Hope Finally Died...

Here we have a somewhat lesser known album hailed as something of a cult classic in death and doom metal denizens, and, before making the case for why this is rightly the case, I would first like to note that however obscure this album and band may feel, they certainly also feel like an appropriate snapshot of what the UK metal scene in the early 90's was known for, given the impact of bands such as the Peaceville three. The contents Decomposed so meticulously interred on Hope Finally Died... are then, not surprising, but this is to the record's advantage, because it's a cult masterpiece that lives up to its reputation and kinship in every respect.

If I had to describe this record in one word it would be effective, and by extension that the songwriting on this 1993 full-length is exactly how to pull off death/doom metal, with proper emphasis on both sides of the coin. I recall an interview with Harry Armstrong (vocals/bass) around the time this album was reissued by Candlelight where they asked if the inspiration to play this sort of dreadful music came from listening to an album such as Bolt Thrower's Realm of Chaos on too slow an RPM, and while this question was obviously intended to poke a bit of fun at the band, it's not an entirely accurate description of Decomposed either, because they actually do play at Thrower tempos sometimes. Take the monolithic opener "Inscriptions" for example, this song starts with a death/doom crawl accented by masterful leads before transitioning into stomping riffs and very simple lyrics about dying dead to death while you die. But honestly, those first growls hit so hard and set such a menacing tone that when the song speeds up into a very War Master-esque barrage midway through, it really feels twice as brutal because of the atmosphere already established. Of course, there's the riffs at the end of the song, too, which are just about the sickest musical downward spiral into eternal doom ever, second only to Saint Vitus' "Shooting Gallery." Meanwhile, "Taste the Dying" is definitely Decomposed's answer to "The Forever People" off As the Flower Withers, but I cannot help but find myself growling "why, must I, be thrust into this hell, to taste the dying, to die myself?" at inopportune times, occasionally in Martin Van Drunen's high pitched shrieks as well. (Seriously, guys from Asphyx, PLEASE cover that song if you're reading this!)

Other crushers such as "Falling Apart" and "At Rest" continue the trend of making the listener feel appropriately doomed with pounding riffs and melodies of desolation, also picking up the tempo at times, and the latter even including some plaintive spoken words to inject more melancholy into the music (a well taken lesson in death/doom, looking at you, Evoken). However, the true centerpiece of Hope Finally Died... is certainly "Procession of the Undertakers", which has the perfect buildup to create tension, what with its foreboding progression at the beginning accompanied by a downright nerve-wracking verse. The instrumental closer for the album then sets the mood of being forever laid to rest to wither away in eternal interment, never to see the light again. Hope Finally Died indeed makes hope feel like a far away flicker that will inevitably burn out like life fades from a choking victim's eyes as they pass away.

And it really is a suffocating listen, in the same way that early Cathedral and Paradise Lost managed to be; oppressive in every sense. I would go so far as to say that HFD deserves to be a standard in the death/doom metal genre for how well it epitomizes everything that defines the style, and it manages to do so in a pioneering way. Indeed, it has everything going for it that makes for quality death and doom metal, with its sparse but focused tracklist enabling sufficiently morbid and nihilistic songwriting, its muddy production giving the instruments a bottom-heavy, claustrophobic grime to them, and its morose guttural vocals delivering poetry about mortality. It is overall quite a shame that this band did not release more albums or grow to be one of the UK's premier death/doom exports alongside the Peaceville three, because this album of theirs is exceptional and immediately relevant whenever talking about all that is crushing, doomed, and hopeless.

Nestled somewhere within the catacombs of metal groups left to dust rests the deceased (and, in this context, appropriately named) Decomposed. Not much of a splash was made by the English doom/death metal band during their short run, which included a few demos, an EP, and a full-length album. “Hope Finally Died…,” the aforementioned full-length, has attained the status of a cult classic since its release in 1993. The album is far from trailblazing in any respect, and typically sounds substandard next to the classic records hailing from this sonic amalgamation of doom metal and death metal. Decomposed, however, shows that it had its fair share of brilliant moments, which sprout from the dreary soil like skeletal hands that may have had a chance to grab the living had they not been buried by an untimely suicide.

The thing to admire most here is how well Decomposed represents their achieved sound. The slow-roasting doom parts are melancholic and stomp with authority, while the death metal bits throw out blast beats and beastly riffing without hitting any bumps. Overall, the formula comes out as a feasible cut of doom/death metal. Songs like “Inscriptions” switch back and forth from old school death metal parts to the doom metal template, often times teetering on the cusp of each gracefully. The poignant lead guitar work serves to make the connection between doom and death metal well-founded, frequently scraping the upper limits of doom/death metal expectancies. Harry Armstrong, the dude who would later do stuff like End of Level Boss, has an excellent guttural performance handling the lyrics of grief. Those deep growls work well in both settings, vicious as they are.

Other than the basics, “Hope Finally Died…” rocks a nifty atmosphere of feeling pleasantly aboriginal. The only issue here is how insubstantial it all resonates stacked up against the record’s finest moments. Few bits of Decomposed’s efforts show glimmers of mastery despite the whole album sounding objectively above-average. It’s one of those records that fail to become anything more than the total sum of parts, although there is much to admire otherwise. The production and style reek of old-fashioned putrefaction notched up to the doomy plodding and the death metal carnage, of which there is plenty. Again, this isn’t bad, but it is standard; this isn’t on the level of the sub-genre’s masterpieces.

The one song that manages to bring the best of this style to a boil is “At Rest,” which has the gloomy atmosphere finding a perfect balance between doom and death. But there are signs of slight innate weaknesses beyond the anomaly: the shift from doom to death is often choppy, the style is by the numbers, and it’s mostly just the bare bones of what this sound is capable of. Thankfully, the former members of Decomposed put the dirt over the corpse and have yet to unearth what is now probably, uh, putrefied beyond recognition. The fact that they haven’t ruined the album’s small, albeit substantial reputation adds another layer of gangrene to “Hope Finally Died…” that deserves admiration.

This review was written for: www.Thrashpit.com

I remember when I got this album, I didn't expect much from it, as I thought it would be yet another average death metal CD that was fine, but wouldn't stay in my heart for much longer. Oh, I was wrong. Nowadays I see “"Hope Finally Died"…” as one of the best British albums of the genre and I have no difficulty in putting it next to the “"Gothic”", “"Serenades”", “Turn Loose the Swans"”, but also "“Transcend the Rubicon"”. You must admit it'’s tough competition, as all these records are fantastic! I see this Decomposed debut full length as an important classic and a must for everyone who'’s into death (doom) metal! Don'’t you believe me? Well, that'’s your problem, but honestly this album is just amazing and killer.

I'’m not gonna say that "“Hope Finally Died"…” is 100% perfect. It’'s not, as there are some minor faults – like two or three less convincing riffs (in the song called “"Instrumental"” mostly) for which I have mixed feelings, or the boring front cover. But 95 % of the album is just spotless. I love Decomposed's songwriting, where they blend the emotions and melancholy of doom metal with the speed and aggression of death metal in an excellent and unrivalled way. Each song has something tremendous to offer, but what I most like about Decomposed is how well and smoothly they move from a sorrowful part to a brutal and neckbreaking riff. Even if you're not into slow and mournful doom metal, this album may be an answer, as it'’s not so slow all the way through and has plenty of energy and vital aggression to please everyone, even those who'’re into more brutal death metal pieces.

“"At Rest"”, a song that first appeared on the 1992 EP, again proves to be a real doom / death anthem – this is definitely the best tune this band ever written in my opinion! I just love the riffs and melodies in it and everything it brings, such a damn perfect anthem that it is! Then there’'s such track as “"Taste the Dying”", which fits more to the death metal stylistics of Benediction than Anathema, as its opening theme is just a classic death metal smasher. Later it transforms into slower and heavier playing, but the feeling of being torn into pieces stays with you till its end. And just growl "This is my funeral...!!!!!!"” and let the anger be released! I really like the way each song is composed, as many parts are just instrumental, with vocals appearing spontaneously. There’s no typical “verse / chorus” structure, but well thought and intelligent composition. I may see “"Faling Apart"” and “"Instrumental"” as slightly weaker tracks (but only in a few fragments!); also the closing acoustic song “"(Forever) Lying In State”" is a little bit pointless, but none of these fragments spoil the enjoyment of listening to "“Hope Finally Died"…”.

The performance of each band member is also another thing I must point out. I think that both guitarists are just excellent and their way of playing is very expressive and almost moving;– in the parts where the melodies, harmonies and wonderful leads step out they show some amazing skills and great ability to create specific atmosphere. The drummer is also great;– pity I can hardly hear the bassist. As for the vocals, Harry Armstrong (unlike the vocalists of the great British doom metal trinity) concentrates on guttural voice only, without much emotion or experiments, which some of you may find boring, but I have nothing against it. I like it the way it is and can'’t even imagine "“Hope Finally Died…”" with clean vocals. Finally the production reminds me of what Benediction sounded like, which is great and very typical for the British scene.

But as I already said, the music is just killer and I can’'t really understand why the hell Decomposed perished so soon and the album remained little noticed by the underground. I may understand that the great doom metal trinity from the UK had better labels behind them, and so their albums were better promoted with many tours, etc, but really –"“Hope Finally Died"…” deserves something more. I hope someone will re-release it one day and remind the maniacs! It won'’t be forgotten!

We all know the UK was the gaping womb from which all doom-death spawned. If your mother had a gaping womb, we'd die laughing after calling her a whore. But since Britain is, y'know, a country, we'll let it have a larger birth canal. Generous, no?

Let's face it, guys: there was a time and a place for British doom-death metal. The sound disappeared after 1993, right about the time the Tenebrific Trio™ (Anathema, My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost) strayed from their original sounds. Since there were only those three prominent British bands, we're left scraping around demoville for other bands that managed to touch the hem of the doom-death messiah's garment. Decomposed managed to grab on. They have Anathema's taste for slow chugs, Paradise Lost's sorrowful leads and solos, and My Dying Bride's penchant for speedy annihilation.

If none of that makes sense to you, you haven't listened to the debut albums of those bands.

I'm going to list the bad stuff, first. First, Harry Armstrong's vocals are generic. There's a supermarket filled with vocalists, and this dude is right in with the bread-- the stale bread. He's not bad, he's just lacks the personality of the Tenebrific Trio™'s vocalists. He doesn't croon like Aaron Stainthorpe, howl like Nick Holmes, or have Darren White's creepy androgyno-Satan voice from The Passion Of The Christ. Yes, even another (s)He(ma)lel Ben Shahar would have more interesting to listen to Armstrong.

Second, two out of seven songs are instrumental. Hell, one track is even CALLED Instrumental, although there are a few lines of spoken word in it. While I'm not a guy that looks down on instrumental tracks, it's a tad dismaying to see Decomposed's short-lived terrific songwriting spent on instrumental tracks. However, the solo at the end of Instrumental makes me feel better about it.

Third, there is a filler riff here and there. I realize I called Decomposed's songwriting terrific in the last paragraph. Well, yes, it is. But there's the occasional riff that doesn't feel very convicting. We can blame this on the inexperience of the (De)composers. To their credit, they only had two demos and a two-song EP before this album. I can't be too harsh.

Finally, the album cover is fugly. They use a lame font over a lame picture of a graveyard. I admit that an album cover has about zero impact on the music, but I happen to adore the logo they used on their EP. It was legible yet kinda scribbly, dripping embalming fluid, cobwebbed, and totally badass. Why they didn't use it on their full-length, I don't know. Amazing music shouldn't have a bland cover.

Now, it's time to talk about the good stuff. This is, as I previously stated, some quality British doom-death. The stamping march of these undertakers not only quakes your eardrums, but the very fabric of your being. The doom sections foreshadow the style which would be christened 'funeral'. The death segments are some prime cuts of old-school battery. Obviously, there's no flashy chromatic work, just simple-yet-effective attacks.

Every song but (Forever) Lying In State features a distressing solo by James Ogawa. The guy's no Trey Azagthoth, but he shouldn't be. Ogawa is a tasteful, memorable guitarist. The only solo he doesn't handle is the first one in At Rest, which is performed by Pete Shasdell. It's a shame that's his only solo, because it's only a glimpse into Shasdell's style of soloing. In addition to the wonderful solos, the lead guitar riffs are also worth noting. They add an extra layer of sorrow on top of the punishing rhythmic guitar dirges. It's Shasdell covering rhythm guitars, by the way, and he does an excellent job.

Armstrong's bass is slightly inaudible. Its tone is nothing to write home about, but the sections where it introduces a riff are some of my favorite (1:50 in Instrumental, 3:28 in Inscriptions). Tim Spear does a fine job on the drums. They sound fine and are performed without error.

Out of the seven songs, all but the last has crunchy distortion. The closer, (Forever) Lying In State, is a solemn dirge with clean (dare I say chimey?) guitars. The background is inhabited by oscillating ambiance which serves as a root to the music the guitar plays. I know ambiance is very vague, but I can't pinpoint the instrument. Perhaps cello? Anyway, the cellbiance starts to sound tad foghorn-ey around 2:40, but that's alright. Didn't you know? Foghorns are doom metal.

Decomposed is a gem amongst long-lost bands. It's a damned shame they only released one full-length album. Go hunt their stuff down. It's definitely worth its weight in gold.

8 decomposed bodies out of 10.