Band:	Ego Depths
Album:	Prognimous Ekk Solthi
Style:	Funeral doom metal
Release date:	February 2024

01. Ekajata
02. Klu
03. Nan
04. Sadag
05. Tsan

Ego Depths have shaken things up quite dramatically on this latest venture, but where do they take us if not funeral doom, I wonder?

Ego Depths is, or at least was, a one-man funeral doom project masterminded by Stigmatheist that formed in Ukraine back in 2007, but is now currently based in Quebec, Canada. The project now marks its seventeen-year existence with their sixth full-length release to date, Prognimous Ekk Solthi, where once again Stigmatheist performs all instruments and vocals, and just as it was with previous releases, this latest offering has a lengthy hour-long running time, with five tracks in total, four of which run for over 10 minutes. Now, this time total should come as no surprise; however, what does come as a surprise is the new radical approach in style. Yes, what we have here is long, repetitively structured tracks, with lengthy atmospheric build-ups, rarely exceeding pedestrian tempo, but Prognimous Ekk Solthi is a far cry from the usual funeral doom style that previous efforts provided; how different is this release to those previous ones, exactly?

Well, for a start, make sure your level of concentration is high, as you'll need it to be if you plan on listening for the entire hour duration ahead. The album begins with "Ekajata", the only song under the 10-minute mark (albeit only by a few seconds). The only way I can describe this opener is an ambient drone-based track, which builds in tension as the tone increases in heaviness, but also features a repetitive, gentle, sweeping acoustic melody, which is an element that features throughout the album. Along with the instrumentation are Himalayan-inspired Tibetan monk chants, which clearly shows the album's intended theme.

From here on in, Prognimous Ekk Solthi maintains a similar structural pattern, as tracks are driven mostly by those soft repetitive acoustic melodies that build up to, well, not an awful lot, really. The acoustic work is, however, helped along by pedestrian-tempo drone-like riffs, even though they only make their way into the mix occasionally. So, nothing really fascinating develops out of the first three tracks; the structure is far from anything you'd consider technical or complex, there's little-to-no riff melodies involved, the pace never notably increases, and there's nothing resembling a funeral doom approach. What this album does have going for it, on the other hand, is a certain ambience that you simply can't ignore.

It isn't until the fourth track, "Sadag", that you'll notice a few considerable changes in the songwriting; the tone becomes noticeably more powerful at this point for a start, and the instrumentation progresses into a slightly heavier slow-tempo doomy riff pattern. However, it's the Tibetan monk-like chants that provide the track's necessary character, and give the overall ambience the extra lift that would otherwise be somewhat lacking due to the repetitive and minimalistic structure.

Now, by the time you reach the latter stages of this album, the repetitive acoustic pattern and heavy drone sound may have started to become a tad tedious, even for the most patient of listeners, and this is where most listeners will find a lapse in concentration likely forming. However, you'll be glad to know the record saves the most notable track, "Tsan" to last. Here, listeners will find all the elements featured throughout the album coming together and shining more so than on all the previous four songs combined. This closer clearly has a more diverse songwriting approach, even if it still falls short of anything especially memorable or exciting for most traditional metalhead listeners. The acoustic guitar work has more variety and conviction, the use of synths is certainly more striking, especially the slightly creepy and effective bell rings, and the eerie chants all add to a more dynamic atmospheric setting. There's a real sense that the whole ambience, from which the album has steadily been building and intensifying, has all been for this 13+ minute closing track.

Overall, Prognimous Ekk Solthi is quite a dramatic change of events for Ego Depths; the only existing elements that still remain from previous work are the exceedingly slow tempo and much lengthier-than-usual tracks. The lack of heavy doom riffs, excessive use of acoustic guitar work, and U-turn from funeral doom to what is basically drone might send a few eyebrows raising. However, Ego Depths continues to charm listeners with an unmistakable, and for many, uniquely satisfying ambience, this time venturing on what seems like a journey to the edge of the Himalayas.