Shape of Despair are no strangers to the Funeral Doom Metal scene. In fact, they are arguably pioneers of the quite-niche genre, having debuted in 1998.
Tag Archives: Shape of Despair
Parkway Drive, Azusa, Nordjevel, Combichrist, Caspian and More Added To Brutal Assault Fest 2019
Brutal Assault 2019 has added another bunch of bands for the next edition of the festival! New bands added include Parkway Drive, Azusa, Nordjevel, Combichrist, Caspian, Violent Magic Orchestra, Caspian, Déluge, Frog Leap, and Hexis. the bill with more to come. One-hundred and thirty bands will play in the ancient and legendary Josefov Fortress castle on four stages all weekend from 7 -10 August 2019. The full list of bands so far can be seen below and tickets are on sale now from the event page.
Soilwork, Monster Magnet, Triumph of Death, Coven, Demolition Hammer, Walls Of Jericho Added to Brutal Assault Fest
10/27/18, LPR X, NYC. www.ghostcultmag.com
Brutal Assault 2019 has added another bunch of bands for the next edition of the festival Soilwork, Monster Magnet, Triumph of Death, Coven, Demolition Hammer, Wall Of Jericho, The Arson Project, The Contortionist, Vampilla, and Skeletal Remains to join the bill with more to come. One-hundred and thirty bands will play in the ancient and legendary Josefov Fortress castle on four stages all weekend from 7 -10 August 2019. The full list of bands so far can be seen below and tickets are on sale now from the event page.
Continue reading
Sodom, Sick Of It All, Therion, EyeHateGod, Gost and More Added to Brutal Assault 2019
Brutal Assault 2019 has added another badass batch of bands for the next edition of the festival. Joining an incredible bill that already features greats such as Dimmu Borgir, Godflesh, Anthrax, Meshuggah, Carcass, Sacred Reich, and Carpenter Brut, new additions to the fest include Sodom, Sick Of It All, Therion, EyeHateGod, Gost, Wormed, and Vulvodynia. One-hundred and thirty bands will play in the ancient and legendary Josefov Fortress castle on four stages all weekend from 7 -10 August 2019. The full list of bands so far can be seen below and tickets are on sale now from the event page.Continue reading
Brutal Assault Shares 2018 Recap Video, New Bands Added
Brutal Assault Festival 2019 continues to gain steam, as they recently added Voivod, Violator, Dr. Living Dead, Slapshot, Ensiferum, Decapitated, Animals as Leaders, Car Bomb, Letters From The Colony and Zuriaake to the bill. One-hundred and thirty bands will play in the ancient and legendary Josefov Fortress castle on four stages all weekend from 7 -10 August 2019. Already booked are legends and future legends like Dimmu Borgir, Godflesh, Anthrax, Meshuggah, Carcass, Sacred Reich, Carpenter Brut, Iron Reagan, Venom Prison, Thy Art Is Murder, Prong, Alien Weaponry, Deicide, Cult Of Luna, Get The Shot, Daughters and many more. The full list so far can be seen below and tickets are on sale now from the event page.
Dimmu Borgir, Godflesh, Anthrax, Meshuggah, Carcass, Sacred Reich, Carpenter Brut And More Booked For Brutal Assault 2019
Long-running metal festival Brutal Assault has made a massive announcement for 2019. One-hundred and thirty bands will play in the ancient and legendary Josefov Fortress castle on four stages all weekend from 7 -10 August 2019. So far the festival lineup is stacked with Dimmu Borgir, Godflesh, Anthrax, Meshuggah, Carcass, Sacred Reich, Carpenter Brut, Iron Reagan, Venom Prison, Thy Art Is Murder, Prong, Alien Weaponry, Deicide, Cult Of Luna, Get The Shot, Daughters and many more. The full list so far can be seen below and tickets are on sale now from the event page. Continue reading
Emperor Booked To Headline Netherlands Deathfest 2018
Continuing a string of headline appearances at European metal festivals, Emperor will headline Netherlands Deathfest 2018. Nine other bands have also been added with more bands and details to follow.Continue reading
Carcass, Angel Witch, 1349, Skinless And More To Play Netherlands Deathfest 2018
Having just completed its latest edition three weeks ago, Netherlands Deathfest 2018 has announced its first wave of bands! Carcass is the first named headliner along with Angel Witch, 1349, Sadistic Intent, Skinless, Broken Hope, Devourment, Rotten Sound and more! Details below: Continue reading
Ghost Cult Album Of The Year 2015 – Countdown: 50 – 41
And now the end is near, and so we face 2015’s final curtain, and once more the Ghost Cult army got together to vote for their favourites. The results? More than 20 writers pitched and voted on over 220 albums ranging from indie pop to the most horrific savage tentacle laden death metal showing the depth, breadth of the official Ghost Cult Album of the Year for 2015.
The votes have been cast, the dust has settled… let the countdown commence…
50. Liturgy – ‘The Ark Work’ (Thrill Jockey)
“Despite what you may have heard, The Ark Work is neither the ultimate transformation of stupid music into art nor the final betrayal of Metal’s values by the poser hordes. It is, however, one of the boldest, most distinctive and utterly unflinching Metal albums you’ll hear all year”
49. Khost – ‘Corrosive Shroud’ (Cold Spring)
“A startling, spellbinding piece of work. Having given us Sabbath, Napalm Death, Godflesh, and Anaal Nathrakh, Birmingham – and Khost – has just provided Metal’s latest evolution.”
48. Sigh – ‘Graveward’ (Candlelight)
“A strong, distinctive album with its own character and some genuinely excellent songwriting and works well as both an introduction to one of the most genuinely interesting metal bands of the last twenty years and an album in its own right.”
47. Rivers of Nihil – ‘Monarchy’ (Metal Blade)
“Rather than fifty minutes of a constant snare and uninspiring distorted low tuned guitars, Rivers of Nihil have really focused on expanding, adding more atmosphere and a dynamic to keep a hold.”
46. Periphery – ‘Juggernaut Alpha / Omega’ (Sumerian)
“Now that they can’t be pigeonholed to djent or the “Sumerian sound” it leaves Periphery open to be viewed for what they truly are, a brilliant metal band. ”
45. Publicist UK – ‘Forgive Yourself’ (Relapse)
“When I cranked this album on my laptop the last thing I expected was the musical equivalent of Joy Division on a collision course with Cave In, but what a lovely wreck it turned out to be.”
44. Gorod – ‘A Maze of Recycled Creeds’ (Listenable/Unique Leader)
“Complete with Gorod’s signature Bossa Nova-infused jazzy riffs and complex arrangements, A Maze of Recycled Creeds stands not only as Gorod’s crowning achievement, but also that of 2015.”
Lyndsey O’Connor
43. Shape of Despair – ‘Monotony Fields’ (Season of Mist)
‘Monotony Fields’ adds a touch of light to the overwhelming darkness of Funeral Doom yet, far from trivialising it, only increases its power to move and intrigue. This is as refreshing as it is heartfelt and affecting.”
42. Bell Witch – ‘Four Phantoms’ (Profound Lore)
“Bell Witch continue to confound, enthral, terrify and move in equal measure; and in creating a second album of such weight and emotion prove themselves peerless.”
41. Slayer – ‘Repentless’ (Nuclear Blast)
“Armed with 12 new ditties toasting humanity’s self-destruction, the new Slayer album is a complex one. Overall Repentless is an enjoyable, fierce album that sounds essentially like a Slayer album should.”
Shape of Despair – Monotony Fields
It’s staggering to realise that Finnish sextet Shape of Despair have been travelling their heart-rending road for twenty years. New album Monotony Fields (Season of Mist), the band’s fourth, is their first in eleven years and first without their noted growler Pasi Koskinen. The good news is that Koskinen didn’t take the magic with him.
This is poignant stuff: from the atmospheric synth work building the form of opener ‘Reaching the Innermost’, the immense dirge ‘The Blank Journey’ and devastating closer ‘Written in My Scars’; to the sparing piano intermittently puncturing subtle yet powerful riffs, dropping tears into the soul. With piercing, vertiginous lead chords, and the moving intonations of Natalie Koskinen stopping the guttural growls of Henri Koivula, there’s more than a smattering of the symphonic here. The funeral march pace, however, lends more than enough real gravitas to ensure that the passion is not diluted.
At over 70 minutes’ duration, this is a long trek so the lighter touches serve to enhance and tickle the brain: the evocative, cosmic synth of the title track underpinning the mournful growl and ramping up the emotion rather than urinating on it. The tempo also, hardly relenting, rarely moves above a respectful coffin retinue. The nebulae of ‘Descending Inner Night’, augmented by lead pedal effects, are stellar and supremely emotive – the Anathema-like cleans here chilling the bones, the whole a premier example of an outfit atop their game and as moving as the Liverpudlians to whom they perhaps invoke most comparison. The swell of ‘In Longing’ and the slightly more up-tempo ‘The Distant Dream of Life’ is chest-filling, the contrast of the harsh vocal a delicious melding of tastes, the latter an incredibly touching track and the embodiment of this album’s seeming intent to enlighten and give hope as it simultaneously crushes all resolve.
Often nearing the borders of Cheeseville without ever setting foot inside, Monotony Fields adds a touch of light to the overwhelming darkness of Funeral Doom yet, far from trivialising it, only increases its power to move and intrigue. This is as refreshing as it is heartfelt and affecting.
8.0/10
PAUL QUINN