One of the pioneering acts of the funeral doom metal scene, Finland's Skepticism emerged in the early 1990s with a sound rooted in traditional death metal. They adopted the depressing funeral doom style that would become their calling card with the release of 1995's seminal Stormcrowfleet. The band continued to explore the darkest and most ambient regions of the genre on subsequent efforts like Alloy (2008), Ordeal (2015), and Companion (2021).

Formed in 1991 in the city of Riihimäki, Skepticism's core lineup coalesced in 1993 around the talents of vocalist Matti Tilaeus, guitarist Jani Kekarainen, keyboardist Eero Pöyry, and drummer Lasse Pelkonen. After releasing the trad-death metal 7" "Toward My End" in 1992, the band began moving toward a more expansive and distinctive sound that combined the raw power of doom and death metal with tendrils of dark ambient and drone. With six atmosphere-drenched, slow-burning epic tracks, 1995's Stormcrowfleet helped define the funeral doom genre, as did the 1997 follow-up EP Ethere and its thematically connected long-player Lead and Aether. The 28-minute single Aes appeared in 1998, followed by a second pair of associated releases, The Process of Farmakon and Farmakon, which arrived in 2002 and 2003, respectively. A five-year gap preceded the release of 2008's solemn and towering Alloy, and it would be eight years before the arrival of their experimental next studio effort. Joined by second guitarist Timo Sitomaniemi, 2015's Ordeal saw the newly expanded five-piece recording in front of a live studio audience. In early 2021, Skepticism released a music video for the song "Calla," which appeared on their sixth full-length album, Companion, released later that year. ~ James Christopher Monger, Rovi