Station Dysthymia - Overhead, Without Any Fuss, The Stars Were Going Out (CD)

Review
Doom-Metal.com
9/10
27.07.2014

Four years after its first album 'Only Gray Days', the Russian band Station Dysthymia released its sophomore, introducing a certain number of evolutions - thematic as well as musical - to its Funeral Doom. The morose, grayish and urban atmosphere of the debut album has indeed been replaced here by a more spacy, cosmic and at times cataclysmic one, drawing its influence from Science Fiction literature: the title of the album being, in fact, a quote from "The Nine Billion Names of God", a short story by the famous writer Arthur C. Clarke.

And 'A Concrete Wall', the 35-minute-long monster opening the album, is a perfect illustration of this concept. The "Concrete Wall" to which the title relates is simply the end of times, the Armageddon itself, the last moment before our whole world vanishes into the void. The particularly elaborated and detailed illustration that the Russian musicians give us of this shows how incommensurable and implacable such an event obviously is, through a songwriting work as evocative as it is fascinating. One of the most memorable ways this is dealt with is in the parallelism noticeable between the topical progression and the musical progression; the various sequences of the track are linked in a very narrative fashion, which makes it something more than just a simple song about the Apocalypse: a real audio description of this event.
For example, in the first part of the track - though there's no attempt to hide the fact that the end is near and that the whole world is doomed - the lyrics have a mystical tone which could let us think that the zen acceptance of our fate is the only thing able to help us in such a trial; this being translated musically through a dark chorus repetitively asking us to "embrace end of times", and through Tibetan throat singing. But when, after a long instrumental interlude - where the Doom Metal instrumentation is replaced by a far more experimental style, both minimalist and complex and based on a hypnotic use of strange guitar effects (which seem to embody the doubt arising in the mind of the most experienced Zen master) - the sung parts finally return, the lyrics have lost a substantial part of their mysticism and have become much more nihilistic and down-to-earth: since the whole universe is condemned to extinction, no matter how morally or immorally you choose to live out the remaining time.
When, finally, the catastrophe really begins, the listener can hear a terrifying concert of screams of horror (featuring M.Hater and I.Stellarghost from Abstract Spirit, the latter being also responsible for the synths on the ending track), embodying the whole of Humanity being obliterated and vanishing into nothingness. It's not surprising, therefore, that from this point the rest of the composition remains strictly instrumental: the only real way to depict the cloud of particles floating in the spatial void that, from then, will be the last evidence of Eath's past existence. A song as cataclysmic as its is captivating, from start to finish..

So captivating, in fact, that one could wonder if the rest of the album is really dispensable, and if there's really anything left to add to such a masterpiece. It may not be surprising, then, that 'Ichor', the next song, is at first not wholly convincing. Though this track is interesting, overall, and adds new elements to the band's sound (a part with an organ, for example), it's still too soon after 'A Concrete Wall', and too conventional compared to it, to really catch the attention of a listener still under the influence of the aforementioned behemoth. However, after a certain number of plays 'Ichor' grows in interest, notably due to the few melancholic passages it contains and which prefigure the two last tracks. Indeed, the latter ones display a sadder, yet still astral and spacy, atmosphere, making these tracks really interesting, though not as impressive as 'A Concrete Wall'. It's also noticeable that these songs don't forget to surprise the listener, such as with the short but odd acceleration in 'A Rude Awakening', which is reminiscent of 'The Trip' from the band's first album. These two last tracks and, to a lesser extent, 'Ichor', lead the listener in a strange kind of cosmic depression, like the one that an astronaut would feel while watching from space as his home planet undergoes the events described in 'A Concrete Wall'...

To conclude, 'Overhead, Without Any Fuss, The Stars Were Going Out' is an excellent album, impressing by its strong atmosphere and by the skilful songwriting displayed, especially in the first song. Station Dysthymia is clearly a band to keep an eye on.

Author: Louis Halard

Review
Chronicles of Chaos
8.5/10
23.12.2013

_Overhead, Without Any Fuss, the Stars Were Going Out_ (_OWAFtSWGO_?), the second album by this unheralded Russian group of four anonymous musicians, is probably -- together with Abstract Spirit's _Theomorphic Defectiveness_ -- the most interesting musical offering of the year 2013 when compared to the other albums released by the very productive label Solitude Productions. Among the plethora of inconsequential Gothic doom and other melodic and mostly uninspired doom albums, this album whose name I shall not repeat (one of the longest titles in the history of metal?) shines like a black diamond with a pulsating bright core, overshadowing almost entirely the other dozen or more releases Solitude has generously bestowed upon me.
If to judge only upon what's been offered to the world by Solitude Productions, 2013 has been a very dull year for doom metal specifically; but once you choose quality over quantity, suffice to say a couple of brilliant Solitude Productions releases have more than compensated for the overall lack of quality.

These two aforementioned albums, namely Station Dysthymia's second opus and Abstract Spirit's above mentioned masterpiece -- both by Russian bands, both offering a very different and alien sound to the masses -- have got another common factor in the form of Abstract Spirit's band members appearing in the recording as guest musicians (mainly additional vocals and synthesizers), but make no mistakes here: Station Dysthymia's sophomore album is nothing like the music of Abstract Spirit -- not even close.

Instead, this relatively unknown band of four offer a very different musical landscape, embodied especially in the album's monumental first track, a monster of a song titled "A Concrete Wall": 35 minutes of dystopian soundscapes of total nihilism, industrial dehumanization and urban decay you could actually feel hitting you right in the face, with their foul, hot stench, strange, almost psychedelic leanings, guitar effects and strumming that correspond with shoegaze and post-rock-ish etiquette, droning high-pitched and primitive "solos" and spoken, often processed, almost militarized vocals chanting over and over again how fucked we all are and that we should embrace the End of Times and all that.

The atmosphere is suffocating and raw, and the 35 minutes of that first track (out of the 72 minutes of total playing time) are the most interesting thing this album has got to offer; some bizarre, unsettling post-apocalyptic hymn to all that is decaying and rotting away, played in a very slow, held back, manner, conjuring sinister landscapes, sentiments of mystery and dark emotions of despair.

Those who appreciate the sound of Dolorian's monumental self titled album must check out this record, or even just that very first track, for the rest of the album comprises mediocre, if effective, funeral doom of sorts. Although it shares the same velocity with that of the opening track, it is far removed both in aesthetics and originality from it, ultimately sounding nothing like the intimidating, ritualistic and dark "A Concrete Wall".

_Overhead, Without Any Fuss, the Stars Were Going Out_ (here, I did it again; I actually wrote the whole damn album title again...) has taken me by total surprise for being so good and captivating as it is, and for embracing a unique sound and style rarely heard in the underground circles: grey and lifeless music, mind numbing and soul crushing with its sonic portrayal of an absolute hopelessness and doom. Station Dysthymia could have easily released a single track album comprising of that first, 35-minutes long track and get all the praise it deserves -- instead they had to slightly ruin it with additional (and totally redundant, for that matter) three tracks of average funeral doom that have got absolutely nothing to do with the sombre magnificence of the opening song.

Overall, this album is a great newcomer and one of 2013's best offerings. Check out "A Concrete Wall" on the band's Bandcamp site -- it will blow your fucking mind!

Author: Chaim Drishner

Review
Hardsounds
7/10
16.09.2013

Secondo capitolo a distanza di quattro anni dall'esordio 'Only Gray Days' per gli Station Dythymia, ennesima funeral doom band proveniente dalla Russia, terra fertile per il genere anche grazie al marchio della Solitude Prod. che non lesina mai su nuove uscite. Il sound proposto è puro funeral doom pesante e avvolgente, senza fronzoli e con la sola intenzione di volere essere null'altro che desolazione nei suoni dilatati che si annidano nei meandri delle song che scorrono in 'Overhead, Without Any Fuss, The Stars Were Going Out'. Le quattro lunghe traccie che lo compongono vi scaveranno dentro e vi accompagneranno nel silenzio angosciante su di un sentiero senza fine; la sola track iniziale "A Concrete Wall" può diventare un muro ossessivamente insormontabile da scavalcare se non si è pronti e collaudati ascoltatori del genere: non si vedrà mai la luce dei restanti tre brani vista la sua durata di ben 34 minuti. La preziosa collaborazione di Grag Chandler degli Esoteric in sede di consolle rende i suoni glaciali come una notte d'inverno siberiano, la stessa notte che vi accompagnerà lungo tutto il sentiero di 'Overhead, Without Any Fuss, The Stars Were Going Out'.

Un album che farà la felicità di chi non cerca altro che puro funeral doom.

Author: Salvatore Palladino

Review
Spirit of Metal
30.08.2013

Pour son second album, la formation russe Station Dysthymia nous propose un Funeral Doom riche et difficile d'accès qui n'est pas sans évoquer Esoteric (la présence de Greg Chandler au mastering n'est d'ailleurs pas surprenante), et qui cherche à traduire en musique des thématiques tirées de la science-fiction, le titre de l'album étant d'ailleurs une citation d'une nouvelle d'Arthur C. Clarke, auteur en autres de l'Odyssée de l'Espace.

Et A Concrete Wall, véritable mastodonte de 35 minutes qui ouvre l'album, est une parfaite illustration de ce concept. Le "mur concret" du titre correspond à la fin des temps, à l’Armageddon, au point à partir duquel ne subsiste que le néant. L'illustration que nous en font les musiciens russes, particulièrement travaillée, retranscrit à merveille la dimension incommensurable et implacable d'un tel évènement, à travers un travail de composition aussi évocateur que passionnant. Ainsi, l'un des points les plus importants à remarquer est le parallélisme qui s'instaure entre progression musicale et progression thématique, les différentes séquences du morceau s'enchainant de manière très narrative, faisant de la piste non pas une chanson sur l'Apocalypse, mais bel et bien une description sonore de l'évènement.
Par exemple, lors de la première partie le chant comme les paroles sont extrêmement pessimistes et ne laissent aucun espoir quand au futur de l'humanité, la seule porte de sortie semblant être une acceptation mystique de notre fin, traduite au sein du morceau par des chœurs sombres nous enjoignant de nous abandonner à la fin des temps ainsi que par des passages en chant de gorge tibétain. Mais lorsque la musique plonge vers des dimensions bien plus minimalistes, cette "zénitude" semble vaciller, la guitare parvenant de manière inexplicable à incarner le doute qui s'instille dans l'esprit des mystiques les plus aguerris. Il n'est donc pas surprenant de voir que la suite des paroles aborde la question d'un point de vue bien plus nihiliste: puisque tous disparaîtront, peu importe la manière de vivre cette fin.
Et lorsqu'enfin l’Armageddon commence bel et bien, c'est un concert de hurlements qui nous en avertit (au sein duquel on notera la présence en guest de M.Hater et I.Stellarghost d'Abstract Spirit, la demoiselle proposant également ses talents de claviériste sur le morceau de fin) et qui incarne l'humanité toute entière en train de se consumer, le reste du morceau étant d'ailleurs à partir de ce point instrumental, seule véritable manière de dépeindre le nuage de poussière flottant dans le vide qui sera à ce moment là l'unique témoin de l'existence passée de notre monde. Un morceau aussi cataclysmique que passionnant de bout en bout.

A tel point que le reste de l'album pourrait sembler inutile, car après tout, que reste-t-il vraiment à dire suite à cela ? De fait, le morceau Ichor ne convainc pas totalement au premier abord: bien que musicalement la qualité soit bel et bien présente et que de nouveaux éléments soient mis en avant (un passage mettant en scène un orgue notamment), il reste trop proche de A Concrete Wall pour intéresser un auditeur encore sous l'emprise du mastodonte précité, et s'apprécie mieux après qu'un certain nombre d'écoutes aient permis de dissiper le choc initial que nous fait subir la découverte du début de l'album.
Les deux morceaux de fin, Starlit: A Rude Awakening et l'instrumentale Starlit: We Rest at Last sont par contre bien plus aptes à se démarquer de part leur dimension bien plus mélancolique et mélodique, tout en n'oubliant pas de surprendre à l'occasion (l'étrange et trop courte accélération sur A Rude Awakening en est un bon exemple). Une paire de morceaux nous plongeant dans une sorte de spleen cosmique, de promenade dépressive dans l'espace, parmi les étoiles.

En clair, ce Overhead, without Any Fuss, the Stars Were Going Out est un excellent album, qui après un premier contact qui risque sans doute de s'avérer légèrement ardu pour beaucoup d'auditeurs gagnera en puissance au fil des écoutes. Le groupe russe va au bout de son concept et nous livre une petite perle d'ambiance et de richesse..

Author: Peacewalker

Review
R.U.M. Zine

Doom metalové tažení po světě pokračuje, ovšem tentokrát se jedná o skutečný EXTRÉM! Ruská tryzna STATION DYSTHYMIA na svém druhém počinu pokračuje v nastolené cestě totálního funeralu, jež svou obsáhlostí zakresluje do myslí posluchačů obrazy nepodobné ambientním zákoutím. Zvukový tok za přispění tradičních nástrojů je totiž absurdně-monotonní sbíječkou, která vytváří aroma zatuchlosti a bezbřehého smradu. Tenhle materiál je o naprosté nedýchatelnosti. Čelo se potí, ruce se třesou a nelibé tóny pomalu směřují až k ušním bubínkům. Je tohle ještě hudební umění? Založí na okolnostech…a především přístupu samotného posluchače.

Předně je třeba připomenout, že produkce STATION DYSTHYMIA připomíná živou hmotu, která se hýbe pouze po milimetrech. Vlastně ani nelze čekat na nějaké kulminace nálad či něčeho podobného. Tahle kulisa se zkrátka vleče a vleče a vleče…výsledek pochopitelně žádný, ale proč ho také čekat? Jde v podstatě jen o atmosféru, jež vychází ze zvukového válce, pomaličku valícího se do údolí smrti. Ale je tohle ještě „hudba“ pro milovníka doom metalové klasiky? Asi stěží, byť spousta šílenců si bude při téhle depresivní platformě hojit duševní rány. Ale znovu…proč NE? Možná, že i za tímto účelem STATION DYSTHYMIA tvoří. Je však otázkou, jestli jde v jejich případě o pouhou improvizaci, anebo zda-li jsou schopni alespoň částečně něco z uvedeného materiálu použít i naživo. Při projíždění ústřední kompozice „A Concerte Wall“, čítající víc jak třicet minut, mám dojem, že je to patrně nemožné. Ale třeba se pletu…

Ovšem tak jak je hudba kapely tajemná, úplně stejně je to s identitou jednotlivých členů. Posuďte sami: Za hlasovým murmurem, dá se říci dalším to nástrojem, je schován mistr B., obsluhující zároveň i basu. Dále tu máme kytaristy A.+ S. a v neposlední řadě tu ještě najdeme poslední „písmenko“, kterým je O (jinak bicí). Jedinou známou a zároveň pojmenovanou osobou v bookletu je Greg Chandler z ESOTERIC, v jehož studiu byl zrealizován finální mastering. Pravý důkaz toho, že na tvorbě těchto podivínů přece jen něco je, i když na tohle krédo si každý posluchač musí přijít sám.

STATION DYSTHYMIA tímto se tímto albem znovu dotkli hranic v překonávání zatuchlosti a pochopitelně také pomalosti. Experiment? Kam až se dá vůbec zajít? Mnozí z vás se asi budou ptát, k čemu všemu tohle všechno vlastně je. Má odpověď? Každý jsme hold z úplně jiného těsta. Tahle hudební hmota se ze sta najde cca. dvě procenta posluchačů a podle mého názoru je vůbec obdivuhodné, že se borci něčemu takovému vůbec propůjčili. Nicméně celá řada psoluchačů zkouší neustále nové věci, zkouší hledat a právě pro tyto dobrodruhy je deska „Overhead, Without Any Fuss, The Stars Were Going Out“ jako dělaná. Stay slowly!