Zrcadlení melancholie

If you're going to write a twenty-three minute long metal song, what you're supposed to do is make it dynamic piece that flows decently, has well placed transitions, and doesn't get monotonous. What you're not supposed to do is do what Trist does here on "Poslední cesta", the first of two tracks on the project's final album Zrcadlení melancholie. I know there's two songs here, but when you're talking about the album overall, you have to realize that roughly two-thirds of the music is this track. Trist have been a semi-competent band from what I've explored from them in the past, but this album - despite how hyped it is - is just a colossal bore.

I thought that Trist's biggest weakness was their stubborn refusal to change up drum beats or a song's tempo. "Poslední cesta" just validates that skepticism. I can't imagine how Trist's eponymous frontman talked his drummer into doing twenty-three minutes of the same beat. Theoretically, he could've only done about three minutes and just loop it. But as for the guitars, there's only about four or five riffs found throughout this song which begs the question as to why it needed to be dragged on for as long as it did. This song has no business being as long as it is. It should have been half as long if not cut even more and it would've been much more interesting. Meanwhile, the vocals are scarce, but when they are used they're not reciting lyrics. Instead, Trist is doing his best to imitate what an auto mechanic's drill sounds like (and even failing at that).

As for "Trnový labyrint", it is much more interesting of the two tracks and does have one rather interesting melodic lead on its main riff. But again, the monotony just makes this a chore to listen to. Hell, the drum beat is basically the same here as it is on the first song so I wouldn't be surprised if he just looped the drums on the whole album. The only possible way you can get away with this static approach to the song's rhythm is if you can develop some sort of foreboding or brooding atmosphere as a result, and that doesn't happen on this album.

Zrcadlení melancholie is a boring album and a pretty embarrassing example of what depressive black metal is: dull, whiny, and bedroom produced. That said, there's a few depressive black metal albums that have managed to be interesting such as Forgotten Woods' first two albums, Shining's V - Halmstad, or Gris' Il était une forêt.... Go listen to those instead.