Deriving their name from one of the most barren and foreboding locations on Earth, a huge, dry valley in Antartica, the Wiesbaden, Germany-based doom metal outfit The Wright Valley Trio — Dominque Fricker (vocals, guitar), Robert Krause (bass, synths)_ and Matthias Rodig (drums) — was founded back in 2013, but can actually trace their origins to working together in different projects over the years.

In their decade-plus history, the trio have released two albums, 2023’s Bitter Alter, a collaborative effort with Blackstaff; and 2021’s Der Wag, as well as three EPs 2017’s Shackleton, 2018’s Submarine Funeral and 2022’s Metal Doom. And through these releases, the German doom trio have developed a sound that seamlessly meshes elements of doom, sludge and post-black metal, anchored around extremely long songs that range from cultivated boredom to heavy riffs and massive walls of sound.

The German trio’s recently released album Leben ist Schmerz is a two-song album that the band explains tells the story of a life with bipolar disorder, exploring the extremes of that condition — and the struggles it brings. Clocking in at a little under 27.30, the album’s first single, album title track “Leben ist Schmerz” is an expansive, slow-burning and downright bruising bit of sludgy doom that captures the album’s central concept with a seemingly lived-in accuracy.