Location: Toronto
Country: Canada
Genre: Experimental black metal
Full length: Encasement
Format: CD (I, Voidhanger Records), LP (Hypaethral Records), digital
Label: Hypaethral Records, I, Voidhanger Records
Release date: September 4, 2026
Guitarist and instrumentalist James Thompson founded Encasement to incorporate his ideas into a fusion of black and death metal. His goal was to experiment with new sounds and explore new directions within an ever-expanding field. The more he searched and wrote, the more he discovered that his songs had a personal and mournful quality. These compositions moved from themes of grief, reflection, and release to expressing buried emotions. He found a connection between his songwriting and poems he had written several years earlier.
This connection became evident when he composed “Exodus,” the opening track of his self-titled debut album. The piece displayed a distinctive tone upon its completion and served as the launching point for the subsequent tracks. The initial material Thompson gathered was composed with an open, unrestrained impulse, consisting of sudden improvisational bursts. When arranged into songs, these bursts manifested as disjointed night terrors—states of mind that could only be accurately expressed through raw atmosphere and an emphasis on their disconnected, incoherent nature.
Seeing what he had formulated by happenstance, Thompson began to write with a clearer sense of purpose. He channelled his grief and reflection through more structured means, delving deeper into himself to uncover what had been buried beneath the surface. The disjointed songs evolved into pieces with longer, more drawn-out sections that expressed his inner discoveries. Mostly rooted in avant-garde black metal, his music also bears noticeable shades of shoegaze and old-school death metal.
Thompson’s brief creative bursts are characterized by eccentric note arrangements and sections that extend beyond typical measure lengths. These shifts often happen unexpectedly, guiding listeners through a labyrinth of random passages that seem to lead nowhere or circle back on themselves. By pushing his abilities as a musician and songwriter, Thompson adds a sense of subjective vertigo, incorporating outlandish touches into his avant-garde, shoegaze-inspired improvisations.
Similar to the creation of his earliest material, Thompson imparts a sense of immediacy with an introduction that is both fleeting and darkly atmospheric, as heard in tracks like "Inertia." He also explores irregular transitions, shifting from rigid, crunching riffs to dissonant and melodic passages. His music moves seamlessly from thrash-flavored death metal to prog-infused black metal, with sounds ranging from falling rain to furious tremolo picking. Vocally, he alternates between guttural and high-pitched styles depending on which section fits best.
During the recording, mixing, and mastering processes, Thompson paid close attention to incorporating orchestral and classical theatrics inspired by controversial Russian composers Dmitri Shostakovich and Sergei Prokofiev, as well as French impressionist Maurice Ravel. He aimed to infuse some of their essence into his work. This influence appeared late in his writing process and often intensified the passionate moods he sought to evoke, particularly in songs like “The Pillory” and “Absolution.”
"Encasement" is a raw, unfiltered vision crafted by Thompson. It holds together seemingly fragmented thoughts, creating a cohesive experience in its own way. The album presents ongoing nightmares, offering a way to confront them in the safest manner possible. –Dave Wolff
Lineup:
James Thompson: Vocals, all instruments
Track list:
1. Inertia
2. Exodus
3. Apparitions
4. The Pillory
5. Absolution
6. Fragmentation
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