I missed the boat on this one. The album came out yesterday, but I had not heard it. Anyway, I am listening to it now and I figured that maybe other people might be interested.
It is a solo project by one Matan Kedar, who is associated with other entities in Israel: Achsan, Edellom, Psithurisia, Srefa, Neveloth, ex-Salvation. Apparently, this particular project just begun in 2021, if the information on Metal Archives is to be believed.
Defiled Embrace features deep growling and direct-impact chugging heaviness, and would appeal to audiences that enjoy slow, simple doom-and-gloom heaviness. At the same time, it would be not be accurate to leave the description at that, given the use of some uptempo segments in which the moods change, and the variety works well with the death doom. Lastly, the melodies and melancholy also add a strong attraction for the listener. Thus, it is not monolithic boring doom. There are contrasts that make for an enjoyable listen, and the melody-melancholy on top of the heaviness would be the fundamental reason for sticking around for the entire album, as I have done.
I would not recommend the album as an introduction to death doom to people not familiar with the genre, as it may seem as a tedious genre. However, a listener that is not familiar with death doom but that might want to hear something really slow and heavy, as a listening experience for something different, then perhaps this recording could be interesting. It is a pretty good album, for sure, but it is definitely death doom as its main component.
Whispers of the forest (full album)
by Defiled Embrace
https://www.facebook.com/DefiledEmbrace/
