Hailing from Australia, Grotesque Bliss feature vocalist/bassist Bjorn of the equally mighty Temple Nightside and Grave Upheaval; guitarist Chris Burton, whose credentials stretch back to the '90s with Paramæcium, Cryptal Darkness, and then the successive The Eternal among others; and veteran drummer Matthew Southcombe, whose credits include Internecine Excoriation among others, filling out the lineup. In 2022, the trio promptly set about capturing their ancient Doom/Death. Two rehearsals followed, with a self-titled demo arriving in 2024. Now, that demo sees international release in expanded form, concluding with a cover of My Dying Bride's classic 'I Am the Bloody Earth'. Thus padded out to a full-length, Grotesque Bliss' first long-form recording is a dark and disturbing display of paradigmatic Doom/Death, and unapologetically so. Granted, some parallels can be drawn to Grave Upheaval's bleakness as well as Temple Nightside's cavernousness - and, of course, Paramæcium are a cult name among Doom/Death aficionados - but on Grotesque Bliss do they stick to a rigorous template of primeval lurch, caveman execution, and twisting, tendrilous songwriting that thankfully doesn't wander into amorphous, all-atmosphere territory. Sometimes, almost fleetingly, will their stomp almost encroach upon the mid-tempo, but then Grotesque Bliss strip it back to bare-bones, suffocatingly slow. Vapor trails of leads add a touch of deeper melancholy, as do the tortured moans; otherwise, vocals plumb the abyss, and there is where you'll stay. No light, no hope, no fun: this is Grotesque Bliss.
