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CONSECRATION
Exanimis

Nuclear Winter (2026)
Rating: 8/10

An unnatural fog has begun to take hold of East Anglia and it signals the return of death-doom band Consecration. Exanimis is the fourth full-length instalment from the Norwich, England-based phenomenon whose unearthly creaks and groans sounds like the moans from an old vessel, stranded within and choked by sea frets and thick mists on the Norfolk coast.

Consecration writhes in their own discarded layers of ash as opener ‘Herald Of Darkness’ comes trudging out of the cracks. It’s almost as if someone has slowed Morbid Angel down to a crawl as the sludgy vocals converse with similarly clogged percussion, and let’s talk about those drums. It’s easy for one to throw concrete slabs out of the window, but here the drums literally cause brain ache as the putrid pulsations march with deep despair.

Exanimis reminds us all of the colossal presence Consecration holds within the death-doom scene and yet the clan remains overlooked somehow. Maybe it’s down to the simple fact that the band is wary of providing unnecessary frills. Instead, they clamber, slither and trudge through their repertoire with such organic menace.

The eight-minute ‘Configuration Of Lamentation’ brings heavy rain to its pallid oozing. Vocalist Daniel Bollans dribbles silt from his mouth, grinding his teeth to ash as he bellows: “These exquisite labyrinthine corridors of hell, (Are) henceforth shown to me, Hadean harbingers of pain – dark voyeurs clad in death, Have become well known to me”. The guitars trickle through sodden soul, the drums act as morbid plods before a cold atmosphere chugs into earshot. There’s a blackened gloom and a conjuration of archaic grey plumes as the riff nods with despair.

The shorter yet as equally suffocating ‘Submerged In Sand’ is a behemoth bursting with sediment. The title is literal as Bollans drags us into the dragging terror of being consumed by desert grains. There are colder climates to contend with on ‘Domain Of Despair’, the combo heading into slow motion funeral doom to aid the wretched Bollans gasps. “The cold embrace of icy winter fingers,” he gurgles. “And the decayed, avidly clawing at my skin”. The drums of Jorge Figueiredo are mere bell tolls heralding mists of doom.

Consecration heads off towards eight-minute territory again and furthermore on ‘Cold Grey Stone’, a monolith easing itself so slowly across ancient ground and promoted by further unseen esoteric forces; their tormented moans rolling in tandem with the miserable axe work of Liam Houseago and Andy Matthews. Extra layers of grumbling thunder are provided by bassist Matthew Bollans, particularly on the colossal ‘Harvester Of The Forsaken’ and the steady crush of ‘Descent Into Derangement’. There’s little fun to be had within the maze of crooked gravestones; Consecration cast thick stifling shadows laced with spores of grey mould and particles of ice.

With heavy drags towards ye olde English 90s aching, black doom metal scene, Exanimis is very much the dense, cloying rain storm the Met Office regularly forecasts for Britain. With its essence of fusty familiarity and unwavering ability to drag you through humid and derelict marble halls, this latest slab chambers into your soul and ever so slowly turns your innards to ash.

Neil Arnold

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