Majestic Downfall / Ansia - Split CD (CD)

Review
Brutalism

A split with two bands. Majestic Downfall is from Mexico and active since 2006 when the solo man Jacobo left the band Antiqua. Ansia is a band from Italia and active since 2006 due to the will of finding new sounds into the doom scene.
But Majestic Downfall is opening the split with 3 songs that are more accessible than the 3 of Ansia. Doom with a groove. Low singing vocals, piano, flute and melancholic guitars. And the second song "In An Ocean Of Fears" they continue what they started. But the last song of Majestic Downfall is more up tempo and sounding heavier that the previous two.
The songs of Ansia on the contruary are sounding darker and more obscure. Long soundscapes with tormenting voices in slow songs. Also a piano here and there. The second song has an sound effect like you are listening to a scratched vinyl album. Maybe it is not a real song but more of a long interlude. The 3rd part is real depressing and suffering as you can hear in the vocals and in the middle of the song you get a couple of minutes sound fx.
This split show two different bands and which one you like you have to decide for yourself.

Review
Live4metal

When it comes to Doom, then Solitude Productions are fast becoming the masters in discovering great new talent. Here they present a split cd which features, Majestic Downfall, a Mexican one man band with a passion for 90s UK Doom and an Italian outfit, Ansia, who favour a more sparse, somnolent approach.
A quick bit of research reveals that the Majestic Downfall side of the cd is actually the 2007, The First Abyss demo, but if you've not heard the band, or the cd before, then you are in for a treat. This is well played Doom, with Deathly vocals and is just about on the right side of sombre. It sure as hell isn't about sunshine and flowers, but it is melodic
enough, and catchy enough to appeal to appeal to more open minded Metalheads, rather than just Doomheads. Just imagine a slightly happier version of My Dying Bride.
From the accessible Majestic Downfall, we move a few rungs down the gutter, to the despairing strains of Italy's Ansia. Fucking hell, this is a miserable band. You'd think they lived in a war torn and ravaged land by the absolute despondency that they create, but no, they live in a sunny climate that's full of beautiful women. But I guess something has really pissed them off, otherwise their music wouldn't be so funereal. With three songs spread over 35 torturous minutes, this is a mightily depressing listen and not one for the faint-hearted.
Overall, this is a very interesting release, with two completely different bands from the Doom genre represented.

Author: Steve Green

Review
Archanic-Magazine
02.04.2008

Here’s an interesting release: a split CD between two bands that not only sound completely different, but they also originate from two completely different continents. Majestic Downfall hails from Mexico, whereas Ansia has its feet planted in Italy, making both bands worlds apart. Furthermore, oddly enough, the album is released through the Russian label Solitude Productions… talk about an international cooperation.

First up is the one-man army, Majestic Downfall. Jacobo (music and vocals) brings us 3 tracks of pure doom/death nature in the vain of old Anathema with a touch of Novembers Doom. What you can expect is heavy, melancholic and rather slow tracks that catch the true essence of doom to the point. Although the songs all follow the common recipe – heavy riffs, deep growls, sorrowful keyboard parts and slow paced drumming – and therefore do not present anything new to the world, however, the rather lengthy tracks (8 minutes on average) do not present a single dull moment either. In fact, the tracks are quite heavy and passionate, filled with mournful and bitter emotions. One minor setback would be the high-pitched keyboard melody in “A Birds Departure.” Not only does it slightly hurt the music, it is also quite annoying and hurtful to my ears as well. Yet, on “In an Ocean of Fears” (my favorite of the three tracks) it comes off rather pleasantly, giving the track an extra flavor. In any case, 3 tracks were more than enough to get oneself hooked on this majestic and awfully melancholic music. Brilliant!

Next up is Ansia with three tracks of pure funeral doom, not for the faint of heart. At over 30 minutes, the songs carry you into its painful melancholy, leaving you in a stage of utter despair. Don’t expect straightforward music. It takes time before these requiems of death set in and enwrap you in its breath-taking shadow. The tracks tend to progress slowly, where the chords seldom change – although I must say, the guitar work is very remarkable, especially for its heaviness. The drumming is also quite dreary (inducing a trance-like state), the keyboard melodies are exceptionally beautiful (take for example the intro and outro of “Part I”), the bass-lines enhances the cold and eerie emotions of the music and the painful screams sound as if they were coming from a funeral pyre. Indeed, this highly melancholic music is quite impressive! Ansia is definitely a band to look out for: with only 3 tracks, they have proven to possess the right ingredients.

Solitude Production has done an outstanding job in putting forth an extremely sorrowful doom album. Although both bands sound completely different, I highly praise both for their tragic music! It is heavy yet quite depressive; bitter yet beautiful. In short: a must-have for fans of beautiful, dark and emotional doom metal!

Author: Randall Ras

Review
Fobia Zine
3/10
09.04.2008

Zřejmě každý redaktor Fobiazinu si již prošel recenzí nějaké z ruských doom metalových kapel nebo alespoň počinu od ruského vydavatelství. Jen mě se to zatím vyhýbalo, ne však navěky, už je to tu. Split Majestic Downfall a Ansia nechť je mým očistcem.

Nemohu říci, že bych neměl rád doom metal, některá alba My Dying Bride nebo třeba Anathemy či Cathedral si občas poslechnu, ovšem vybírám si ty kusy, které mají hlavu a patu a hlavně u kterých neusnu. Obě recenzované sebranky právě toto postrádají. Nechápu, že je to v Rusku tak v kurzu, zřejmě se opijí vodkou a pak trudomyslně rozjímají nad svou špatnou ekonomickou situací a tak vzniká ruská láska k doom metalu, který by si zasloužil svou vlastní škatulku, kterou bych nazval třeba misery metal. Celé splitko je doslova narvané unylou pomalostí, kde ve snaze zachytit co nejlépe své utrpení, hudebníci totálně zapomínají, že jsou hudebníci a pomocí svých nástrojů spíš vzlykají (což by mohlo v doom metalu znít jako chvála, ale to by bylo chybné chápaní). A ve výsledku se tak tragedie, kterou kapely prožívají odráží do kvalit tohoto alba, protože to je totální tragedie. Troufám si tvrdit, že s tímto dílkem by měli problémy i zarytí fanoušci doom metalu.

Zvukově se nejedná o nic nepovedeného,
to bych jim křivdil, ale to je asi tak všechno. Musím se přiznat, že jsem měl co dělat abych to vůbec dokázal doposlouchat. První sebranka je z Mexika a popravdě byl jsem dost překvapen, že tak horkokrevný národ může hrát doom metal, ale zřejmě ano, nechme je v tom. V pomyslném souboji u mě vítězí spíš druhá Ansia z Itálie, u které alespoň tu a tam vykoukne osamělý pěkný nápad, který je však během několika opakování opět o ničem. Líbí se mi zde však časté používání různých netradičních zvuků a celkově zajímavější pojetí. Kdyby ze skladeb 10 minutových udělali 5x kratší věřím, že by to mohlo být zajímavé.

Škoda slov, tohle prostě buď chytne nějakého totálního maniaka anebo se to líbit nebude. Předpokládám, že až nový trend EMO (myslím tim nový trend přetvářky současných puberťáků, neplést s HC) zjistí, že existují kapely jako Ansia nebo Majestic Downfall, tak budou z těchto doomařů superhvězdy, ale do té doby nevim, nevim.

Author: Dharm

Review
Metal-Norge
4/10
29.03.2008

Det er mye skrot som har kommet fra Russiske Solitude Productions i løpet av de siste par åra, og selskapet forsøker på ingen måte å gjøre skam på myten om russernes sans for rimelige løsninger. Spøk til side, så står nok antageligvis selskapet, med promotion og trykk for den desidert mest gjennomførte delen av denne utgivelsen. Det er ingenting av musikk som gjør meg like ille berørt som demo-doom, og disse to bandene er farlig på vei til å høres ut som de fortsatt er stasjonert på gutterommet.
Dette er unødvendig nok en split mellom et mexicansk enmanns-death/doom-band og et italiensk doom-band. Majestic Downfall fra Mexico består av Jacobo Cordova, og står muligens for det mest interessante av de to bandene representert her. De tre første innslagene, signert Majestic Downfall temmelig klassisk death / doom ala tidlig My Dying Bride / Anathema. Musikken er preget av ganske dårlig vokal, men tidvis ganske freske og melankolske riff som bringer tankene tilbake til nettopp de aller første skivene i denne sjangeren. Laber produksjon, mye skranglete synth tilsmusser dessverre det allerede ganske tannløse lydbildet, og til tross for brukbare innslag i blant, finner jeg ingen grunn overhodet til å ikke sette på noe My Dying Bride i stedet for dette.

Ansia prøver seg på en mellomting mellom Jesu og Esoteric, men treffer liksom verken det litt utsvevende og ritualistiske med Esoteric, eller det hypnotiske og messende med Jesu. Bandet har endel kult på gang, men med denne produksjonen kommer ikke detaljene i musikken verken godt nok, eller riktig nok fram. En detalj som det kan ødelegge hele opplevelsen, da et band som har låter på 14-15 minutter over de samme hypnotiske partiene er totalt avhengig av en helhetlig og gjennomført produksjon. Jeg vil gå så lang som å påstå at produksjonen i dette tilfellet utgjør halve opplevelsen. For kjedelig, rett og slett, jeg får bare lyst til å sette på Esoteric.

Author: Robert