Photo by Gen Pintel
Decibel Magazine is currently streaming “Exodus,” the latest single from black metal project, ENCASEMENT. The track comes off ENCASEMENT’s eponymous debut full-length, set for release on September 4th through a joint venture between Hypaethral Records and I, Voidhanger Records.
ENCASEMENT is the solo project of James Thompson, formed in 2024 through what began as a simple creative exercise and evolved into something far more personal. The venture found direction with the opening passage of today’s single, “Exodus,” a moment that revealed not only a distinct musical voice, but also an unexpected connection to a collection of poems written years earlier. What followed was an intense and instinctive writing process. Songs arrived in bursts and gradually assembled into a record rooted in grief, reflection, and emotional release.
Elaborates Thompson, “‘Exodus’ is about fruitlessly searching for a way out of grief without accepting it. Less directly, it’s about how the seeds of unhealthy attachment and coping mechanisms are often planted in youth. Its lyrics are a reworked version of a poem written years earlier. I was initially hesitant to complete this track.
“The intro to this track was the first piece of music written for the album. I was going for a lot of walks through my local park at night at the time, and the opening riff came into my head fully formed a solid 20-minute walk from home. I rushed home while repeating it over and over in my head to make sure I could get it down before forgetting it. I initially failed and put together a version I was completely unsatisfied with, before it eventually popped back to me in a way I was able to translate properly onto the guitar. That moment set the rest of the album’s writing process in motion. I’m thankful it played out this way.”
Adds Decibel, “The tense, relentless seven-minute track…finds Thompson tempering his harsh, atonal exhortations with proggy explorations.”
Stream ENCASEMENT’s “Exodus” HERE.
Stream ENCASEMENT’s previously released single, “Fragmentation,” HERE.
Musically, ENCASEMENT is grounded in black metal but stretches beyond its traditional boundaries incorporating elements from both death metal and more progressive and experimental sources. Dense, angular, and mournful, the project draws from the intensity of artists such as Liturgy, Deafheaven, Thantifaxath, and Gorguts, while later stages of writing turned toward the orchestral drama of Shostakovich, Prokofiev, and Ravel.
Created almost entirely through instinct rather than formal production knowledge, ENCASEMENT embraces raw performances, unconventional production choices, and compositions pushed to the edge of Thompson’s own technical limits. The result is a debut that feels immediate, exposed, and singular.
Encasement was recorded, mixed, and mastered by James Thompson. The record will be release on LP (100 on Blood Red Vinyl) through Hypaethral Records and on CD (200, 6-panel digipack) through I, Voidhanger Records.
Find LP preorders at the Hypaethral webshop HERE and Bandcamp HERE. Find CD preorders at I, Voidhanger’s EU shop HERE, US shop HERE, and Bandcamp HERE.
Encasement Track Listing:
- Inertia
- Exodus
- Apparitions
- The Pillory
- Absolution
- Fragmentation
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