DIY generated atmospheric Blackened Death Doom from Shrewsbury. Yep, sitting amidst the Tudor tea shops, the medieval market town appears a bit too sleepy to produce such filth. Alongside the River Severn, this link between Wales and England has brewed up something a little unseemly as Drowning Hour release The Pain Of Loss.
Drowning Hour – The Pain Of Loss
Release Date: 19 August 2026
Words: Paul Hutchings
Two big slabs of misery hold the centre of this four-track EP together. After the introduction, The Visitation, it is the slow, glacial pace of The Longing that takes the attention.
Now, there is nothing here that did not feature in the early ’90s. Think some early Opeth, Katatonia, Anathema, My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost, and you are in the right ballpark. The riffs are crushing, lumbering, almost grinding to a halt whilst Kieran Scott, yes, him of Death Collector and Ashen Crown, roars his way across them.
Scott is joined by Kelly Gobold on clean, ethereal vocals, and she adds a nice contrast to what is a rather routine delivery.
Yes, plenty of energy and enthusiasm went into this, and there is nothing wrong with the lumbering beast that is The Inheritance. It is, however, nothing new, though Scott’s bristling death growls are well suited to the devastating slumber that the songs induce.
These are no spring chickens after all. It is punishing, at times a wall of noise that brings a sludgy corrosion to the ears. It is downright nasty yet bristles with a pleasing melody that contrasts and confuses. Am I loving it? Well, I certainly am enjoying it, despite the brooding malevolence that festers in the darkness. Intimidation? Sinister threat? Probably both.
Two big numbers that rely on brute force, then, which echo the melancholy of the finale, The Farewell. This clearly eases out the story and closes the EP, and works fantastically well. Enchanting in its melancholic delivery, the contrast is stark.
It is this final switch that really pushes this EP into the upper echelons. The bruising death elements are of limited impact but throw in a shimmering vision with all the fragility of an ice sculpture, and I am gone. It captures the lot.
Huge potential then from Scott, Kelly Gobold, Craig Gobold (Rhythm Guitar, Bass, Drums and mix/master) and Dan Ashley (Lead Guitar). The Pain of Loss is well worth checking out.
Drowning Hour release The Pain of Loss on 19 August 2026. For more details, find them on Bandcamp.
