Shape of dispair, their name alone conjours up visions of depressed downbeat monotones. That’s not to far off from the truth but the music it’s self is in fact is rather inspiring rather than dipressing. These five long songs weave simplistic but dense swathes of doom in an epic not droning fashion.
The melodies are superb the key changes subtle and sublime and the male/female vocals soreing. The title track and in particular the stunning “quiet these painting are” are drawn out funeral marches with violin and brilliant orchestral synths driving the songs on.
The riffs are often simplistic but very heavy, and the rhythms are often repetitive but this is not bad thing. The monotonous grind is trance like and highly involving. The final track nights dew is shorter than the others and is built apon a great keyboard melody and rousing riffage.
Classification is difficult, the synths and female vocals would put the band in the goth/dark metal vein but the slow repetitive pace and ultra heavy guitars puts them firmly in the funeral doom realm. I could compare them to a slightly more upbeat Skepticism or Esoteric with Saturnus’ romanticism thrown in. In any case this is a great doom release and place shape of dispair at the helm of the new doom revolution.
