apanthropy

Lugubrious Garment
In the Wide Vale of Uncreated Night
20 Buck Spin
To Be Released: October 16th, 2026

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1 – …And Therein Plant, unto Their Souls Asunder
2 – Eulogy of Deliberate Malevolence
3 – Profaned Fountain of Leaden Waters
4 – Innocence as a Burden, Guilt as a Weapon
5 – Transient Wounds, Spiritual Wilt
6 – Eternal Scars and Imperative Backfires
7 – Eden Fades Like Blurred Nightmares
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“Lugubrious Garment is another addition to the punishing discography of Gabriele Gramaglia, and ‘In the Wide Vale of Uncreated Night’ is a display of force in the realm of atmospheric and technical extreme music, blending elements in a way that feels genuinely organic, something not forced and false. A true testament to the metal of death and a great debut launch for a project that shows an immense amount of promise.”

Forging ahead as a solo writer in extreme metal is, no doubt, unmeasurably demanding. It is an act of discipline that most will not have the capability to maintain. It is not so much about technical proficiency or ‘riffs-per-minute’-style volume, it has almost everything to do with the totality of songwriting. Every note is crafted by one person, one brain, one imagination, layered one on top of the next, measure after measure, song after song. The custody of the creative identity is directly tied to the artist. There is no democracy in the creative process.

Lugubrious Garment is the artistic outlet of Italian multi-instrumentalist Gabriele Gramaglia, associated with names such as Vertebra Atlantis and Cosmic Putrefaction. Gramaglia spins matrixes of sound through guitar, bass, vocals, and synthesizers, creating sculptures of human debris in the form of In the Wide Vale of Uncreated Night; Seven songs at 40 minutes of oppressive insanity. Claudio Invidia conducts the percussive barrage throughout the record, providing a rhythmic backbone and forward movement to the whole of the songs. Additional contributions came from Yr-nhhngr in vocal delivery and Andrea Morgan contributing violin and viola on two of the songs. Due out October 16th, 2026, through 20 Buck Spin, Lugubrious Garment intersects cosmos-devouring death metal, modern black metal, and elements of grindcore attrition, creating something that stands beyond the convention of contemporary extreme music.

Perhaps best described simply as ‘dark.’ Truly, the metal of death. The technical magnitude of StarGazer, the mass grave mentality of Profanation and Ascended Dead, the textural decay of Chthe’ilist, and the raging storm of atmosphere in line with Coscradh, it is a Rorschach image made of expelled blood and brain matter. This is metaphysical violence, a poison of sort towards the soul, and the delivery is incessant, agitated, and violent. Rather than create a sonic circular narrative through verses, choruses, and bridges, Lugubrious Garment instead unravels on a singular linear pathway, a constant forward movement, like armored calvary trampling over fleeing commoners. Reliant less on gore, reliant less on contemporary mid and upper tempo riff structures, In the Wide Vale of Uncreated Night opts to exist through chaotic note patterns that form into grotesque and worming lines of contrast and harmony, adjusting itself into rhythm patterns that project meat grinder violence, freely breathing out and creating a noxious atmosphere that blankets the album wall-to-wall.

‘…And Therein Plant, unto Their Souls Asunder’ opens the record with a scream that feels otherworldly and abyssal. Early phrases are deeply rhythmic, bringing immediate attention to the crunch and bite of the guitar attack, merging with efficient and smart drumming, allowing a build-up that leads into the first taste of grinding fury. The shift into faster tempos brings tighter riff structures, something more chaotic and bewildering. Serpentine melodies writhe over caliginous rhythm guitar, old-school riff structures embody sonic physicality, odd and agonal sequences flair and disappear, it is a series of intense shifts and jarring riff movements. The song develops and flows with deep creativity in both composition and complexity of arrangement; a proper introductory sequence, a linear but ever-despondent narrative, and a slower movement to resolve the track.

‘Eulogy Of Deliberate Malevolence’ amplifies the cosmic violence to atrocity levels, with an opening riff that bleeds StarGazer, serving as a foundation for the early phrasing of the song. There is a sense of oppressive terror in the atmosphere, similar to what Spanish death metal does so well with acts like Teitanblood, Proclamation, and Vastago that is driven less by production properties and more so by sheer filth invoked by the actual intersected riff structures themselves. The song enters a bridge near its center that opens up the structure through emphasized simplicity but soon reverts to a state of sheer grinding hate.

Tracks such as ‘Transient Wounds, Spiritual Wilt’ embody a slamming and visceral state of traditional tremolo picked single-note sequences and artillery batteries of rapid-fire diatonic chords. The synergy between Gabriele Gramaglia and Claudio Invidia is grossly prevalent on this track, with each measure linked together like a series of punishing physical blows, freely moving through states of tempo at will and with deliberateness. Manic grind eventually bleeds into slower, more Obituary-like moments of mosh-style riffing, capped with a wild screaming lead.

Deep towards the end of the record lays in wait ‘Eternal Scars and Imperative Backfires’ and ‘Eden Fades Like Blurred Nightmares,’ keeping the blood moving from the first track to the last track, displaying a sense of consistency within the crafted narrative that just wouldn’t be possible with a full line-up of musicians. ‘Eternal Scars and Imperative Backfires’ perhaps represents what is most sonically inline with modern blasting black metal, amplified in hostility by screaming leads and putrid vocal discharge. At times, Morbid Angel in its grinding machination-like execution, and other times, a bizarre nightmare-scape of dissociating atmosphere. ‘Eden Fades Like Blurred Nightmares’ is an epic closer that features some of the most diverse riff writing on the entire record, a beautiful array of rhythmic power and spatial arrangement, further braced by a gorgeous neo-classical type of double-harmony attack that feels like total timelessness. The soloing and lead work is nothing short of sensational and epic, giving the listener one final display of maximal power before the album terminates.

The production on In the Wide Vale of Uncreated Night is surprisingly clean and warm. Distortion is reigned into a powerful biting crunch that adds razor-sharp edge to single-note sequences and hurricane-like power to grinding chords. Both layers of guitars work in perfect conjunction, sonically. Lead work is screaming and intense, a blazon of methodical delivery, emphasizing more on sonic impact than notes-per-second attack, a truly righteous presence in the mix. Bass is clean, deep, and lush, positioned below the riffs like some sort of open grave, well-constructed and intelligent bass lines bridge percussion to guitar, a complex array of rhythmic ideas and not just a simple display of doubled root notes. Vocals range from tormented screams to guttural bellows, slightly lower in volume than the guitars, which actually gives the intense riff structures the ability to get right up in the listener’s face.

Lugubrious Garment is another addition to the punishing discography of Gabriele Gramaglia, and In the Wide Vale of Uncreated Night is a display of force in the realm of atmospheric and technical extreme music, blending elements in a way that feels genuinely organic, something not forced and false. A true testament to the metal of death and a great debut launch for a project that shows an immense amount of promise.

Label: 20 Buck Spin
Band: Lugubrious Garment

AJK