WARNING!!! DO NOT LISTEN TO WHILE DEPRESSED!!! EVEN JUST SLIGHTLY DEPRESSED!!! YOU’LL NEVER BE ABLE TO RECOVER!!!

If you want depression, Shape of Despair is your band. In the dictionary, a picture of the band should be placed right there under the word, and that is all you would need. This is slow, agonizing funeral doom metal. Not for the faint of heart, not for those on the verge of suicide, not for the popular, not really for anyone. This is for those open about doom metal, and willing to be disappointed. No, I’m not saying this is a bad album, on the contrary, it’s really good, but many will be turned away from it simply because of how depressive it is. It’s an aquired taste, I guess you could say. You’ll be especially disappointed if you’re interested in the band because the lead vocalist is Pasi Koskinen, Amorphis’s former vocalist, and expecting some death metal masterpiece. You’ll get your death growls here, but death metal, this is not.

The album hits a high point early, with the songs “Still-Motion” and “Entwined in Misery.” Though the overall sound of the songs seems redundant and played out (if you’re into doom metal, you’ll hear what I mean), the result is still outstanding. “Still-Motion” has a rarity in doom, too. Although the song length is nothing new (over 16 minutes), the last half of the song is a repeated melody with just piano, synth and violin. It may be over-reaching a bit, but it works. It almost brings a tear to your eye. Hell, this is funeral doom, after all. All of the songs are very melancholic, but are melodic at the same time. The album goes from loud, crushing doom to quiet, melancholic soundscapes with ease, virtually seamlessly. You don’t find that in funeral doom often, either, making Shape of Despair a unique blend. It is hard to describe the rest of this album, other than it’s solid funeral doom metal. And did it mention it’s depressing?

For a funeral doom album, the production on this is surprisingly clean. Musicianship is there, and is surprisingly tight for the style. It's well played, well writed, well recorded, but it's not over the top. I had expected more from what I was told about them, but the album does satisfy the doom I seek daily.

So, if you’re open about heavy metal, or you’re a doom metal fanatic, or are just too damn happy and want to be saddened to near-suicide, the new Shape of Despair is your album.

[This review was first published on the now defunct scandinavianmetal.info webzine]