From a forgotten wretched abyss we have a ‘Waste of Life’, a Suicidal Black Metal band whose influences range from Nocturnal Depression and Xasthur to (old)Burzum. I was really impressed with this album, so without further ado let me break down this release song by song and get into the juicy stuff (or abysmal darkness, whichever you prefer).
This is a full length release featuring 10 tracks. The intro track starts with a melancholy guitar melody and some static haze in the mix. I was kind of surprised when the vocals started in an “in your face” style with misanthropic overtones, telling the listener that they're a “piece of shit” and that they should kill themselves. Kind of creepy to hear ‘I have a razor in my hand, want me to use it?’ I am sure during that phrase he was cutting himself to harness the energy that is this intro. The end of the intro ends with ‘Do it fucking do it! Pull the God Damn trigger’ and ends with some Silencer type of screams. The atmosphere and energy is really over whelming.
The following track (2) ‘Tears Fill My Dying Eyes’ opens with guitar feedback and another Silencer type scream (there are many throughout the album). This song has a really good, steady drum groove going throughout, even the drums are fake they sound like the real thing with the human quality going for them. The vocals are like a Nocturnal Depression type of rasp and with some Silencer type screams here are there. I also would like to point out that there are more then 3 guitar chords which is a plus to many DSBM (depressive/suicidal black metal for those who are unfamiliar) bands only use that 3 chord “punk style” these days, which is sad.
The 3rd track, ‘Help Me (Kill) Myself’, has to be my favorite off of this album. It has this depressive clean guitar rhythm going through out the whole track with chorus textures, which help make an ambient type of sound with this song. The drums are kind of a slow, ballad rock type of rhythm with a distorted guitar tone played in the higher keys and strings which reminds me a lot of some of King Crimsons ambient works (that earns big points in my book). On top of all that there are mournful screams of pain and dying to enhance the power of this track.
The 4th track, ‘The Lowering of My Casket’, starts off with a clean guitar melody that sounds like it belongs in a Nocturnal Depression song, and there are some parts of the clean guitar melody that don’t sound in time but that could just be me. The vocals are really good really mostly that raspy black metal type through out the whole track which I personally love. The drums are really slow with some fast fills, and there are a couple of fast parts involving blast beats. The overall music and arrangement for this song really lives up to its title.
The 5th track, ‘Serenity’, has such a great intro this song is almost like ‘Help Me (Kill) Myself’ track with its ambiance and ambient style King Crimson guitar style. The guitars and vocals come in with blast beating drums which kind of sounds like a depressive Darkthrone. I think there was enough room for some keyboard ambiance here, which is what the fast part seems to be missing. The song then goes into a slow guitar melody with a drum tom groove, then back into a somewhat ambient style black metal song. I am not sure how I feel about the palm muting, though the tremolo picking is spot on. The remaining seconds bring back that hopeless feeling that the intro brings in and ends.
The 6th song, ‘A Soul Vanishes Final’, is an 11 minute and 54 second suicidal anthem. The guitar melody for the into part of these song seem to be the same in ‘The Lowering of My Casket’ track. There is strong Nocturnal Depression influence in this track and Silencer influence when it comes to some of the vocals, one being a sad clean guitar melody with screaming over all of it. There is some doom metal influence when it comes to some of the drum grooves but still retains that DSBM style. This is also the first track I have heard use some faster double bass parts, which was good to hear thrown in. The track also features that King Crimson ambient guitar style which I just love, and there is some normal speech, like in the intro track, towards the end with some in and out Silencer screams.
The 7th song, ‘A Lost Soul in a Cold Chamber’, which is an acoustic guitar instrumental, has some big time Dissection melody influences here. From what I hear it sounds diminished (a specific melodic scale) and also some melodic keys thrown in as well. This is a good, mournful track that acts as a overture for the remaining 3 songs left.
The 8th song is a cover of Nocturnal Depressions’s ‘Nostalgia’. The track starts off with a choir and has what sounds like a harpsichord playing with the choir; the intro of the song is really great. Then the clean guitars kick in with some ride cymbal hitting and distorted guitar swelling. This is the first time I have heard a cover of a Nocturnal Depression song and I must say it is good. There are some parts that have been done in their own stylish way, which I like. The outro of the song is amazing; I love the piano over the screaming vocals.
The 9th song ‘One Final Look at the World’ has that ambient style that is in the previous songs. There is a lot of ambiance in this track, which I like a good portion of, that the other songs seem to be missing. This song kind of reminds me of Exiled From Light in the way some parts add up. At points when there are vocals there is static and a little feedback that comes out of the left and right speakers due to some of those being clipped (too loud in the mix). Other then that, is was another one of my favorite tracks.
And we come to the 10th and final track, ‘The Ending of my Misery’. It is a dark neo-classical ambient track with a thunder storm and very sad string progressions. It is the prefect outro for this suicidal anthem of an album as it ends with the dying down of the strings and only the thunderstorm remaining as the last few seconds ends with the pumping of a shot gun and then a loud blast.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
This is a really great album: it has great atmosphere, emotion, anger, it’s misanthropic, and it has great musicianship. I recommend getting a copy! If you like: Nocturnal Depression, Xasthur, Exiled From Light, Beatrik, Burzum, and so forth then you will love this CHECK IT OUT!
Waste of Life @ Myspace http://www.myspace.com/wasteoflifeband666
-Bjørn
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