Angry Metal Guy<p><a href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/entheomorphosis-pyha-kuilu-review/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Entheomorphosis – Pyhä Kuilu Review</a></p><p><i>By Dear Hollow</i></p><p>If I’ve learned anything from <strong>Dark Buddha Rising</strong>, it’s that drone metal goes hand-in-hand with spiritual awakening. The blinding light of transcendence and the shadows of the occult are parts of the same jagged landscape of existence, and the abyss rules beneath, embodying both creation and destruction. Gentle and ruthless in equal measure, drone metal’s tides of mountainous riffs and thunderous tones offer the secrets of the universe and the nonexistence that perpetually threatens every fiber. <strong>Dark Buddha Rising</strong> exemplified this in its Buddhism-influenced aesthetic tied to hypnotic and ritualist drone, pulsing percussion, and a flurry of vocal attacks to conjure and invoke a dark trance. With their ongoing hiatus, <strong>Entheomorphosis</strong> takes up the mantle.</p><p>Appropriately, <strong>Entheomorphosis</strong> is the spiritual successor of <strong>Dark Buddha Rising</strong>, taking its namesake after its 2009 album of the same name, its primary architect being former guitarist/vocalist Vesa Ajomo. A quartet, other members include <strong>Mr. Peter Hayden</strong>/<strong>PH</strong>/<strong>Enphin</strong> alum Lauri Kivelä (also of <strong>Alitila</strong>) on bass and JP Koivisto (also of <strong>Vallihauta</strong>) on guitar, as well as Lassi Männikkö of <strong>Gangrened</strong> and <strong>Ludalloy</strong> behind the kit. While <strong>Dark Buddha Rising</strong> offered a surprisingly nimble and balanced approach to drone in energetic percussion and obscure vocal approaches, <strong>Entheomorphosis</strong> embraces the sprawl and a more predictable vocal dimension, alongside a much more erratic percussion presence. Debut <em>Pyhä Kuilu</em> (“holy abyss” in Finnish) embraces the spiritual awakening of shedding old skin with shuddering tone abuse and glacial crawls in its favor, even if it pales in comparison to its mother act.</p><p></p><p><strong>Entheomorphosis</strong> does a great job of compacting drone metal’s most trademark features in a tidy thirty-five-minute runtime, thanks to concise songwriting. It features four tracks, with the bookends comprising the main movements (“Alkiema,” “Iätön”). These are the transcended Arhats in a drone metal fan’s nirvana: droning riffs, tortured vocals, and breathless patience. Conjuring the <strong>Sabbath</strong>-worshipping likes more of <strong>Earth</strong> than <strong>Sunn O)))</strong> in its slightly orange and hazy tone (perhaps <strong>Bongripper</strong>), it drawls on while Ajomo’s vocals take the stage in tortured shouts and Männikkö’s slightly off-kilter rhythms add a dimension of intrigue to the proceeds. Contrary to <strong>Dark Buddha Rising</strong>’s winning formula of drums carrying the drone, <strong>Entheomorphosis</strong> finds the drums carrying on a manic ritualistic energy almost <em>despite</em> the droning riffs, reminding me of early <strong>Sumac</strong>’s work. This clash is a bit jarring but intriguing, as longer passages avoid stagnation thanks to these odd collisions. The moods invoked are vast, settling upon anticipation’s startling brightness (“Alkiema”) and dread’s heavy weight (“Iätön”).</p><p></p><p>Getting away from the traditional drone template, the meat of <em>Pyhä Kuilu</em> offers respite in unexpected ways for <strong>Entheomorphosis</strong>. From the minimalist creeping of blackened shrieks atop chaotic drumming, thunderous bass, and synthesizer (“Sikinä”) to a crystalline and pulsing synth foray (“Huntu”), the centerpieces recall a more liturgical and shamanistic <strong>Primitive Man</strong> in its unforgiving noise and injection of chaos among the more regal movements of straightforward drone. They nonetheless beg the question as to why two comparatively brief respites are tied together as such when they are just different enough to be confusing and just similar enough to sound the same. The vocals are likewise a bit of a conundrum with <strong>Entheomorphosis</strong>, especially in comparison to its parent project. <strong>Dark Buddha Rising</strong> benefited from the choir of insanity of its three voices, but Ajomo’s nasally shouts seem to clash with the surrounding bleak obscurity, working most effectively with the blackened shrieks in “Sikinä.” The vocals are not the main focus, but they do distract at best, derail at worst, when they appear.</p><p><strong>Entheomorphosis</strong> soars in being a worthy spiritual successor to <strong>Dark Buddha Rising</strong>, even if its pedigree cannot hold up. It’s a dark drone sound that you’ve come to know and love, but simultaneously more accessible and more experimental. <em>Pyhä Kuilu</em> feels more liturgical and less hypnotic, and its chemistry between drums and riff is endlessly intriguing. It may not achieve transcendence of its actors’ other projects, but for fans of drone, <strong>Entheomorphosis</strong> is a tour de force of holiness and devastation. While a nice bit of escapism, I’m banking on a more complete spiritual awakening next time.</p> <p><strong>Rating:</strong> 3.0/5.0<br><strong>DR:</strong> | <strong>Format Reviewed:</strong> 320 kb/s mp3<br><strong>Label:</strong> <a href="https://svartrecords.com/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Svart Records</a><br><strong>Websites:</strong> <a href="http://entheomorphosis.bandcamp.com" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">entheomorphosis.bandcamp.com</a> | <a href="http://entheomorphosis.com" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">entheomorphosis.com</a><br><strong>Releases Worldwide:</strong> May 23rd, 2025</p><p><a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/2025/" target="_blank">#2025</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/30/" target="_blank">#30</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/alitila/" target="_blank">#Alitila</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/avant-garde-metal/" target="_blank">#AvantGardeMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/bongripper/" target="_blank">#Bongripper</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/dark-buddha-rising/" target="_blank">#DarkBuddhaRising</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/doom-metal/" target="_blank">#DoomMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/drone-metal/" target="_blank">#DroneMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/earth/" target="_blank">#Earth</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/enphin/" target="_blank">#Enphin</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/entheomorphosis/" target="_blank">#Entheomorphosis</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/finnish-metal/" target="_blank">#FinnishMetal</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/gangrened/" target="_blank">#Gangrened</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/ludalloy/" target="_blank">#Ludalloy</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/may25/" target="_blank">#May25</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/mr-peter-hayden/" target="_blank">#MrPeterHayden</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/ph/" target="_blank">#PH</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/primitive-man/" target="_blank">#PrimitiveMan</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/pyha-kuilu/" target="_blank">#PyhäKuilu</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/review/" target="_blank">#Review</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/reviews/" target="_blank">#Reviews</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/sumac/" target="_blank">#Sumac</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/sunn-o/" target="_blank">#SunnO_</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/svart-records/" target="_blank">#SvartRecords</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://www.angrymetalguy.com/tag/vallihauta/" target="_blank">#Vallihauta</a></p>