Band:	Lurk
Album:	Aegis
Style:	Doom metal, Sludge metal
Release date:	April 2023

01. Ashlands
02. Blood Surge
03. Hauta
04. Infidel
05. Kehto [feat. Aino Heikkonen]
06. Shepherd's Ravine
07. The Blooming

Here is one Finnish sludge/doom act that has been monstrously Lurking in the shadows of the hellish doom scene since 2008. Now here they are 15 years later with their fourth release, Aegis. How good is it? We shall see.

Back in 2016, Lurk released their third full-length album Fringe, an album at the very high end of heaviness in the extreme doom sludge category. That album brought a great bone-crushingly heavy sound with a densely atmospheric structure. Now, seven years have passed, and we find ourselves in a post-Covid world where bands of all metal genres are finally starting to find their feet again. Judging by Lurk's reputation, Aegis should in theory not disappoint sludge/doom fans.

Aegis begins just as you'd expect, with the intensely powerful opening track “Ashlands”. It seems there's nothing out of the ordinary; the song has a predictably heavy, meaty guitar tone, with typical heavy sludgy riffs, powerful drumming, and a deep driving heavy bass sound, along with deep menacing growls present early on. All sounds terrific so far, even if it's a sound all too familiar with the genre; however, things do start to get a little more interesting as the album goes on.

The key to Aegis standing out from the majority of your typical extreme doom/sludge records is through its eerily atmospheric build-ups, which you'll find intensify all the more throughout the songs as they progress forward, and no track does as grand a job at it as “Infidel”. The structure is, in general, made from incredibly dense layering, between the multiple background growls and howls, which are being led by the main growls, along with the broad variety of instrumentation and atmospheric synth work. Now this structure can also pose an issue at times, as you can often find yourself becoming overwhelmed by the intensely saturating nature of the sound, but on the other hand, you can certainly become accustomed to it if you acquire the patience.

There are several moments where the sheer overwhelming heaviness does get broken up, allowing slower ambient sections to momentarily take possession, such as the short atmospheric instrumental “Kehto”. This is a track I find plays a vital role in keeping the album from venturing into the kind of overwhelming plodding slog territory that all too frequently overcomes its stay, even if Aegis often borders on the hinges of that dreaded staleness.

If you've been Lurking around for some time, searching for some ridiculously heavy, bone-crushing doom sludge, then perhaps you needn't look further; Aegis could provide what you're looking for.