Shape Of Despair
Illusion's Play (cd)
Wydane przez Spikefarm RecordsRok wydania 2005Kraj FinlandNapisał Wouter8
On their third consecutive album Finland's funeral doom metal act Shape Of Despair once again open atmospherically with the lengthy 'Sleep Mirrored' track, in which dreamy synths pave the way for the heavy riff that opens 'Still-Motion'. With layered dual vocals, both operatic this track shows a different Shape Of Despair, although not lacking in funereal atmosphere, it embraces a more gothic feel. Once the typical, mesmerizing melodies set in and Pasi Koskinen (Ajattara/ex-Amorphis) uses his grunt Shape Of Despair shine brilliantly. The synthesizers - an element of primary importance to the band - are used tastefully through out the tracks, never dominating or getting in the way of the songwriting. Combined with small acoustic parts through out this record, they form a majestic backbone on which the rest of the music is constructed and provide beautiful complementary melodies and harmonics in the process. 'Entwined In Misery' builds further upon the fading melody of the former track. With this track Shape Of Despair have added another instant-classic to the their repertoire, as it can easily compete with other classic tracks such as 'Woundheir' or 'Quiet These Paintings Are'. Lasting a little over 8 minutes, it does lack the impact of these other classics. Nevertheless, it's a strong track to add to their already impressive resumé. 'Curse Life' starts off with a minimal acoustic guitar melody, after which the synthesizers slowly fade in and the rest of the track presents itself. After a few vocal verse trades the track returns to the central melody, it is here that the violin pops up again. Used rather as a harmonizing instrument the violin provides to fill in with small melodies that accentuate the desolate atmosphere rather effectively. Female vocalist Nathalie Koskinen (apparently Pasi and Nathalie have coupled over the course of their first two albums "Shades Of." and "Angels Of Distress") is used sparse but effectively through out the few cuts she gets in a few tracks. Leaving 'Fragile Emptiness' closely at the end of the record Shape Of Despair have written their magnum opus, which slows down several times with great effect in contrasting atmospheres, textual richness and exceptional instrumentation. It's on the title track that operatic female vocals appear again, this time both the male and female vocals receive equal time. While on the more atmospheric side of the funeral doom metal spectrum Shape Of Despair might just be too extreme for anyone who considers My Dying Bride and Anathema to be the pinnacle of utter desolation. People who enjoy Worship, Unholy, Hierophant, Skepticism and Esoteric can't go wrong with this.
www.shapeofdespair.com
