Shroud Of Despondency-Dark Meditations In Monastic Seclusion

Self Release 2011

I'd be excused for thinking I played the wrong album after listening to the opening cut "Seeing One Last Ray Of Light". This stunning piece of acoustic rock is smothered with classical guitar is simply breathtaking. I had been under the impression that I was given another dreaded black metal release to review. You know where I'm getting at with this-shrill vocals and spastic black noise. I did not have high hopes for this disc until I realized that Shroud Of Despondency was more of an eclectic band of musicians. Listing their influences as everything from King Crimson to Morbid Angel to even Kate Bush this Milwaukee, Wisconsin band have to be heard to fully be appreciated. The second track "Homo Homini Lupos" starts off sounding like something Cradle Of Filth would write before dissolving into doom metal with a background choir. "Parting Of The Lights" (which by the way clocks in at 10:49!) has an old school doom metal sound that twists and turns through traditional metal and black thrash before ending with more classical guitar. Truly unique and very adventures the band's song "Sybil" is a trippy sort of acoustic jam with these splits of dark vocals and clean vocals. It ends up sounding like alternative rock! Fear not though as the song "Sullen Murmur Oppressive Stillness" brings back the heavy with fuzzed out metal and doom in old school Bathory style. It's quite something to beyond as it also morps into black sludge and then features some fantastic traditional metal guitar solos! And that's how this album is. Just when you think you have it figured out something new and completely unexpected comes out of left field! There was a part of me that kept saying "what the frig?" but there was the other part of me that loved the beautiful weirdness of it all. My feeling is that this is what people will take away from Dark Meditations. Either they will get it or write it off as being to far out there. I look as this as something new. Make no mistake this band does know they are black metal at their core. The songs have a darkness to them and the lyrics are not the stuff greeting cards are made of! But looking past that this release looks to break new ground in much the same way bands like Neurosis did. They have taken black metal and turn it inside out and upside down into a work of art. Well suited for those who march to the beat of a different drummer.