Objective : Isolation

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Band Name Shroud Of Despondency
Album Name Objective : Isolation
Type Album
Data de aparición 2009
Labels Self-Released
Estilo MusicalBlack Metal
Miembros poseen este álbum2

Tracklist

1.
 An Opposing Shore
Listen06:55
2.
 This Transcends Belief
Listen08:01
3.
 Incongruous
Listen08:46
4.
 A Life Well Lived
Listen09:09
5.
 Struggling with the Current
Listen07:00
6.
 Wound
Listen06:45
7.
 My Carrion
Listen05:27
8.
 Silence After the Downfall
Listen09:46

Total playing time: 01:01:49

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Shroud Of Despondency




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Crónica @ heavymetaltribune

16 Mayo 2011

an experimental effort of guitarist Rory

After the successful full length album, Dark Meditations in Monastic Seclusion, Shroud of Despondency's mastermind/guitarist Rory Heikkila releases a compilation of tracks written in 2009, intended to be for an album release before the current lineup came about.

Unlike the somewhat calming atmosphere present on Dark Meditations..., when the first track, An Opposing Shore begins, the listener immediately realises that this album is going to be an extremely different journey from Dark Meditations.... In fact, the difference was so vast that I scratched my head in confusion, wondering if it were the same band I was listening to, until it was written in the album bio that this was a compilation of earlier recordings. Right from An Opposing Shore, the listener is introduced to an almost catchy, hyper-fast black metal, compared to the contemplative mood that Dark Meditations... gives the listener. The lead synths included in the song provide weird moments and fortunately these moments are few enough not to mar the experience and in fact, almost brings to mind a more symphonic Sigh's Hangman's Hymn album.

The constant change in the backup vocalists also add unique touches to the music, with each vocalist bringing individual styles to the music, such as the growls on This Transcends Belief. On this album the guitar seems to take a more prominent role as well, with the guitar constantly being the focus among the instruments, littering the album with numerous shred-friendly guitar solos, displaying the virtuosity of guitarist Rory. Various influences can also be heard throughout the album, such as the sudden shift to a melodic death metal-styled riff on This Transcends Belief, ensuring that the listener is constantly interested and intrigued by what Shroud of Despondency has to offer. However, the slight breakdown moment on the song certainly cause a small amount of distaste in the listener's mouth, yet it is nice to hear how the band is able to incorporate such elements so seamlessly into their music.

Incongruous brings in yet another new element into the music - the piano, playing beautiful notes that fit right into the cold and bleak atmosphere that the music seems to be emphasising, and this is certainly a nice inclusion in the music, an unusually calming effect in the midst of all the surrounding chaos. It is also on this song where one starts to see where the beginnings of Dark Meditations... come from, with the long acoustic guitar/piano outro. The intro of A Life Well Lived can also cause a listener to easily mistake this band as a (Japanese?) neo-classical power metal band with the uplifting intro guitar riffs, that end with a short sweeping riff, along with the almost Eastern/Oriental sounding guitar solo in the middle of the track. The personal favourite moment has to be the well-thought out guitar solo on Struggling with the Current, an almost later-Opeth moment with the warm and fuzzy guitar tone. The album ends with Silence After the Downfall, a beautiful acoustic guitar backed track with soaring lead electric guitars, before a spoken vocal announcing a state of apocalypse due to an atomic/nuclear disaster rounds up the theme behind Objective:Isolation - that of total destruction, and ultimately the isolation of mankind in this world unfit for living anymore.

One major gripe though is the inclusion of weird moments in the songs, such as the rapid spoken parts at the end of This Transcends Belief, and the combination of an almost carnival atmosphere and the sounds of war in the middle of A Life Well Lived, leaving the listener wondering what the fuck just happened, and in a way sends a chill down the listener's sPine with the weirdness and creePiness of the speed that the person is speaking at. While the former certainly caused the album to falter slightly, the latter helps in emphasising the chaos that is meant to be in the music.

Rory mentioned in the album bio that this album did not receive proper mastering, yet listening to it over and over again, this hardly comes across to the listener as "improper mastering" at all. Perhaps it is the quality of the tracks written, what is presented to the listener here is black metal the way it should be - a balance of all emotions, cold, bleak yet almost heartwarming and uplifting at times.

While this could have been somewhat of an experimental effort of guitarist Rory, it has certainly managed to capture my attention more than the "proper" full length, Dark Meditations..., right from the first listen. Not to say that the other album was bad though, considering that I am mostly a sucker for fast and furious music.

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