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 My Dearest Wound
“The Burial” (Tragedy Productions, 2023)

Depressive Suicidal Black Metal is one of those “dangerous” sub-genres to meddle with. The idea of a slow, “heavy”, sad approach to Black Metal, is not easy to achieve in an acceptable manner. Black Metal calls out to harsh and aggressive melodies, and DSBM is not, at first, a sub-genre we associate with these characteristics, and so we observe it from a far, studying its movements and choices. Some musicians embark in a downward spiral of depression and utter sadness, dragging the listener into that vicious circle; others prefer a more melancholic approach to the sub-genre. Either way, DSBM is a special manifestation of Black Metal.

My Dearest Wound is not, in my honest opinion, a proper DSBM in the sense that it carries plenty of melodies that fall more into the Atmospheric side of the spectrum - some even might be seen as Post Black Metal - and that is quite nice. Yes, MDW has some of those hooks we associate with DSBM, but mostly, it is more Atmospheric than Depressive of Melancholic. Well… Melancholic, yes. Whenever it slows down you feel that it approaches the basic structure of a DSBM band. Hey, at times I even get this 90ies Death Doom feeling to his songs.

Sérgio, a lad from Chile, chose MDW as a vehicle of expression, a way to “spit out” his emotions and moments of despair. I believe he did offer us something different within the spectrum he includes himself in: the subjects that the artist deals with versus the actual musical structure presented. Overall, it is an interesting release.

Gormoth
“Mournful Winter” (Independent, 2023)

The idea of a melancholic homage to Winter I always something that easily lures me in. the concept of Winter, and all its traits, is immensely Black Metal… and an easy theme to work with, we all well aware. Nonetheless, some musicians can pull off interesting pieces of music, and once you stumble upon them, be sure to give them a go.

Gormoth is a band/project from Hungary. Its sound revolves around a Melancholic, almost Depressive, approach to Black Metal. Slow paced, dark and an almost dragging sound, the core is as cold as the heart of a blizzard. Its atmospheres are quite smooth, never extracting the air out of the several elements that live long side it. Delicate piano strokes, gentle guitar riffs, all intertwined around agonizing vocals and pacing drums.

The record is very “linear”. The artist drew a straight line and all the tracks, so there are no higher or lower moments throughout the 6 tracks that compose it. It is, at times, a suffered record. One feels the pain, the agony, the despair, and that was very well put in motion via the instrumental pieces. The moments where we have no voice, they sink into us, pulling us down, so only be emotionally butchered by the vocals.

I would not call this a DSBM album, nonetheless, it does carry that pain and suffering, the slow-paced instruments, the cutting guitar riffs… overall, a darken sadness.

 

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