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 Perhaps more band members should stay at insane asylums...- |
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Woebegone Obscured is gaining a lot of attention for a band that hasn't really released anything yet. Formed in Denmark back in 2006, this three piece joins the silently growing underground sensation of "Funeral Doom", a style that quite a number of metal fans have never really heard, or perhaps have only heard one or two bands of. That's about where I stand personally, having heard a few of these bands over time and being opened to it, though having varied opinions towards those bands. Sadly, this is where Deathstination is with me as well, though it leaves a much stronger impression then some bands I, and probably many others not too familiar with this recently growing style, have heard before. Before getting to the music, let's understand exactly where this album comes from. According to the press release provided by the label, this group apparently formed when the vocalist/drummer, D. Woe, was placed into a mental asylum. According to it, the lyrical content of this album all stems from the depressed ramblings and suicidal thoughts that came to him while in there. The release also goes on to state that the album is like being "in limbo", which it certainly does come off as when you listen to it, without having to read it anywhere. The music is very deep and sinister sounding, dark and melancholic, depressing and sinister, the blackest of black without any sort of light to be found. There's no stereotypes of heaven and hell, but rather bleak emptiness suffocated by darkness and soul crushing heaviness from the guitars playing music that quite often suits the lyrics of this damning album. Pretty much, the album is summed up. It's almost impossible to sit down and try to disect this release, mostly because if the press release is right, it's literally a genuine self expression through a musical artform to represent a nightmare that many of us cannot comprehend. The music is built to express the hell that was gone through in that asylum, so it's hard to sit down and pick both the music and lyrics and say it's crap, when it's the one member's own volition and expression of what he felt, saw, and lived through. And, for the most part, it just sounds as cruel as the hell he clearly had to go through. But, at the same time, there are elements you simply cannot look past in the recording. Woebegone Obscured incorporates some Black and Death Metal influences into their music, which gives it a great deal more substance then some of the Funeral Doom Metal acts walking the Earth. The band will throw in some Blackened riffs and atmosphere to make the album sound more melancholid then it would without, and the deep almost Mortician-like gutteral vocals sound inhuman and work more with the slower parts of the songs then some of the heavier, slightly faster ones. "Maestitia" is the perfect example, as the song slows down about two thirds of the way through and becomes a nightmarish atmospheric trip for a good while with gutteral vocals that deep and echoed to the point where it just sounds like a vision of Hell. There is a much lighter vocal moment that occurs here, which throws things off a bit and seems to be an attempt to make it a little more Black Metal, but never should have been included. All of this closes to a much faster, pounding closing to the song where those deep gutterals play a role again, but just don't seem as effective as that higher Black Metal wail would have been that appeared randomly during this slower portion. "Stalactites" is an impressive instrumental that is very heavy in a burdening sort of way. The music comes off in a manner that makes the listener feel at ease with a darker side, and as if floating or something along those lines. It doesn't necessarily offer much past the initial burdening atmosphere there, and in the last minute it does start to feel a little repetitive. It would have been nice had the song actually cut into the title track, "Deathscape", but, sadly, it doesn't. Other then that, the only problem that can be found is some of the music on "A Gust of Dementation". While the music shifts greatly throughout, there are just times where the music becomes a little bland and focuses too much on atmosphere then pushing the song along, which leads to some awkward passages through the track. Another thing that feels odd about this release is the title track, "Deathscape". The song itself is good, but when you listen and focus on the guitar alone, there are times where the music seems to take a slight Shoegaze approach, conflicting with the melancholic atmosphere by feeling a little more magical, but not in an occult way. It's not a dramatic issue, but it's one of those things that, when you pick up on it, you'll never be able to look past it again. Deathstination is a soul crushing album, period. It's hard to sit here and really tear into it based on the supposed background that went into it, which I can't honestly verify myself other then the label's word. Whether it happened or not, musically it's well done and manages to capture that nightmarish experience well at times. Other times it's just some slip of the mind elements that break the flow and atmosphere for a short period of time, or just some things that all around don't fit in, or are just awkward to the concept of the album's music in general. Woebegone Obscured definitely handle themselves well for Deathstination, and only show off the many talents the members have to prove a rather fuitful, melancholic future for the band if this is what we should come to expect from them on future releases. |
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Digital review copy of this release provided by: I, Voidhanger.
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