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Rating:
8.5 |
Shattered Hope - Absence
30 May 2010
01. Amidst Nocturnal Silence
02. Vital Lie
03. Enlighten The Darkness
04. Yearn
05. A Traitor's Kiss
06. Lament, In F# Minor
07. The Utter Void
When last we left Shattered Hope, I was asked to review their 2007 Promo... a two track, 20 minute release morphing of traditional doom with some death/doom vocals reminiscent of Officium Triste.
Now it's 2010 and they are back with a vengeance. Ok, maybe not a vengeance necessarily, but they are back with a full-length release, Absence. Seven tracks spanning an hour of pure dooming satisfaction.
Most of the tracks in Absence follow the same basic trajectory as the tracks found in their Promo 2007...they are over six minutes in length, are sloooooow, feature a few shifts in riffing during the song, some quieter bits, and some harsher moments. The track "Enlighten The Darkness," the lead-in track on the promo is also found on Absence, only re-recorded and is a great point of comparison to show how the band took their style and were able refine it and take it, essentially, to 'the next level'.
But that is not to say these Hellenic purveyors of melancholy don't have a few tricks up their sleeve. The track "Yearn" is a scant three-minute rocking midpaced piece which feels almost twice as fast after listening to the first 30 minutes and three songs their slow-motion, 5bpm avalanche of doom.
They slow things down with another prolonged death/doom number before mixing it up with the perfectly named "Lament, In F# Minor", a near three minute piece of somber beauty featuring violins, cello, and a bass fiddle with piano accompaniment. I think my biggest lament in regards to this piece is it ends too soon.
The album closes with another wonderful track, one that does not, like it's predecessor, end too soon... "The Utter Void" clocks in at 18 minutes. It is an ambitious piece, which sees the band encapsulate their various sub-elements into one giant epic. The track leads in with the beauty of "Lament", shifts to powerful mid-paced riffing, before collapsing down to silence and piano for a spell, then launching anew into slow paced doom, finally closing with a splendid melodic guitar lead/harmony. You know the kind, the one that somehow, without word, conveys the feeling that this is all coming to an end. It's over.
Also of note, Absence sees guest vocals by Jo "Marquis" Thery of Ataraxie in "Vital Lie" and Thomas A. G. of Saturnus in "A Traitor's Kiss."
All said and done, their first full length represents a triumph for the band. They've managed to do a wonderful job in both constructing songs as well as showing various sides to their creativity. Shattered Hope were the first unsigned band that I did a review for, a pleasant surprise, so I've had a bit of a soft spot for them. As the saying goes, in regards to the band, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder."
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Performance:
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8 |
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Songwriting:
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9 |
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Originality:
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8 |
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Production:
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8 |
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Written on 12.06.2010 by
BitterCOld
BitterCOld has been officially reviewing albums for MetalStorm since 2009.
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Comments
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| Comments: |
17
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Users visited:
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216 |
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| Definitely worthy of an 8.5 in my books; this album is awesome! |
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| Sounds really interesting, definitely something to check out soon. |
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We are searching for a label to release it so at the moment there is no announcement with release date etc.
For any updates we'll let you know!!
Thnx for your interest!!
Thanos - SH |
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I already know the 2nd and 3rd track and they are awesome , hope it will be released via some label soon so we "poor non-staff doomsters" can listen to it  |
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"Absence" will be release by Solitude Productions by the last months of 2010!!
Once we'll have the exact release date I'll post it here too!!
Cheers!! |
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Written by thanos shattered on 01.08.2010 at 13:57
"Absence" will be release by Solitude Productions by the last months of 2010!!
Once we'll have the exact release date I'll post it here too!!
Cheers!!
great news. |
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| Great news indeed will be looking forward for this |
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"Absence" will be released on 20th December 2010 by Solitude Productions!!
Everyone interested can order it from Solitude Productions on the following link:
http://solitude-prod.com/
Or a few days later from the band by sending us an e-mail at:
info@shatteredhope.gr
Or via MySpace message(www.myspace.com/shatteredhopegr) |
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| "Absence" is nominated for the best Doom Metal album of 2010 by the Metal Storm team!!:DDD |
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Written by thanos shattered on 02.02.2011 at 12:43
"Absence" is nominated for the best Doom Metal album of 2010 by the Metal Storm team!!:DDD
You certainly deserved it 
outstanding stuff |
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Written by InnerSelf on 02.02.2011 at 18:12
Written by thanos shattered on 02.02.2011 at 12:43
"Absence" is nominated for the best Doom Metal album of 2010 by the Metal Storm team!!:DDD
You certainly deserved it
outstanding stuff
Thnx a lot!!
Much appreciated!!:DD |
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Great doom metal album, I like it  |
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Written by serega25 on 04.02.2011 at 21:25
Great doom metal album, I like it
Thnx a lot man!! |
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| Before reading this review, I was about to vote for Mar De Grises, but wait! I must buy this album, listen to it carefully then decide. |
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| This is a monster of an album. It's my favorite doom metal album of 2010 for sure. Amazing vocals, guitar work, and great production. I'm super glad I checked this out. Great review. I will look forward to what Shattered Hope do in the future. |
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| I have bought this album and i must say it was worth the money. |
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Slinky666 - 12.12.2011 at 06:48
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Good work!  |
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