Published: March 31, 2016

For all the excellent black metal that has come out of Greece the last few decades, the country has produced surprisingly few doom/death bands. Formed in 2009 by Andreas Kelekis, Immensity is one of the few doom/death bands to call the country home. Kelekis rounded out the group in 2010 and 2011 and released a demo, The Lonely Aquarelle, in 2012. After hooking up with Hypnotic Dirge, Immensity is set to release their debut album, The Isolation Splendour, which features five new tracks plus The Lonely Aquarelle demo for good measure.

Immensity owes a huge debt to the bands that pioneered the more melodic, gothic tinged side of doom/death.  The Isolation Splendour has a definite My Dying Bride vibe to it, along with early Katatonia and Swallow the Sun, while the album’s heavier moments sound a little like Novembers Doom. While Immensity is rather derivative musically, the songs on The Isolation Splendour are well-written and emotionally gripping. Highlights include “Irradiance (For the Unlight)” with its melodic, urgent clean vocal segment and the beautifully depressing guitars’ interplay with the clean vocals on the title track. “The Sullen” is the album’s heaviest track, but it lacks the ambition and sweeping grandeur of its peers; it’s not bad by any means but the other tracks are better.

 While The Isolation Splendour is more than adequate musically, its greatest strength lies in Leonidas Hatzimichalis’s clean vocals. They’re melancholic and inviting, giving The Isolation Splendour much of its charm and identity. He sounds like a less resigned Jonas Renkse crossed with a less gothic Aaron Stainthorpe.  His voice makes it incredibly easy to get lost in The Isolation Splendour while the riffs sink in.

The decision to include The Lonely Aquarelle demo was a curious one. On the one hand, it’s nice to have Immensity’s entire discography on one release. On the other hand the inclusion of its two songs push The Isolation Splendour past an hour in length, making it a little too long. It’s also rather obvious that the demo’s tracks are much less refined than the original tracks on The Isolation Splendour.

Minor issues aside, The Isolation Splendour shows quite clearly that Immensity have loads of potential. The songwriting is really well-developed and the band has an ace in the hole with Hatzimichalis’s vocals.  Fans of melodic death/doom should eat this right up. 

Rating: 8/10
Reviewed by: Nathan Hare