Shattered Hope - Waters Of Lethe (CD)

Review
Ave Noctum
8/10
07.04.2014

It was just a month or so ago whilst doing some high level procrastination (rearranging my CD collection) I happened upon my copy of Shattered Hope’s excellent debut album ‘Absence’ and I wondered what had happened to them since. Clearly this was some sort of mystical sign and sure enough within the week their second album arrived on my desk. ‘Absence’ was one of my favourite debut albums of all time, managing to strike a subtle balance between the bleak and the beautiful. Even the album artwork provided an accurate portrayal of the musical style within, as a lighthouse struggles to penetrate the darkness and the fog, offering the faintest light as a beacon of hope. If the cover of ‘Waters of Lethe’ was going to be anything to go by, this was going to be an even darker experience as the cover is almost unreadable through the murk and gloom. This is clearly not going to be a comfortable ride.

The funereal pace of ‘Absence’ was offset by the dramatic synth and strings elements, which although bleak in their tone and nature, offered hope amidst hopelessness. On ‘Waters of Lethe’ hope is notable by its absence. The songs are longer, slower and bleaker but by way of natural evolution of their style rather than an attempt to lower the tone. The vocals of Nick Vlachakis were impressive before, yet he has found new depths here as he sings from the very depths of the abyss, and although his style rarely shifts on this album it is the subtle nuances that he offers that make the difference. In that respect they have really reached a similar level on this album that Mourning Beloveth have been working at for some time, and I say that as high praise. As crushing as the music is, there is an intrinsic beauty about it. There are melodies that get under your skin and into your soul where the sadness and melancholy seeps throughout you like a disease. Part of you is laying back listening to it, enjoying and appreciating the mastery of the form, whilst part of you is looking up the web address for Exit.

As on the previous album, this one also ends with an 18 minute epic, although in this case it feels like a funeral march to the end rather than the downbeat but uplifting beauty of ‘The Utter Void’. This is in many ways a total triumph, but I would urge caution. This is not for funeral doom novices and those suffering from depression should perhaps listen with friends. I am all for bands giving value for money on their albums, but with ‘Waters of Lethe’ clocking it at the 80 minute mark there is a serious trade-off between the amount of music you are getting for your money and the psychological toll it takes on you. For those with a predilection for this style of music, this is an excellent and at times very beautiful album, but it is best enjoyed by the very patient and the emotionally stable.

Author: Lee Kimber

Review
The Pit of the Damned
6.5/10
14.07.2014

Oramai mi sono fatto il callo alle uscite della Solitude Prod., tanto che è difficile essere obiettivi con una label che vanta ormai una lista infinita di band praticamente identiche nel loro approccio. Ma è solo con prolungati ascolti, intensi o meno che siano, si può giungere alla conclusione che l'elevato numero di gruppi, di interessante caratura, rischi di livellarne la qualità, piuttosto che esaltarne i punti di forza. I greci Shattered Hope tuttavia sanno il fatto loro e propongono, a distanza di quattro anni dal precedente album, una revisione stilistica improntata su atmosfere cavernose e funeree. Come il fiume Lete, che nell'Averno causava perdita di memoria a chi ne assaggiava le acque, il combo ellenico rende le proprie composizioni alla stregua del fiume dell'oblio, proponendo quasi ottanta minuti indefiniti e fugaci. La musica non manca certo di attrattiva, grazie sopratutto a riff stoppati e a vari mid-tempo, su cui spiccano "For the Night as Fallen" e "My Cure is Your Disease", due song che probabilmente ricordano maggiormente i gruppi gothic degli anni '90, ma alla fine questo disco non s'insedia ferocemente nella memoria di chi ascolta, pur lasciando una buona impressione almeno a livello di suoni, grazie alla sua eccellente produzione. Le frequenze sono bilanciate e le medie presentano l'ombra caratteristica degli Esoteric (probabilmente perché il frontman della band inglese si è occupato del mastering), rendendo alla fine il suono pacato e armonioso. Le conclusioni per 'Waters of Lethe' sono poi simili a quelle lette per altre band del rooster Solitude: poca emotività e molta atmosfera. Le intenzioni ci sono ma manca quell'essenza difficilmente riscontrabile nei gruppi contemporanei; c'è molta testa e poco cuore, o semplicemente (come sostengo da tempo) questo genere non ha più nulla da dire.

Author: Kent

Review
Metaleros.cl
19.05.2014

Desde la ancestral y mitológica Atenas (Grecia) nos llega el segundo álbum de la banda de Doom/Death atmosférico Shattered Hope, que bajo el alero de Solitude Productions nos entrega una placa compuesta por 6 temas, que claramente evidencian los más de 10 años de existencia de la banda, con una clara maduración en términos compositivos y estilísticos con respecto a su placa predecesora “Absence”.

Este nuevo trabajo de estudio que lleva por título “Waters of Lethe” fue lanzado en febrero de este año y nos pone frente a una faceta más Funeral Doom de la banda, el álbum goza de una muy buena producción, con un arte de portada sombrío que nos predispone de forma inequívoca a navegar en las oscuras y turbulentas aguas de un disco altamente melancólico, emocional y con una fuerza interpretativa que remece y conecta con ese lado funesto y triste que todos albergamos.

Cabe señalar, que este disco para muchos puede ser difícil de asimilar de buenas a primeras, dado lo extenso e intenso de sus 6 tracks, que en conjunto tienen una duración de 79 minutos. En cuanto a lo musical, este viaje de emociones se inicia con el tema “Convulsion” que nos pasea por momentos de ira, desesperanza y oscuridad. En donde es evidente una muy bien construida línea melódica y rítmica, con un buen manejo de las dinámicas y los cambios de tempo, más el acertado trabajo vocal de Nick que complementa este enfoque colectivo.

Llegamos así al segundo track “For The Night Has Fallen”, que me recuerda un poco a la vibra de los Finlandeses Shape Of Despair en cuanto a la cadencia y lo que yo llamo la “fuerza emotiva” afloran también algunos toques “black” en particular en la voz y los acordes de teclados, alrededor del minuto 5 se produce una transición melódica maravillosa en donde las cuerdas irradian una tristeza agridulce, que se ve confrontada por la optimista y revitalizadora melodía de teclados y riffs de la sección final.

Con un letargo sublime aparece en tercera ubicación el excelente “My Cure Is Your Disease” un tema que evoca sentimientos lúgubres y funestos a partir de su métrica apocalíptica e hipnótica, con voces espectrales, riffs de guitarras que resuenan como truenos y baterías que con cada golpe generan una mayor profundidad en la caída hacía el mundo sónico de Shattered Hope. Siguiendo esta misma línea estilística y conceptual “Obsessive Dilemma” nos mantiene cautivos de la fuerza y calidad compositiva de esta gran banda griega, este track apela a los mismos recursos de sus predecesores, es decir, melancolía, oscuridad, y ese particular aura opresivo de su música, elemento común que persiste a lo largo del desarrollo de este trabajo.

De esta forma, nos acercamos al final de “Waters of Lethe” con los 2 últimos temas “Aletheia” y “Here´s to Death” respectivamente, ambos tracks tienen la particularidad de ser los más extensos del disco y a mi forma de ver, cierran de forma magistral un disco intenso, oscuro, visceral en donde se plasman emociones encontradas y se hace evidente (pese a los varios cambios de Line Up) el fiato de la banda a nivel instrumental, lo que le da solidez y carácter a la composición, claro está que este disco requiere de parte del oyente, estar en un estado anímico acorde a lo que su música nos propone, y nos exige darle varias vueltas para sintonizar con su magia y calidad.
mnghghhkhyghghhjghghCreo sin temor a equivocarme, que éste álbum debería estar entre los grandes trabajos de este 2014 en lo que a Funeral Doom Atmosférico respecta, ya que reúne de forma maciza todos las características de este género, por lo mismo invito a todos aquellos que disfrutan a bandas como Shape of Despair, Mourning Beloveth, Loss, Mournful Congregation y tantos otros ilustres nombres, a jugarse sus cartas por estos griegos.

Para terminar, quiero recalcar la idea de que aquí hay una prueba más de la calidad del catálogo de mis amigos rusos de Solitude Productions, que con cada lanzamiento realizado nos brindan la posibilidad de acceder a lo mejor del Doom mundial, es por ello que los invito a visitar su página y apoyar a tanto talento que merece ser parte de vuestras colecciones, éxito en la pesquisa y háganse el favor de sumergirse en las densas y abismales aguas de Shattered Hope, Doom On!

Author: Calígula

Review
Metal Temple
8/10
05.03.2014

With a genre like Funeral Death Doom, It’s very easy for a band to be predictable and go unnoticed without even a whisper. And with a band named SCATTERED HOPE, the music is a tad predictable even before starting the album. The album goes with the tried and tested waters of long songs, with the shortest of the 5 songs clocking 10:36 and the longest almost reaching 18 minutes, the album as a whole nearly clocks one hour and twenty minutes testing your patience!

The growling vocals are good and not completely predictable and shifts to whispering gasping vocals especially during slow thick riffs .the music gives a feeling of a crawling snake on your legs when you are listening to these never ending lethargic songs with slow riffs. Synthetic guitars are used beautifully to create a wave of melody. The guitars create different shades of drone which makes the album bearable. The crying guitars are used to optimize the doom feel of the music and works well for the band. Surprisingly for a Doom album, the drums stand out too, considering the slow nature of music and it has some unusually notable parts in the whole music.

"My Cure Is Your Disease" has a little faster pace, allowing the music to chug along and helping you to slowly head bang to it and in my opinion is the most notable song in the album ,as even the vocals find its real identity in the song. "Obsessive Dilemma” has a notable atmospheric axe work and makes me realize the range of possibilities in this niche genre and throws some great riffs within its 10 and half minutes.

As is the norm with this genre, the bass plays an important role in the whole package and does the expected job. Last track "Here's To Death” packs lots of atmospheric Doom laden guitar work with minimum drums and has a lazy growling vocals. With a song clocking nearly 18 minutes one may wonder if the band may be accused of over doing it and has tested the patience of the listener, but the band fills in enough variety and flavor to keep you hooked and bear with the whole album.

While the lyrics deal with sadness and depression, the music does get predictable, though does throw a surprise or two once in a while and production is heavy and echoing as well as it did with the bands previous works. Frankly I’m not sure why the album is titled “Waters Of Lethe” as the album doesn’t really flow as smoothly as I expected it to.

With this being a second album from this Greek Doomers, they have made their path and ideas clear to their audience and should be a force to reckon in the future for this niche music.

Author: V. Srikar

Review
Evilized

Vor vier Jahren legten die aus Athen stammenden Herren von SHATTERED HOPE mit ”ABSENCE” ein durch und durch gelungenes Debütalbum vor, auf dem in ansprechender Weise melodischer Death Metal mit finsterem und tonnenschwerem Doom zu zähen und dennoch kraftvollen Kompositionen verschmolzen wurden. Nach langer Wartezeit erscheint nun mit dem knapp 80-minütigen Koloss ”WATERS OF LETHE” der lang ersehnte zweite Streich der griechischen Truppe. Wie sich schnell zeigt, knüpfen SHATTERED HOPE auf diesem zwar in gewisser Weise an ihr Schaffen des Erstlingswerkes an, bringen jedoch auch einige stilitische Neuerungen mit sich.


weg vom melodischen Death/Doom und hin zu desolatem Funeral Doom Metal

Nach wie vor bedient sich das griechische Quintett einer Vielzahl traditioneller Elemente, die zur Gestaltung der insgesamt sechs ausufernden Kompositionen von ”WATERS OF LETHE” herangezogen werden, sodass zunächst dunkel und mächtig emporragende Gitarrenwände das Szepter übernehmen und ein unheilvolles Grundgerüst errichten, in das sich schließlich sowohl zerbrechlich wirkenden Leads als auch klassische Klavierpassagen einfügen und auf diese Weise ein außerordentlich detailverliebtes Gesamtwerk kreieren. Im direkten Vergleich zu Tracks wie ”Vital Lie” oder ”A Traitor’s Kiss” des 2010er Outputs, in denen sehnsüchtige Melodiebögen und filigrane Streicherarrangements grandios in Szene gesetzt wurden, wirken die aktuellen Songs trotz all der verschiedenen Facetten dennoch deutlich schwerfälliger und weniger dynamisch. Statt einer kompositorischen Schwäche handelt es sich hierbei jedoch um einen gezielten stilistischen Wandel, der SHATTERED HOPE weg vom melodischen Death/Doom und hin zu desolatem Funeral Doom Metal im Stile von Kapellen wie OPHIS oder ATARAXIE führt. Zielsicher erschaffen die Athener mit ”WATERS OF LETHE” dabei ein sich lethargisch dahinschleppendes Epos, dessen beklemmende Atmosphäre alles in sich aufzusaugen scheint. Passend hierzu bedienen sich SHATTERED HOPE lyrisch Sagen aus der griechischen Mythologie und widmen ihr Werk „Lethe“, einem jener Flüsse, der in die Unterwelt führte und den gefallenen Seelen ihrer Erinnerungen beraubte.

Es sind die tiefen Growls und das bedrohlich Flüstern, die rohen sowie mächtigen Riffkonstrukte und deren quälende Langsamkeit, die den Charme der Platte letztendlich ausmachen und ein wenig darüber hinwegtrösten, dass SHATTERED HOPE sich von den fesselnden Melodien ihres Debüts abgewandt haben und mit ihrem zweiten Album andere Pfade beschreiten. Dennoch ist ”WATERS OF LETHE” eine stimmige und starke Platte mit viel Epik geworden, die zwar nicht jedem Fan von ”ABSENCE” gezusagen wird, allerdings im Sektor des Funeral Doom Metals reichlich Anhänger finden sollte.

Author: Urkraft