Encasement |Encasement |I, Voidhanger Records/Hypaethral Records

Encasement is a solo black metal band from Toronto, Canada, and this self titled LP is its debut. James Thompson writes the music and words, plays guitars and bass, programs the drums, sings, engineers the sound himself, mixes and masters it, and painted the cover as well. I, Voidhanger Records handles the CD and Hypaethral Records the LP format.

“Encasement” in forty minutes circles a spiral that grief sets off, with desire and shame, constraint and release, denial and admission chasing each other until acceptance is the only exit left. The black metal frame takes in death metal and progressive turns, the riffing is angular and mournful, and the late writing bends toward orchestral drama. That is a big plan for one person, and the compositions are pushed to the edge of Thompson’s playing, so the seams show. “Apparitions” stretches past ten minutes and “Fragmentation” closes near nine, long runs that keep changing direction as the spiral tightens. They ask a lot from a player working at his limit, and a few turns arrive before the hands are ready for them.

The sound was built by instinct, not training, and the mix is unorthodox and exposed. Every stumble sits on the surface, and that immediacy gives the album a voice of its own while also leaving the balance uneven. The words follow the grief cycle, with “The Pillory” putting shame on display and “Absolution” arriving after it as release. The order of the tracks follows that arc closely, so the ending reads as the spiral breaking apart and not as a pause. The one man setup keeps the vision intact from first riff to last. A debut with real ambition and honest flaws, good enough to leave a mark and uneven enough to leave questions.

|7.5