British Doom Metal: The Greatest Albums

10. Esoteric – The Pernicious Enigma (1997)

Source // f1.bcbits.com

Two hours of horrifying Funeral Doom may sound like the ultimate nightmare but Esoteric’s sophomore album is so claustrophobically, hellishly, diabolically enchanting that it simply must be heard  and remains one of the most compelling recordings in British Doom Metal history.

Released in 1997, these blackened, avant-garde, Brummie experimentalists redefined Funeral Doom with an unmistakable use of samples, buried deep in their murky low-end sound, to add bottomless layers to their dark and depressing sound.

Breaking this epic down into ‘must-hear’ tracks is fruitless, The Pernicious Enigma needs to be experienced as it was intended and absorbed whole. Our advice, take at least two weeks off work and immerse yourself in this grand and ambitious work of art, you may feel like ending it all by the time you’ve absorbed the entirety of this 2-disc record but at least you’ll be feeling something. Today’s vacuous excuse for popular music doesn’t do that now does it!