Darktrance - Pessimum

Darktrance is an old favorite of depressive black metal that was discovered by Russian doom metal label Solitude Production. The debut from sole individual Deimos was excellent- it was harsh, depressing, and despite raw vocals that unnerved the listener more than Malefic from Xasthur, held ground. Then the sophomore effort came in and this Ukranian band looked like it was about to go through the grinder- it was just a raw mess and the vocals were even worse on 'Beyond the Gates of Insanity'- literally it would drive listeners insane with how harsh it was on the ears. So, with 'Pessimum,' listeners should feel discouraged by the path, right?

Wrong. 'Pessimium' is a saving grace. Taking four years to release instead of the one, black metal fans will instantly be able to see the difference the time has made up. The vocals are still harsh, but the music quality is much better. Shedding the depressive black metal atmosphere that feels so copycat of bands like Xasthur or Moon, Deimos has opted for more of a black n'roll style, and even thrown in some death metal roars with his typical shrieking and clean moans. The result- excellent orchestrations such as "Soul Collectors," which may possibly be the best work Daktrance has done to date. It has a clean sound, even bordering modern metal riffs of bands like Chimaira and with the way the vocals are organized, the chorus, and the twisted outro notes, truly feels like Darktrance has turned into a better being. Other tracks like "Day X" throw in more atmosphere with keyboards and touch more upon melodic black metal and cleaner vocals- one could compare this to a group like Dark Tranquility. The clean vocals are definitely used a lot more overall on the album and add plenty of dynamic. Of course there are some of the more standard black metal peices such as "Hills Of Coma" that focus more on grinding, repetitive notes over and over for that raw feeling and the shrieking vocals are more prevalent, but even though this may be one of the more weaker tracks on the album, it still stands tall compared to previous efforts. If 'Pessimum' is truly the direction that Darktrance is headed in overall, then it is a much welcomed sound.

  1. Anthem Of Melancholy
  2. Soul Collectors
  3. Pessimum
  4. Day X
  5. Evening Again
  6. Fall Of The Emptiness
  7. Disappointed Again
  8. Whispers Of The City In Blood
  9. Rejection
  10. Hills Of Coma
  11. Last


Reviewer: Colin McNamara
Jun 5, 2013

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