Gothic doom metal band Opia released their third and final single, “Man Proposes, God Disposes,” via Hammerheart Records. The track, now streaming on platforms like YouTube and Spotify, is the last preview of their upcoming album “I Welcome Thee, Eternal Sleep”, set to drop on April 25th. The band emphasized the song’s meditation on mortality and human vulnerability.
Formed in 2022, Opia—Phoenix Griffiths (guitars), Dan Tregenna (guitars), Jorge Afonso Rodríguez (keyboards), Tereza Rohelova (vocals), and Aidan Rutter (bass)—draws inspiration from Edwin Landseer’s 1864 painting of the same name, which depicts the tragic 1845 Arctic expedition of Sir John Franklin. The expedition, aiming to navigate the Northwest Passage, ended with all 129 crew members perishing after their ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, became icebound near King William Island. Landseer’s painting, showing polar bears amidst human remains, captures nature’s dominance over human ambition—a theme that resonates with Opia’s focus on death, grief, loss, and Victorian occultism.
“Man Proposes, God Disposes” runs just over seven minutes, blending mournful doom riffs with gothic atmospheres. Rohelova’s haunting, operatic vocals soar over Griffiths and Tregenna’s plodding guitars, while Rodríguez’s keyboards add a layer of eerie melancholy, evoking the Arctic’s desolation. The song avoids religious overtones, instead reflecting on humanity’s vulnerability to nature’s indifferent forces, with lines like “We carve our names in ice, but the frost claims all.” The track, likely recorded in a collaborative effort across the UK and Spain, carries a raw yet atmospheric quality, fitting the band’s Victorian-inspired aesthetic.
Opia’s sound echoes early Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride, but their dual UK/Spain roots bring a unique cultural blend—Rohelova’s vocal style hints at Eastern European influences, while the guitars and keyboards carry a British gothic tradition. “I Welcome Thee, Eternal Sleep” is their debut full-length, following a 2023 single that caught Hammerheart Records’ attention.
The Franklin expedition, a well-documented tragedy with recent archaeological finds like the 2014 and 2016 shipwreck discoveries, is a fitting subject for Opia’s thematic focus. Hammerheart Records, known for supporting underground acts, seems to be positioning Opia as a nostalgic act in the gothic doom scene. Stream “Man Proposes, God Disposes” now and pre-order a copy of “I Welcome Thee, Eternal Sleep” here.
Also checkout their music video for “On Death’s Door”