Originally released as a digital-only album last year, the second album from Bulgarian funeral doom project Destruction Of Orion has finally been given a physical release courtesy of Aesthetic Death (who will also be re-releasing debut album Decreasing Brightness as well as a new record later in the year) and if any doom release deserves to be heard by more ears, it’s this. The solo work of Bulgarian composer Orion (a.k.a Tehina Spasova), this is misery at its most haunting, a vast suite of sepulchral drones, gothic chamber music and bestial growls that bear testament to the emotional weight of lifetimes, with each composition conveying a sense of longing and solitude so thick it verges on suffocating.
Listening to States Of Horror is a Dantesque journey through the psyche, a spiral downward where the glimpses of light become more elusive the further inwards you venture. Spasova’s voice, a sepulchral growl that feels more akin to the whispers of a secluded grotto than any typical death metal utterance, is typically kept low in the mix, leaving ample space for guitars and synth to paint vast, morose symphonies in infinite shades of grey. She is especially adept at layering sound, slight musical motifs and high, haunting melodies nestled in amongst a buzzing low end that leaves a constant sense of disquiet.
The aspect in which Spasova truly excels is her use of baroque, gothic and neoclassical flourishes that don’t so much provide contrast as they do illumination. For the most part, these are used as bookends, an elegant transition to ease the listener in and out of the gloom but there are moments where they are subtly interwoven into the mix. ‘Lethargy’ uses a flowing piano interlude to provide a moment of temporary respite, a glimpse of beauty before the guitars drop like lead weights, the plaintive wail of strings and choirs resonating behind them; meanwhile, ‘Anhedonia’ utilises a lilting music box melody amidst a haze of distorted guitars to add a sense of creeping unease, just insistent enough to unnerve but not enough that it disturbs the haunting atmosphere that Spasova depicts with such detail.
With only the album’s intro and outro sitting under the 7-minute mark, States Of Horror is an album made to drown oneself in. The sense of misery is palpable and as everything begins to merge into one, the line between voice, instrument and synth blurring until they coalesce as one morose, monolithic presence, the fact that this is all the work of a single person becomes glaringly obvious and immensely powerful. It is a focused work that demonstrates not only Spasova’s skill as a composer and multi-instrumentalist, but also her willingness to pour every ounce of her being into her art. This is not a comfortable listen, nor an easy one; it demands time to absorb and to reflect, and because of that it has the potential to stay with you long after the album has ended.
