Withered Shades

I'm getting really pissed by seeing real ARTISTS like Ophis being overlooked while some monotonous and uninventive bands are getting all the credit in this genre. To those who search for true and honest art, Ophis is the real deal. Apart from the fact that they can produce riffs equal in inspiration and quality to My Dying Bride's without cloning them to the least, they bear and exhale such a misanthropic depth that clearly humiliates all the pretentious pseudo -depressive wannabes out there.

What Ophis do is real music, in every single record. Their capability of interesting, perfectly structured and climaxing songwriting is tremendous. Their devotion to art, honest and inspiring. No tricky productions, no pseudo sophisticated dissonance and disharmony to sound evil, just pure heavy music with character and originality. Also, in Ophis doom/death, both doom and death are there. And I say that because I've noticed that some mid-tempo melo-pop with guitars has turned to be considered doom/death recently. So to make things clear, what you must expect from Ophis is pure and honest, old school doom / death.

So after a killer EP and an equally great debut, it comes this monolith, which till now is maybe their darkest and most depressive creation, musically and lyrically. ''Withered shades'' is an absolute, almost theatrical masterpiece and my personal blackest voyage since Bride's ''The angel and the dark river'' and since it has already been almost a decade from its release, I'm now in the position to consider it a classic. Wrapped in an ebony, claustrophobic, and ultra- heavy production, the album begins with the 14 minute monumental epic that hears to the perfectly suitable name ''The Halls Of Sorrow''. And indeed, the gates of hell have been opened and we enter the reception Halls... A solitary, greaving lead guitar melody begins, to be soon accompanied by a second lead guitar in different tone. Such parts with combined lead guitars is one of the most beautiful and appealing aspects in the music of Ophis. While you may say that this is a simple old school formula, the truth is that only titanic bands with high compositional perception like Ophis, know where, when and how to use it efficiently.

After a short repetition of the first riff, the full band kicks in with crushing heaviness. The deep, expressive and heartfelt voice of Philipp Kruppa leads the way down to a path of despair and desolation followed by crawling, top class weeping melodies. The obvious passion of the performance and the sincere intention to state and express a massive feeling of nihilism and desperation work resolutely for the listener, by grabbing and baptizing in bleakness every single cell of his body- and this is what is going on in the whole album.

Around 5.20, things speed up to a ferocious blast of death metal mastery and then...silence. The build up that starts to take place now and is introduced with a marching snare beat, is one of the greatest build ups in the history of doom. Drum beat comes first, then a funereal, soul piercing clean guitar riff, then the vocals, some creeping bass melodies to build more tension, and then THE climax of mayhem and asphyxiation takes place OVER THE TAPESTRY OF ROTTEN CORPSES (as the lyrics also suggest). The riffage from here and then, though it's a heavy rendition of the clean part, is beyond description. The convey of emotions is so overwhelming and huge that any sensitive soul should shatter to pieces. Τhe main riff of the track returns retrospectively at the end to redeem you from the emotional leveling you have experienced.

While you've been stunned after what you've just witnessed, the clean guitar intro of ''Suffering Is a virtue'' kicks in. That's another unbelievably inventive track with incredible alternations from low to high pitched vocals. The vocal delivery of Philipp Kruppa serves as an extra instrument with several tonal variations (Here there are some extra killer vocals by Seuche from Fäulnis). The riffs once again prove the band's immense inventiveness and are here to haunt the listener's mind forever. TRAPPED IN A GRAVE, state the vocals and from this moment to the end of the album, the listener sinks totally in the poisonous world of Ophis as he receives a burst of varied and masterfully crafted pieces of art.

The drumming in the album is extraordinary. The clean guitar parts, emotional and essential. I will not describe each track because what happens inside these five lengthy ambitious beasts can't fit into a review. The only sure thing is that every track, despite it's overall greatness, it always consists of a specific part or climax which you are eagerly waiting for, to witness the ultimate sonic experience of musical delight. If you consider your self a serious doom/death fan, if you have high expectations from the bands and you are not compliant with mediocre compositions and uninventive riffs, go get this album along with the whole Ophis discography immediately and support this honest and talented band to the fullest. We need to support bands like this so the music keeps being real. Thank you, Ophis.