Monotony Fields

Monotony Fields is a masterpiece of atmosphere, melancholy, doom and beauty. Although all 8 tracks are strong enough to stand on their own, Shape of Despair has created a musical journey that is best experienced as a whole. This is music driven by feeling and thus creates immense power and resonates with the listener. Even after I have finished listening to this album, I find myself thinking about it and how great it is.

I have always found that music's worth cannot be determined by its technicality. The simplest of riffs or melodies can have the greatest impact on one's heart. Shape of Despair understand this. The keyboards, female vocals and guitar leads beautifully float over simple, yet crushing rhythms. The guitars, bass and drums all work together perfectly and I really couldn't complain about any of them. The sound is massive and when I turn the volume up to that point of it being "just right", the music flows right through and I can feel the essence of the doom genre. The band, though obviously having been around the block a few times and know what they are doing, have captured magic here. It may sound like I am gushing, but there is just something special about this album that speaks to me. And having read a lot of the positive buzz that this album is getting elsewhere, I guess I am not the only one that feels this way.

The vocals provided by Natalie Koskinen are haunting, beautiful and help create the atmosphere in an almost ghostly manner. Lead singer Henri Koivula unleashes devastating growls and some very nice clean vocals as well in a couple of the tracks. Sami Uusitalo, Jarno Salomaa and Tomi Ullgrén all work together to provide massive guitar/bass riffs and chords as well as lead work that helps the songs stick with you. Jarno's keyboard work is absolutely amazing and take the album to a higher place. They, along with Natalie's vocals, are the emotional backbone of the band's music. Drummer Samu Ruotsalainen plays it straight, but that is by no means a negative. It is another example of all the individual elements working together to craft this juggernaut of an album.

I can't even type out my favourite songs of the album as once I start I will find myself typing out the entire track listing. Though I will say that if you want a good indication of what the album sounds like, the opening song Reaching the Innermost is a great song to check out.

In closing, I highly encourage anyone who is a fan of doom, symphonic, and/or atmospheric metal to check this album out. I just finished listening to it and I already feel like listening to it again. All success that Shape of Despair have gained and will hopefully continue to achieve is well deserved. They have created a monumental album.

The fourth album Monotony Fields from Finnish funeral doomsters has been a long time coming, with eleven years passing since 2004’s Illusion’s Play. The intervening years also saw them lose long time vocalist Pasi Koskinen, with his spot being filled by Throes of Dawn frontman Henri Koivula. But despite the decade long gap and the lineup change they’ve lost none of their ability to craft a despondent, melancholy atmosphere, and with this mammoth 75 minute effort, they’ve managed not to just live up to their previous works, but surpass them, drowning the listener in their dismal dirge with their best effort to date.

While Shape of Despair hardly abandon their trademark of long tracks of sorrowful, slow doom metal interspersed with lush ambient textures, the years have seen them make some changes to their sound. As well as the low guttural growls they’re known for, Henri also uses clean vocals at points on the album to great effect on two of the album’s tracks. They’re used well and filled with a sincere gloom, avoiding the tenancy of other bands who’s other such trepidations end up coming off as cheesy. They’ve also done away with the violins, which would be disappointing if they didn’t fill the void so well with their great use of synths and the ethereal vocalisations throughout the album from female vocalist Natalie. And while each track does follow the formula of trudging, depressing doom, they do vary the songs through the album to keep it engaging throughout its long running length.

Opening track Reaching the Innermost, is standard Shape of Despair in top firm. Gloomy tones of atmospheric synth open the album’s first few minutes before a crash of drums signals forth for the guitars to play their mournfully slow chord based riffs, with the guttural vocals, low and cavernous, with each intonation drawn out and devoid of positivity – as is the whole album. The lead guitar plays it’s higher melodies under a fog of synth and plodding drums and cymbal crashes, with the aforementioned vocals from Natalie drifting in and out through the track in an ethereal haze. It’s well paced and negative to the max, and its fade out after the ten minute mark feels like it comes too soon. Title track Monotony Fields continues down the same path, the eerie synth and delayed guitar at the start soon giving way to more of their cold doom with an atmosphere which doesn’t let up. And special mention must go to the brilliant use of synth – with it this high in the mix they could be overly saccharine, but the way they intertwine with the guitars is perfect. While each chord rings out, the keys cling to the guitars with a ghostly grip, drowning them in ever more despondency with their fragile, icy mist.

Descending Inner Night and The Distant Dream of Life are the two which make use of the aforementioned clean vocals. While neither of them completely dispense with the deep growls, the former sees Henri and Natalie harmonising at points atop of more gloomy distorted riffage. The latter sees him singing mournfully alone over the top of a track that focuses more on a lovely lead guitar melody than crushing distortion. With the shortest track length here they unfortunately don’t let you revel in it for long before they lead you into the next track, the end does seem to approach too soon.

If the album hadn’t yet enveloped you in its depressing atmosphere and hardened your heart over its first four tracks, then if Withdrawn can’t nothing will. Despite what’s already gone, it’s easily the bleakest of the bunch, plodding along with a cold despairing march. Natalie’s vocals are hauntingly beautiful over the top of the dense guitars, which change their tone little over the ten minute length, making the despondent feeling in your stomach just build and build as it doesn’t relent. Once again the growls are so drawn out and cold and the synth melodies so beautifully sad it’s hard to imagine a track much more unrelentingly depressing.

Its not an album for those of short attention span, not only for reasons of the album’s 75 minute length, but the melodies and riffs aren’t catchy, and won’t plant themselves in your brain even after multiple listens. But the trudging atmosphere of despair and melancholy is so expertly crafted that it’s an incredible effort on its own terms. It will drag you down and leave you feeling sullen long after the album ends, and when funeral doom hits you so hard you know you’re onto a genre great.

Originally written for swirlsofnoise.com

It's been a really long time since Shape of Despair released a full length, enough time to make them the inspiration for other funeral doom acts such as Eye Of Solitude (who take stylistic cues from SoD, even covering a song on a 2013 album) more recently. The last time we had an album from SoD was in 2004 with Illusion's Play, and Monotony Fields definitely feels like a comeback album. By this I mean: Shape Of Despair takes elements that differed from previous works, and combines them to create an album that is the best of both worlds.

First and foremost it must be stated that Shape of Despair still sticks to a fairly typical funeral doom song writing method. There are long atmospheric introductions to most songs with keyboards/orchestration. This builds up the tone and key for the rest of the song, which then follows with passages of low sustained guitar and bass notes keeping harmony intact and rhythm with drums with are also mostly slow and intentionally basic. On top of this is layered keyboards and lead guitar which trade off carrying slow, but driving melodies. Vocals both harsh and clean from Henri and Natalie are decently sparse, but fit right in. Henri provides a classic funeral doom guttural growl, as well as new passages with cleans. Natalie provides atmospheric background vocals that harmonize with the keys and lead guitar, that are really singing without words, just pained but beautiful music (the best example of which I find on "In Longing". Many of the tracks end trailing off into the distance, which is a great effect.

The album draws the best parts of previous albums, most notably the great atmospheric symphonics that strongly carried Angels of Distress, and the guitar work which I found more impressive on Illusion's Play. Monotony Fields again features the faraway sound and production I missed in Illusion, where it is mixed such that it truly gives the music a feeling of being played in an empty hall or off in the distance. This helps carry forth the emotion the band attempts to convey (more on that in a bit). From Illusion, the band brought back the improved guitar work, and carries more of the main melodies of each song than Angels.

A change I found most striking in the songwriting category is that the overall average tempo of the album has been slowed down even more. The main melodies on previous albums were fairly "quick" in comparison to funeral doom acts. Here, the songs slow down even more to rival stylistic colleagues like Eye Of Solitude (see "Withdrawn"), and other funeral doom bands like older Ahab. They do this while maintaining clear melody and harmony however, and avoiding any hint of sludginess. There are some passages and tracks which speed up (Like "The Distant Dream of Life") and hark back to those previous stylings. The feeling this slower speed cultivates on this album in (tandem with their harmonic style), is what I would describe as "hope lost". There are present major key harmonies which dissolve into minor keys, and this gives off the feeling that hope/happiness once existed, but is now a fading memory. The sound is very bittersweet.

Production-wise, the mastering of this album is much deeper than past works. Gone is the hollow sounding drum work of Illusion in favor of deeper bass and a more resonating snare, which echoes off the imaginary aforementioned halls. The guitar work also features an expanded lower end, while still maintaining the flowing, almost ambiguous blending with the keyboards during melodies. This album seems to be at the balancing point. Where Angels saw heavy focus on symphonics and keyboards, and Illusion saw heavier focus on guitar, Monotony Fields performs a great balancing act between the two styles. It brings them both equally to the forefront and blends them very well.

There are a few gripes I have about this record. One of these is the presence of the re-recorded "Written in My Scars". This is a great track, and is very enjoyable. However, it doesn't fit well into the context of the rest of the music. It is more relevant to the previous feeling/style of older albums, and this one would have ended perfectly with "The Blank Journey" trailing off into the distance. The other complaint I have is with both vocal performances. Dues to lineup changes, of course vocals change. I was slightly underwhelmed by Henri's gutturals in comparison to Pasi's on Illusion (but the new cleans mostly make up for it). Natalie's singing in backgrounds can at times be overwhelming too, but again can be mostly overlooked due to how well they harmonize.

Overall, this is an excellent album. It fits well into Shape of Despair's previous catalog, while creating a new identity to help the band shift directions for (hopefully) future albums, with the aid of new clean vocals and atmospheric story-telling. This one is one of my favorites of the year, and will be a top album for awhile to come.

Luscious landscapes of sonic resonance from both the pits of hell and the skies of heaven are what comprise funeral doom. Funerals are a time of mourning and joy. Let us mourn that the ones we love are lost to the atmosphere of this world but let us rejoice that they had the presence to set foot on this earth and mingle among us. Fans of Shape Of Despair have been in mourning for the past 11 years since the release of their previous album Illusion’s Play. An excruciatingly long wait no doubt, but the joy one feels when listening to Monotony Fields is overpowering as it is a purely exquisite voyage of yielding passion.

Reaching The Innermost begins with the sway of synth setting sail across the oceanic wave of crescendo. Its destination: the deepest and most burdened corners of the heart. The lumbering bass and simple chord changes glide effortlessly along the shores of Quintessence while the menacing growls from the recently installed Henri Koivula are smothered by Natalie Koskinen’s awe-inspiring cries. The journey comes near to the end when all the instruments cease that leave the exposed female vocals naked in the darkness and leaves you completely absorptive to the euphoric atmosphere. The vocals are intense throughout this 75 minute masterpiece; furthermore they increase the level of grandiosity within Shape Of Despair’s music. The harrowing glow of Descending Inner Night alone paralyses you in a comatose state while the constant growling nightmarishly slumbers around your head. Not long after, cleaner vocals are heard from the same voice that leave the song emotionally primed. The transforms from soft-to-harsh vocals are simply velveteen during In Longing. The growls crawl out from the crack of earth and then cower back just as seamlessly to a softer verse while feminine chants provide a glimpse of light that stop you from drowning amongst the ominous darkness. If you’re not crying yet then the only reason is because this album has stolen the soul you one had.

Shape Of Despair use synthesizers in every song of their fourth album. The sluggish drones both rule and maintain each song in its own masterful way. It dominates in Withdrawn: providing a pendulous backbone of universal soundscapes and also in The Blank Journey whereby the tranquillity is broken by the sudden moan of bass and guitar however the luminescent synth still pierces through the bleakness. Yet in the title track it is hidden in the background supporting the weight of the riffs and equalling the balance between gloom and glamour. The bands’ musicianship and use of synthesizer come to a natural balance in the album closer: Written In My Scars. The tear-dripping initiation from the piano introduces the song in gorgeous fashion as Koivula’s abysmally heavy vocals envelope round the strained guitars. The paradox of these devastating vocals and tranquil harmonies evoke a truly majestic piece of music. The angelic cries from Koskinen are so flawless in this song that one may mistake them for being the actual synth itself; which proves a vast landscape of lamenting, sonic magnificence. And finally, the stressed notes carry a longing heartbeat of a melody that end the album just as it started: beautifully.

Coming back after a decade of silence – which I find can either be a risky practice if the product is mediocre, or a masterstroke if the output is well received – Shape of Despair delay the eulogy to their funeral doom by releasing their fourth album Monotony Fields. Fans of the earlier albums need not be disappointed, as this is a strong continuation of the type of funeral doom that has made this Finnish band popular.

Opening with some of their trademark ambient sections that would not have looked out of place on Angels of Distress and Illusion’s Play, “Reaching the Innermost” is one of many opuses on here portraying sadness and gloom which has a very strong funeral march to it. Most of the songs here are solemnly played, expertly using synths and Natalie Koskinen’s operatic vocals to maximum effect at just the right places. Those with a distaste for repetition will not enjoy most of the songs using that same formula, however for me it gives the songs an extra dimension and a new way of looking at them.

Instrumentally, the songs are not complex. Most tracks follow a simple drum beat over low-tuned guitars and synth work, all played at a slow pace. Guitars play simple but highly effective riffs/power chords, none of which will stick in your mind in terms of catchiness, proficiency, or technicality, but they keep the songs going when needed. Drumming is equally as simple, but they work very well, and the production job on the snare drum giving it a full, warm hit each time ties it together. These instruments are not the main players. Credit should be given to the vocals, with Henri Koivula delivering powerful growls and lovely cleans when needed, and letting the music breathe at other times. Synths and operatic vocals are the backbone of why Monotony Fields is as gloomy as it is, though: synths weaving their way through the tracks here, and operatic vocals used as an extra punch to the emotional guts.

While I mentioned that the songs are generally the same, differences can be heard. “Reaching the Innermost” has a mostly ambient first half, and “Monotony Fields” is more of a funeral dirge, where “Withdrawn” is more depressive. The most deviating track has to go to “The Distant Dream of Life,” being the shortest and perhaps most rapid, it’s almost as if it was stolen from any Draconian album. Despite the aesthetic contrasts, it still works as a nice break as the “catchy” song from the album.

Ten years out of the game yields changes to any band, and the same happens with Monotony Fields. Most glaring are the addition of clean vocals, which are used sparingly. That has turned out to be a genius move, as they do not saturate, nor do they sound weak. “Descending Inner Night” is not only my favourite song here, but also uses cleans the best, delivering that additional dimension at precisely the right moment. Another change is the subtraction of violins, which is a shame, as they would’ve been wonderful here, but Natalie’s vocals make up for their void.

Monotony Fields is the most “funeral” funeral doom album Shape of Despair has released, since the others focused on sadness and depression, but I think it’s a fantastic return and could be in the top five of 2015. It’s not perfect (biggest gripe is the abrupt endings to some tracks, most notably “The Distant Dream of Life” and “The Blank Journey”), but it’s a welcome return and hopefully not the last time we hear from them.