Band:	Ophis
Album:	Withered Shades
Style:	Death doom metal
Release date:	June 01, 2010
A review by:	KwonVerge

01. The Halls Of Sorrow
02. Suffering Is A Virtue
03. Earth Expired
04. Necrotic Reflection
05. Halo Of Worms

There are some bands that inhale doom and exhale doooom, automatically separating themselves from the womb of mediocre or good/very good releases. Ophis has to be one of them, a Deutsch doom/death metal act that gave birth to the most representative work of the genre for 2010 so far, Withered Shades.

I really don't know from where to start and where to end, this album is an earthquake and the seismic waves sweep the place, at first you sense the threat approaching and then everything collapses. Yes, this album is heavy, heavy to the bone, the distortion expands all over the place and the great riffs succeed one another so naturally that you can't escape this colossal wall of sound that reaches new heights every time you seem to approach the top. Despite its heavy air, you will find many wonderful moments that add an intense vibe of melody or even acoustic-driven passages that offer diversity to the sound so as not to sound monotonous, monolithic yes, monotonous no. Ophis like it slow, but they like it outbursting as well and never forget to shake the foundations of your house and pass over the remains like a steam-roller just to make sure they didn't leave a column standing. Phlipp's interpretation is conquering, deep grunts make the earth tremble in fear whereas his more shrieking lines that appear sporadically offer diversity and present another extreme face of Withered Shades. And we couldn't forget the rhythm section, the bass lines lend depth and vibration while the drumming will not stick to the basics, Nils Groth appears to be a charismatic drummer offering many creative passages through the whole duration of the album. Of course it will be slow-paced whenever needed but it won't forget to ruin your calmness with its powerful and upbeat air.

No, they don't require keyboards (except for the last minute of "Halo Of Worms"), after all, the atmosphere of the album relies on the basic instruments, we're talking about old-fashioned doom/death metal that asks for imposing rhythm section, powerful guitars that never forget to ease your burden with melody and a great throat. Ophis passed the test and the fact that inspiration reigns supreme amongst its compositions won't let them rely on a basic idea, on the contrary, you will find notice many great changes within a single song that will blow your mind. Take for example the post-7:30 era of "The Halls Of Sorrow" that lowers your defences with its fragile aura or the post-11:55 heart-rending passage that bursts into a beautiful solo, the post-3:50 ultra groovy passage from "Suffering Is A Virtue" with the awesome drum sound that steadily blasts the whole place, the opening of "Earth Expired" that crushes your brain to pulp, then slows down dangerously and leaves you numb so that later you'll be an easier target to be knocked down after the 9th minute.

Well, the only thing you have to do is get your hands on this album and let it do the job for you, all 64 minutes will entomb you to the core of the earth, if you like it heavy, heavy and heavy you won't be dissapointed, doom what thou wilt, shall be the whole of the law.