Band:	Helevorn
Album:	Compassion Forlorn
Style:	Gothic doom metal
Release date:	September 22, 2014
A review by:	Jason W.

01. The Inner Crumble
02. Burden Me
03. Looters
04. Unified
05. Delusive Eyes
06. I Am To Blame
07. Reason Dies Last
08. Els Dies Tranquils

Four years later, Helevorn finally return to grace us with their newest offering, Compassion Forlorn, an album that bleeds brooding emotion from the innermost parts of the heart. It takes us deeper into internal turmoil than even their previous effort did, yet with a warmth as strong as a blazing red sunrise that shines through a window into the eyes of a man on his knees at the moment he begs to be taken away.

While the production on Forthcoming Displeasures was already quite good, Compassion Forlorn steps it up a full level in every aspect, and a perfectly balanced mix and mastering that gives each moment of dramatic build up a chance to breath, develop, and suck the listener into its somber sea. Helevorn have refined their hybrid of doom and gothic metal into something that is not only professional but matured, and full of strength in musicianship. As years continue to pass in my listening experience, fewer and fewer bands seem to understand let alone succeed in this type of music. This release has renewed my ability and my never quenched search for those moments in music that make me want to silently scream, clear a single tear from my eye, feel energized with timeless angst toward the world and the self, and stand in the rain with a creaking smile.

The album opens on "The Inner Crumble," with the emotional spirit of someone weighed down by all their years, one who stands in the center of a city surrounded by people, yet is immobilized in solitude. A slow progression of atmospheric and guitar harmonies set the stage for turning inward, just as the calculated plodding percussion emphasizes the craving for change within life and humanity. As the second track, "Burden Me," begins, however, this is when I realized that not only were the band's personal touch of despair and self-reflective disappointment going to affect me with a newfound level of intensity, but that the refined melodies were about to embed themselves in my memory in ways that aren't just permanent, but addictive. Starting at 2:50 we find a stellar arrangement of initially clean vocals above a bed of long doom chords that lead into a softer riff. Then, just as a minute passes, all that inner frustration explodes in a dramatic moment as Josep Brunet's vocals switch to growls with "It's your fault!", the instantly catchy melody of harmonized guitars and keys heard at the song's beginning returns, and I can't help but want to dig my fingernails into my palm as my fist smashes some memory I cannot let go of either.

The synth and piano parts of Enrique Sierra are better integrated into the songs here as well, not only adding in melodies in softer song parts, but in songs like "Unified," they make lyrics like "You see me as someone else" soar into the sky as they burn into your head. And instead of running off into self-indulgence, the guitars of Samuel and Sandro focus on a mix of driving rhythms and downbeat melodies. In "Reason Dies Last," just when a typical solo would meander off into other realms, it shows restraint and returns the focus back to the whole band by trailing off. Instead, I find the guitars are at their best with driving rhythms like at the start of "I Am To Blame," just as Xavi Gil's best drumming parts are done while providing pounding backdrops to prepare the listener for a vocal part or emphasize a somber riff. Throughout the album, there is balance and clarity with each member's performance.

From the heartbreaking guest vocals of Lisa Cuthbert in "Els Dies Tranquils," a song that stands as a remembrance of long-forgotten purity that has turned into a journey that long since lost its way, the album mourns our past as much as our future. And with the lyrics of "Delusive Eyes" that plead for an escape from cyclical personal sorrow, Helevorn cry for us to believe in ourselves, and escape once and for all the personal misery we have let ourselves become accustomed to living in.

Just like when you are hiking up a mountain, you never know you are at the peak until you are actually there. Helevorn's previous effort was a great success in crafting their sound, yet Compassion Forlorn has marched ever higher, to even more desolate landscapes. What sets Helevorn apart from most bands is that instead of marching alone, they ask you to walk right beside them, making personal regret, remorse, and sadness feel warm and familiar, like hands outstretched ready to comfort all you, and we, have lost.