Portland, Oregon-based Dolven emerges once more from the shadows with their third studio album, “In My Grave… Silence”, a deeply atmospheric and emotionally resonant exploration of acoustic doom.
Stripping doom metal down to its rawest essence, Dolven crafts a sound that is both intimate and immense — where the weight of sorrow and the depth of mourning is carried not by distortion, but by melody, space, and the ghostly echoes of silence itself. Exploring themes of loss, love, and suffering, Dolven reduces its sound down to their emotional core.
Led by Dolven’s main songwriter Nick Wusz (Travellers Rest), “In My Grave… Silence” brings together an extraordinary and experienced lineup. Jason Walton (Agalloch, MoonBladder, Sculptured) lends his brooding, expressive bass, Hunter Ginn (Agalloch, Canvas Solaris, Radical Research) provides intricate yet restrained drumming that underscores the album’s dynamic tension, and Jori Apedaile (Eneferens, Hyalithe) delivers haunting, emotional vocal passages that drift like lost souls through the album’s desolate soundscapes.
Engineered by Jason Walton at Earth In Sound, “In My Grave… Silence” was mixed and mastered at Unisound by the legendary Dan Swanö (Edge Of Sanity, Katatonia, Opeth, Bloodbath), ensuring that every note lingers like a ghost in the cold air. Swanö’s presence and touch bring the album to elevated levels of sonic bliss. The album is completed with medieval cover artwork and logo by Alexandr, and additional illustrations by Thaumaturge Artworks.
The result is a powerful album that speaks in whispers yet resounds with a crushing emotional weight. Songs like “Sun Bleached Stones” and “Just Like All the Rest” unfold like funeral hymns, rich with melancholy and reflection. The interplay of acoustic guitars, spacious percussion, and sorrowful harmonies creates a sense of time slowing, of the earth reclaiming all things, of silence itself becoming a voice. Punctuated with three haunting instrumentals, the album sits well with contemplation and reflection. For those who find solace in doom metal and emotional music, “In My Grave… Silence” is an offering of beauty and loss, a quiet meditation on finality. This is doom in its purest form — not just the genre, but a feeling, an experience, a passage into the depths of your soul.
Fans of Warning, 40 Watt Sun, My Dying Bride, Anathema, Solitude Aeturnus, Dan Swanö, Aerial Ruin, Nest, Antimatter, and similar acts – imagined in a fully acoustic setting – do not miss out on Dolven’s “In My Grave… Silence”.
With the lead single from “In My Grave… Silence”, “You’ve Chosen,” Nick Wusz writes: “This is a song about the confusion of growing older, of having to be mature in a world that is slowly beating us to death. Many people struggle with vulnerability and deflation of the ego, leading them to being alone, bitter, and wondering why the world treated them so shitty. The older I get, the more I realize people don’t change… this saddens me deeply. But fuck it, I must live my life as best as I can despite stagnation all around me. The melodies in this song are meant to put us in the space of self-awareness, and coupled with Jason’s gentle bass, Hunter’s delicate drumming, and especially Jori’s soft and smooth vocal delivery, we arrive at the intended space. Speaking of space, the music is spacious (don’t forget… you are all alone), epic, dark, sorrowful, and chaotic… just like growing older”.
Experience the silence and reflection of Dolven’s “You’ve Chosen” through a visualizer playing below.
“In My Grave… Silence” will be released on June 13th, 2025, on vinyl via Winding Stair Records, on CD and Cassette via Fiadh Productions, and digitally by Dolven. Find preorders for the LP and digital here and watch for preorders for the other formats to post shortly.
An official video and more will be issued over the weeks leading up to the album’s release.
Tracklist:
1. Sun Bleached Stones
2. Beside Me
3. You’ve Chosen
4. Standing Among the Ruins
5. Just Like all the Rest
6. Anymore
7. Seeking Solace
Line-up:
Nick Wusz – Guitars
Jason Walton – Bass
Jori Apedaile – Vocals
Hunter Ginn – Percussion
Weblinks:
www.facebook.com/dolven.oregon
www.instagram.com/dolven_oregon
