes me first is the evident progress the members of the band have made. I mean, not only in terms of playing their instruments better, but how they come together as a tight-knit unit. While Maryia hits the very high notes and beguiles the listener, the other members make their presence felt as well. This balance between the vocals and the instruments works magically. You can hear it from the very outset, with Інтра (Intro) leading us through the abyss and mystery ahead. The ambience is mesmerising, and one doesn’t know what they will find on the other side. But Endless Well doesn’t disappoint, their familiar sound is still there, and Змена (Change) sends a strong signal that the band has only improved rather than changed. 

 

I particularly like Барбара (Barbara) with its impressive composition and symphonic layers of deep metal and angelic singing. The contrast around the 5-minute mark is so cool, where the beauty of the piano and harmonies of the vocals meet the keyboards and single strings of the lead guitar. And then the crescendo, a huge growl and a plunge back into the brutality of life and the harshness of the world. This track lasts almost eight minutes and is the longest on the album, yet with its various changes and emotive provocations, especially its suspenseful premonitions, it feels much like an oratorio, a performance of ambient imagery, and somehow eight minutes doesn’t feel long enough.

I am also swept away by Раство (Birth) and колькі каштуе любой (How much is love worth), both tracks with deeper meanings that delve on the themes of birth and love. Both songs showcase some amazing talent on the instruments, especially the former, where the bass stands out. And it is precisely here on the album where I am convinced that Endless Well has reached a new height since its inception, with its musical future lying ahead confidently, like a road that is welcoming rather than daunting. There is no confusion about which direction the band is heading in, the songs just get better and better.
The album concludes beautifully with адзінота (Loneliness) and смерць (Death), two of the strongest tracks on the album. These may not be the most positive of themes, but remember, the album is conceptual and leads us around the emotions and conflicts of life, where we eventually arrive at our final destination. Again, the bass comes alive at the beginning of адзінота (as well as throughout the track), and along with Maryia’s vocals, a chemical reaction beyond description is produced. This is continued in смерць, although this time everyone is all in. And what an ending! No huge crashes or bangs, but rather a subtle pause in the guitars that signal a “to be continued…” 

And the Florkman’s prognosis? Endless Well is definitely worthy of attention. The beauty in the darkness of this album speaks volumes. There might be some fans of classical doom out there with a more critical eye than mine, arguing that it’s not “doom” enough, but I would take what they say with a grain of salt. Endless Well’s brand of doom lies within its originality, where instead of copying or “borrowing” from other artists, the group focuses on translating the issues and sentiments of life and death, which is transcended by their mutual energy, through a sound that is difficult to replicate.  Like Чырвоная ніць {Red Night}, Сцяжынамі Лёсу {By Paths of Fate} is an album that any fan of metal can get into and appreciate. And although Christmas will not be merry for everyone this year, because life, death, and war won’t be taking any breaks, Сцяжынамі Лёсу {By Paths of Fate} is still very much an album worth enjoying.