DSBM is my favorite genre of music there's no denying that. It's one of the harshest genres of music on the planet and that's saying something, metal being a harsh genre in itself. However I find that most bands in the genre can't fully capture the pure essence of depression and often fall short to cliches *cough*
Happy Days. Despite this I find that there is a couple of bands that really emulate the raw essence of depression and integrate it perfectly into the music plunging the listener into a pit of despair and negativity. These bands are;
Silencer,
Hypothermia,
Lyrinx,
Thy Light, Life is
Pain,
Hanging Garden(USA),
Wigrid,
Nocturnal Depression,
Nyktalgia and
Trist(CZ).
Zrcadlení Melancholie is the peak of DSBM, every aspect of this album is flawless. The music on this album is brilliant. The guitar work present on this album is incredible. The riffs are beautiful and very depressing. There is a lot of distortion and repetition featured in this album but this complements the album perfectly. The first track Poslední Cesta contains the best guitar work. Around 9:50 it breaks into an absolutely emotive riff that's one of the most emotional and beautiful things I've ever heard.
Trnový Labyrint also contains some great guitar work but nothing really stands out in this one as it does in Poslední Cesta.
The bass featured in this album is fairly audible but not to the point that it overpowers the album it's a perfect fit. Drums don't stand out too much but they do their job just fine.
Nothing special here. The vocals are absolutely brilliant.
Trist has as very unique howl that doesn't sound like any other Black Metal vocalist except perhaps
Desolate from
Austere. Unlike other DSBM bands that cram their songs full of vocals, I'm looking at you
Depressive Years.
Trist doesn't drown out the music with his vocals every few seconds. He only howls at certain times to evoke feelings of misery. This allows the listener to focus on the beautiful music instead of being distracted by the vocals.
Overall this album is highly recommended. It's an absolutely breath taking piece of work that all fans of DBSM and Black Metal should shown. This album is the peak of DSBM and probably will be for a long time.