01. Anthem Of Melancholy
02. Soul Collectors
03. Pessimum
04. Day X
05. Evening Again
06. Fall Of The Emptiness
07. Disappointed Again
08. Whispers Of The City In Blood
09. Rejection
10. Hills Of Coma
11. Last

I was initially put-off by Pessimum - yet another release that features my old nemesis, horribly overloud shouting vocals which rip your attention away from the music? And right off the bat at that!

Bracing myself for the rest of the work, my mindset was, well, pessimistic.

Ultimately I'm glad I persevered.

Darktrance is a one-man Ukrainian act. Deimos, when not busy being a Martian moon, is the brainchild here, as well as Dargos and Cold Resistance. Solitude tagged them as "dark metal"- and while I hate randomly spawning new genre tags, that one seems fair enough. Pessimum is not black enough to be black, not prog enough to really be prog (see also: Amiensus, whom I reviewed earlier this year) ? the whole thing is somewhere in the middle but with a dark/negative vibe.

Furthermore, it seems the band is more fluid in shifting from one style to the other. The title track shifts into black metal territory while "Whispers In The City Of Blood" sounds like it could be a song by The Cure (thinking "Burn" or "Fascination Street") if they ever cranked up the distortion pedal? "Soul Collectors" bounces between the extremes. Deimos also alternates harsh shouted vocals, which seem more appropriate on the title track than the opener against clean. Just as with the hooting and hollering, his clean efforts are perhaps flawed, certainly not the best, but they work. They fit. And that's what makes them enjoyable.

Once I got past my initial annoyance I found myself really enjoying this album, and more importantly, enjoying it a bit more with each subsequent listen. It's a grower. If you're in the mood for something, well, moody, that meanders all over the 'negative music' map, Pessimum is worth your time.

Performance:	8
Songwriting:	8
Originality:	7
Production:	8