Desolation

This melancholic album brings with it an atmosphere of utter doom, it's a very rare but very brilliant piece of music which should be on the shelf of any true (non-mainstream) gothic metal lover. A classic waiting to be discovered!


The vocals are done beautifully by Jenny Hval who manages to perfectly integrate her clean singing voice with the slow, heavy music without ever sounding like she's whining. The intermittent screams and constantly changing loudness and rhythm of her voice add to the depressing atmosphere of the music. The lyrics fit perfectly with the music, that is to say: doomy, deathly, desperate, apathetic and desolate.


The music is reasonably varied with every track bringing something new to the album. Though virtually all the songs have the same atmosphere to them this is probably a good thing since it makes the album consistent without making it boring. No track in particular stands out on this album, this is because all of them are of high quality and each have something beautiful to offer the aural senses.


Desolation is an album that takes itself seriously and has every right to; there is nothing about this album that makes it sound fake. Everything fits and the stories that are told through the lyrics feel as if they have been really lived. This is gothic metal at it's most depressive. I have yet to find an album out there that is anything like this. Most gothic metal bands are known for their mainstream(ish) audience and their "selling out" to please the crowd and make money. Not this album, it's crude and it won't appeal to any of those mainstream(ish) people and will probably never become a money maker, and maybe because of this it's an absolutely brilliant piece of music.


The main thing that this album has going for it would be it's atmosphere; put one of the songs on at any time and I guarantee you'll be asking yourself "what is the point in living on any longer?" and then the answer hits you: to listen to more of this stuff! Shellyz Raven's one full-length album was one of the best gothic metal albums ever made. In my opinion THE best.