Band:	Novembers Doom
Album:	Bled White
Style:	Melodic death metal
Release date:	July 2014

01. Bled White
02. Heartfelt
03. Just Breathe
04. Scorpius
05. Unrest
06. The Memory Room
07. The Brave Pawn
08. Clear
09. The Grand Circle
10. Animus
11. The Silent Dark

Mature Depth. If there are two words that could describe all you need to know about Novembers Doom it would be those. The doom metal genre is famous for the anger and angst that bite through the heavy, drawn-out notes, creating its signature oppressive sound; but Novembers Doom has always been different. They use many of the same ingredients that are typical of doom metal but their music doesn't feel angry so much as it feels like a deeply existential message that is depressing only in how real it is. Bled White may very well be the best representation of Novembers Doom's style: powerful music with a powerful message within.

If a communal "Top Doom Metal Albums Of All Time" list were to be created by fans of the genre it would be hard to imagine The Pale Haunt Departure being anywhere but the top 10 (if not the top 5). When a band releases an album that is considered a defining staple of a genre, said band will inevitably have an uphill battle the rest of their career. Everything will be "good but not as good as" that monumental feat. It would be easy to discredit an album like Bled White simply because it "isn't The Pale Haunt Departure" but, in this case, that would be a significant injustice to an album that has strengths that surpass that original triumph.

Imagine a person in the darkest of mindsets, trapped in a state of despair that seems like it will exist forever without any reprieve; it is such a place that Bled White's lyrics explore. From the opening title track, which may be one of the most instantly ear catching songs in Novembers Doom's discography, the state of dreadful uncertainty that the rest of the album explores is set. From ill-conceived love, to the joyless celebration of the passing of a long hated person, to the reminder that life will get better so long as you are willing to soldier through to find those good moments, Bled White can be a very emotionally draining experience. The drain is even stronger when they reach the tribute to David Gold (of Woods Of Ypres) who only months earlier had left the pain of this world behind him. It is chilling and heartbreaking yet perfectly encompasses the legacy of one of the greatest artists the metal world has ever known (and if Mr. Gold happens to be looking on from the spirit world reading this, I'm not praising you simply because you're dead, I believed this from the moment I heard your first LP).

= In Short = Bled White is a difficult listen but one you'll come to respect more and more every time you spend time with it. The personal nature of the lyrics never comes across as anything but genuine, honest, and purposeful. This isn't music for the sake of being music, Bled White is an expression of everything that is hidden in dark corners and never addressed again. It is a dim, flickering light into a mind that has been long void of any flicker of hope. It is a love letter to every aching life that has been forgotten and passed by. It is the brink of suicide...yet I hope it is also the understanding of that darkness that lets you know you are not alone in how you feel and inspires another shot at living. Fight on.