Band:	Despond
Album:	Supreme Funeral Oration
Style:	Doom metal
Release date:	July 2003
Guest review by:	Passenger

01. Rains
02. Once In The Hole
03. Serenity In Darkness
04. Stellar Ways To The Everliving
05. Grief
06. Moonlight Suicide

Despite being active for a long time already, more specifically since 1995, it certainly took a lot of time for Despond to release their first full length. Two demos have been composed, a compilation including both has been released and, finally, "Supreme Funeral Oration" is ready and out to ruin your sunny days and pleasant thoughts.

Despond offers us a 6 piece work, long but interesting, painful and beautiful. The guitars scream extremely slow riffs or melancholic acoustic passages, the vocals of Richard Lundin are inhumanly deep, even when he's not growling and the keyboards give the ultimate touch of depression. As references I can state, right from the beginning, Morgion and Skepticism. Imagine the relaxed and emotional instrumentalism of the first in a slower pace and combined with the intriguing musical landscapes of the second and you'll get a very close idea of what to expect from "Supreme Funeral Oration."

Something truly great about this album is how there's a sense of continuity, the songs fit well together and the album flows nicely. Other important aspect is the atmosphere and that is simply superb; from the introduction of "Rains" through the extreme desolation of "Serenity In Darkness" and the majestic presence of the keyboards in "Grief," to the long final notes of "Moonlight Suicide" it is present as the band's best characteristic.

"Supreme Funeral Oration" clocks more then an hour. The risk Funeral Doom Metal bands always have to take is to extend the songs for a long time, which may lead to the creation of some pointless sections, or simply make the music sound boring sometimes. That doesn't really happen here, the album is solid and pleasant and the Doom Metal fan will be grabbed by the atmosphere and be able to listen to the album with interest from the beginning until the end.

For a fan of the genre this is definitely a must hear, here is a great underground act trying to reach some well deserved recognition. Despond plays it simple, slow and dark. Rather standard formula, I guess, but what a great and different final result. Now I just hope more can be heard from this project in the future.