E-L-R...Atropa (2026)

Hailing from Switzerland, today we have Atmospheric Doom/Post-Metal duo E-L-R with their latest full-length release “Atropa”. Featuring six tracks and over 44-minutes of hypnotic music, this outfit continues to refine their highly intoxicating sound while managing to unleash their most cohesive and powerful release to date. Highly recommended for fans of bands like Amenra, Darkher, Cult of Luna and Messa.

Opening with the imposing “Oaken Reaper”, we immediately get the band’s wall of sound propped up by droning distorted guitars and lush vocal arrangements. The band’s sound is very hypnotic and crafty, unleashing tracks like old Anathema-esque “Archeress” with its subtle percussions and guitars. Other tracks like the enigmatic “Cobalt Wound” have a denser nature with the vocal contributions of Shazzula of Wolvennest, while still unleashing powerful riffs along the way.

As our favorite track, “Solace Tracery” is very cathartic and powerful, with intricate instrumentation alongside a very melancholic edge as the song slowly concludes with a very bleak atmosphere and dramatic clean male vocals. Closing with a high note, “Echo Space” is the album’s longest and most atmospheric and bleak piece, slowly building up to gargantuan riffs and a blistering cathartic moment.

In general, “Atropa” is one hell of an emotional and masterfully crafted release. Every minute is highly enjoyable, with tons of intricate details to discover alongside lush vocal arrangements and a highly atmospheric edge. E-L-R has a very powerful and distinctive sound that they just keep making better and better with each release, the bar is set even higher for them in the future. That being said, don’t sleep on this excellent release if you love Post Metal and Atmospheric Doom Metal.

Rating: 96/100