ALBUM REVIEW: Opium – Descend Into Despair

Over the course of the previous decade, DESCEND INTO DESPAIR have become one of the more impressive and imaginative acts within the Romanian underground, producing some incredibly powerful and melancholic funeral doom with a notable, progressive side to it that has made the band stand out significantly within a style where it is very easy to fall into the trap of relying upon a musical formula to create music. The band’s latest, third full-length album, Opium, is arguably one of the band’s more refined and exemplary works to date, and sees their sound take a far more grandiose, but nonetheless monolithic, turn.

ensh[r]ine, with its slow burning, ethereal sound and minimalist, primitive hooks, is a great way to start the record. The music is shrouded in a dense, sublime dark ambient sound, with thick gutturals, steady, powerful drumming and sparse, robust guitar and bass hooks carving through the mix and providing an excellent musical contrast that works incredibly well. As the song progresses, more adventurous hooks and more varied tones begin to creep into the sound, helping to keep this fairly lengthy and dirge-like song interesting throughout, making for a solid and atmospheric start to the record.

antumbra sees the angelic keys take a noticeable backseat in favour of monstrous rhythms, and lively and focused guitars, and sludgy, harsh vocals, with the keyboard sections rising to the forefront of the music at a few, well placed points. It’s an immense, immersive piece of music with a much more substantial and aggressive sound, showing that the band are just as capable of writing music that is as monolithic as the first track was bombastic.

dis[re]member finds DESCEND INTO DESPAIR striking the right balance between the lighter sound of the keys and the more weighty sound provided by the rest of the music. It’s a great, hypnotic number, with some great, imaginative guitars and a more diverse vocal range, with sonorous clean sections punctuating the bestial, savage gutturals, making for a great change of pace. There’s some brilliant, visceral moments and plenty of soaring, atmosphere drenched ones too, making for an eclectic and engrossing end to the record.

It’s clear, when comparing this album with the two that preceded it, that DESCEND INTO DESPAIR have very much tightened up their sound, making this the leanest and most impressive record the band have produced to date. The contrast between the soaring and sublime quality of the keyboards with the far darker and more verbose nature of the rest of the music makes for a varied and engrossing sound, with little in the way of filler. Although each of the songs feels as though it could have been about two or three minutes shorter and had a much more substantial impact, it’s clear that the band have mastered the art of creating interesting and immersive pieces of lengthy music, something that can’t be said for many of their contemporaries. There’s a good chance that this record will see DESCEND INTO DESPAIR rise to the forefront of the funeral doom scene at large, and cement their place within it.

Rating: 7/10

Opium is out now via Funere.

Like DESCEND INTO DESPAIR on Facebook.