...of Ages

Shroud of Bereavement have a very unique sound, which is mostly derived from the use of non-metal instruments in their music. Pianos and other harpsichord family instruments are frequently heard carrying the melody line, leaving guitars as a mostly rhythmic instrument. This stylistic abnormality makes itself known in the intro of The Absolution of Sorrow, and continues to permeate the unorthodox doom death song structures for the rest of the album. The different instruments also add to the unrelenting up and down emotional changes of the album, as well as emphasizing dynamic changes.

The booklet that came with …Of Ages surprised me, as I only took a peek at it after my second or third full listen of the album, which as it turns out, is actually a compilation of old demos. The only clue (which should have been obvious to me) on the exterior is the presence of two versions of the song Willowsoul. All of the songs feel incredibly polished and feature tons of interwoven melodies and structures that flow endlessly in a sea of despair. Snaking female vocals, brutal death growls, keyboard/synths, and ruthlessly brutal guitars drive the collection, which for all intents and purpose should be an album because I can say with the utmost confidence that most of the people reading this do not already know these songs.

The most primal and engaging part of this album is without a doubt the vocals, which are varied and tell a number of new tales. Let’s start with Dan Robinson, who is quite simply, a damn amazing musician. The vast majority of the music on the record is written and played by him, albeit for a few guest musicians on tracks like Willowsoul and The Fool’s Lament. He covers the death growl end of the vocals, and does a nice job with it. He enunciates well while maintaining solid sustain and adds lower sounding instrumentation where bass is not that easily recognizable. On the songs The Absolution of Sorrow, I Cry, and An Empty Gaze, his harsh vocals dominate the song structure, as he is able to deliver a really grievous and frenetic energy through his voice that really suits the music.

The clean vocals he does are also engaging, leading to tender moments on the opener track and the gut wrenching sense of loss that emanates from The Forever Dance. His combination of spoken word and sampling also creates and easy to follow plot on The Fools Lament. The female vocals by Cindy Murphy are some of the best and most disturbing vocals that you will ever hear. Period. She displays such mastery over her voice as she creates haunting overarching melody lines and on Willowsoul, just singing without words to create an intensely depressing atmosphere that worm in and out of the guitar and keyboard parts. On The Fool’s Lament, she makes her voice sound so delightfully sophisticated like an opera singer, yet utterly depraved and on the brink of insanity with the help of slight bits of reverb here and there.

In truth, this collection really contains very few riffs, rather lots of rhythmic parts for guitar coupled with the occasional center stage performance of a lead or a solo. The times when it sounds most like a rhythm instrument are the most brutal and will cause short but powerful surges of head banging. More often than not though, these parts just keep the song moving into the next phrase. There are some excellent solos though, especially on Must it Be and The Fool’s Lament. However, none of these compare to the electric guitar solo that enters through a wave of delicious feedback a few minutes into Willowsoul. It is one of the few times in my life that a guitar solo has ever made me cry.

That right there should be the one take away from the entire review: this album is absolutely soul crushing in its sorrow. If you consider yourself remotely a fan of sad, dark, and depressing music, than I highly recommend this CD. Shroud of Bereavement achieve this in a different way than most though, in that the songwriting that is displayed more closely rivals that of a classical piece of music than traditional metal songwriting. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a verse-chorus song structure anywhere on here, and the instrumentation really reflects what’s going on lyrically, and due to the lengthy nature of these songs, you are really absorbed into them by the end, which makes them that much more evocative.

Robinson also achieves in the delicate balance of writing high art music by creating simple melodies that follow you around like malevolent shades that only become abysmally more intriguing upon even close inspection. The songs can effortlessly manage to sound exceedingly evil while still feeling human and personal, which is what really grants this work its fluidity and heavy hitting power.

However, this also means that in some form or another, this album is prevented from becoming truly great. The atmosphere is really heavy and all that jazz, but one or two really awesome melodies in a song will not keep me coming back all the time, so the album is sometimes not quite dense enough. It can come off rather inaccessible at times, requiring many listens to focus on one small non-repeated section to really get all the music has to offer, and that’s not always worth it or appealing.

All of this being said, when the guitars become even more rhythmically inclined, there are some problems that are going to occur within the instruments usually designated for such tasks. There is hardly an audible bass to be found, and the fact that Robinson wrote with a drum machine creates for lackluster performances in those categories. It doesn’t take away from the music, but sometimes the songs lack direction and energy, leaving holes that could be filled with relative ease.

I also found it odd that Dan Robinson makes a number of apologies based on what he considers to be poor recording quality in these demos, but I found that the production is pretty spot on. Things are very clear, and the touch of haziness present really adds to the atmosphere and helps for the music to really encompass as much space as it can. These tracks would feel far less human an intimate with a really fancy production sound, and too much reverb would liquefy far more than should be allowed.

Due to this immersive experience that this album offers, there are a number of moments on the album that hit harder than others and become truly memorable, which is even more significant since these are only demos. The aforementioned guitar solo on Willowsoul will quietly and suddenly emasculate you, while the second solo wows you only to further deny joy into your world when you learn that the man who did that solo died in a tragic accident (R.I.P.). When the female vocals on The Fool’s Lament sing the lyric of the long drawn out “hopelessness…”, it is so engaging that it is hard to do anything but listen in rapture. The Forever Dance also serves to really break you down emotionally through a slow build up and devastating low growls.

Generally, if you enjoy melodic music, you will enjoy this. There are cool instruments for the symphonic metal listener, brutal low chugging sections for death metal fans, crushing tempos for doom aficionados, epic solos and vocals for power metal lovers, and fantastic songwriting that any metal fan should be able to enjoy. It’s hard to find, but Shroud of Bereavement create an atmosphere on …Of Ages that is hard to find, but in some small way that limits itself. What a conundrum. Best songs: Willowsoul, The Fool’s Lament, and

“…Of Ages” is a collection of demo material dating from 1997 to 2000. This material was directed and primarily composed by SHROUD OF BEREAVEMENT main man and dark genius, Dan Robinson. The production values are a little rough with a mild hiss apparent throughout the album due to Robinson extracting the music from tapes. The poor production becomes unobtrusive, though, due to superb songwriting, memorable melodies, and devastating doom riffs. Robinson expertly juxtaposes seductive siren-like female vocals with monstrous death vocals.

Classical instrumentation such as piano notes, cello, mandolin, and acoustic guitars set a tranquil entrance or epilogue to each song that can, at their best, be quite spiritual. The combination of Cindy Murphy’s vocals and Josh Sweeney’s fluid acoustic guitar playing on ‘Willowsoul’ is a terrific example. The said song has two versions: one with female vocals and one without; however, both versions include the remarkable acoustic passages. The pouring water on the second version and the wailing female vocals are strikingly visual, making one feel as if he or she were sulking under a weeping willow in a misty swamp. Robinson’s angry growls remind the listener even though he or she is in a peaceful environment there is inner turmoil.

‘I Cry’ is another track with extraordinary melodies, mostly due to the mandolin playing. The mandolin notes near the end of the track have a supernatural, fantastic element. It is like being in an ancient forest in Middle Earth and being surrounded by Elves or some other mythological forest creatures.

In addition to expertly arranging songs and playing the part of the beast to contrast the beauty, Robinson is a remarkable guitar player. His riffs are memorable and the tones are thick and dirty. The beginning riff to ‘I Cry,’ has a classic doom metal rhythm in the tradition of the masters of the genre like CANDLEMASS, MORGION, and MY DYING BRIDE. ‘The Forever Dance’ and ‘The Fools Lament’ combine Robinson’s crushing doom riffs with keyboard notes, creating a majestic metal masterpiece.

“…Of Ages” is a classic United States Doom Metal album, worthy of being placed with their revered countrymen NOVEMBER’S DOOM, SOLITUDE AETURNUS, AVERNUS, and others who have made waves in the U.S. Doom Metal underground. It is imperative for fans of Epic Doom, Melodic Death Metal, and Neo-Classical Metal to own this album!