When Nothing Remains - In Memoriam (CD)

melodic doom death, Solitude Productions, Solitude Productions
600.00 Р
Price in points: 900 points
SP. 114-16 x
In stock
+
The third album by the Swedish masters of atmospheric doom death metal features everything the band is loved for: melodic compositions decorated with catchy guitar solos and atmospheric keyboards, with a harmonious blend of clean vocals and growl. At the same time, the symphonic sound is now the key element, which gives the material a special expression, epic and originality. Conceptually, the artwork of the CD completes the story told in the previous two albums, the tragic story of love, life and death, begun in 1800.

Tracklist:
1 Reunited In The Grave 10:53
2 Drowning In Sorrows 5:49
3 In Memoriam 6:51
4 Ghost Story 7:52
5 The Soil In My Hand 4:09
6 A Lake Of Frozen Tears 7:48
7 Eternal Slumber 6:46
8 While She Sleeps 7:56
9 The Spirits In The Woods 3:32

Artist:
When Nothing Remains
Artist Country:
Sweden
Album Year:
2016
Title:
In Memoriam
Genre:
melodic doom death
Format:
CD
Type:
CD Album
Package:
Jewel Case
Label:
Solitude Productions
Cat Num:
SP. 114-16
Release Year:
2016
Barcode:
4 627080 610958
Country Of Manufacture:
Russia
Review
Iye Zine
7.8/10
27.02.2016

A poco più di due anni dallo splendido Thy Dark Serenity arriva il terzo full length degli svedesi When Nothing Remains, una della band che nel decennio in corso ha contribuito ad elevare il livello del death doom melodico.

Le aspettative erano perciò molte, visto che il disco precedente sembrava propedeutico alla pubblicazione del capolavoro definitivo, capace di trasportare la creatura fondata da Peter Laustsen e Jan Sallander fino all’empireo del genere, là dove sono assisi i Saturnus.
Purtroppo l’obiettivo, almeno per questa volta, non viene raggiunto: In Memoriam è un gran bel lavoro, sia chiaro, e conferma quanto di buono questi musicisti scandinavi hanno mostrato fin dai primi passi della band, ma il livello emotivo raggiunto con Thy Dark Serenity viene sfiorato solo a tratti.
Questa constatazione è nata da un semplice esperimento: a un certo punto ho interrotto l’ascolto di In Memoriam ed ho programmato, una di seguito all’altra, quelle due gemme intitolate I Forgive You e Like An Angel Funeral e qui, l’infallibile lacrimometro, personalissimo ma attendibile strumento di misura del grado di commozione, ha mostrato quanto il pathos emanato da quelle due superbe canzoni non venisse mai raggiunto nell’ultima raccolta di brani.
Dopo i primi ascolti l’album mi sembrava addirittura anonimo poi, insistendo e cercando di sgombrare la mente da quelle aspettative che, appunto, mi impedivano di fruire in maniera fluida dei contenuti musicali, la bontà della proposta è emersa con chiarezza tanto da spingermi a parlarne in maniera tutt’altro che negativa.
Le varie Drowning in Sorrows, la title track, A Lake of Frozen Tears e While She Sleeps sono a loro volta preziose tracce alle quali manca solo quella drammaticità in grado di lacerare l’anima e ed abbattere le residue difese che la nostra psiche erige di fronte a certe toccanti rappresentazioni del dolore in musica.
Detto ciò, In Memoriam è un bellissimo disco che chi predilige questo genere amerà sicuramente, in virtù di una pulizia sonora invidiabile e di una vis romantica e malinconica che pervade ogni nota, ma per il capolavoro bisogna aspettare il prossimo giro; io comunque continuo a crederci …

Author: Stefano Cavanna
Review
Gorger’s Metal
28.02.2016

Swedish When Nothing Remains was created by the gentlemen Peter Laustsen and Jan Sallander in 2010. Both active in The Cold Existence and with a common past in wonderful Nox Aurea. The band debuted with marvellous As All Torn Asunder in 2012, and released their third work, In Memoriam a short week ago.
As the title suggests, there is still no cheerful tunes to detect. The title hopefully indicates only that, and nothing more.

Swedish musicians does nothing halfway. My neighbouring country have excelled greatly in two very different death metal scenes, originating respectively in Stockholm and Gothenburg, and they almost touch upon our own black metal scene. Swedes have also excelled in folk, viking, retro-heavy, and a plethora of other genres. With band such as October Tide, Doom:VS, Draconian, In Mourning, Lake Of Tears, Soijl et al., the nation gives gloomy Britons and depressive Finns good competition.

When Nothing Remains plays gothic infused death/doom with symphonic remedies. Their melancholic metal is not so grieving that there is no room for hope in the end of the tunnel. The band is not quite as heavy, dark and gloomy as Nox Aurea, and the vocals are definitely not as ominous. Said two gentlemen take care of clearly articulated growling and delightful clean vocals. When these are growl-sung together, it creates a stylish guttural-melodic whole.

The band is in the gentle end of the death/doom scale, and beautiful melodies are central to the band’s songs. In Memoriam contains ten tracks, where the most typical song duration lasts from six to eight minutes. Altogether transcending the hour. The songs vary through different passages, but always with a continuous leitmotif. It meanders naturally as curving trails along the mountain side, shaped by nature’s indifferent slopes.
In Memoriam also completes a probably quite dramatic trilogy concept about life, death and love, with the storyline place in early 19th century.

Fans of this melodic, quite mild form of deadly orchestral doomsday goth will probably enjoy this album as well. Whether it offers anything new is a different question. The album is graceful and elegant, but I also feel that the Swedes have only tinkered with an old recipe, and sort of reinvented the wheel. Personally, I’m a bit more inclined toward darker and more sinister variants like Helrunar and said Nox Aurea, and more depressive breeds, as various obvious British, Finnish and Swedish references.
Nevertheless, a beautiful, almost romantic album, which probably will strike your heart as cupids arrow if you’re in the target audience.
Review
Doom-Metal.com
9/10
22.02.2016

Following on from ‘As All Torn Asunder’ (2012) and ‘Thy Dark Serenity’ (2013), third album ‘In Memoriam’ from Sweden’s When Nothing Remains gives no reason to doubt that it is a continuation of the same story. Once again released by Solitude Productions, wrapped in Zoltan Horvath’s very-recognisable artwork, the cover completes a triptych of Victoriana-styled pieces: the ghosts of the original couple now watch calmly over a younger descendent (a granddaughter, perhaps, if they are fully chronological in order), while lupine beasts circle their graves and the Apocalyptic Horseman wait in the background.

In tandem with that, Daniela Svennson returns to flesh out lyrics on one song, while Tobias Leffler seamlessly takes up the main lyrical duties, collecting together another loosely-coupled set of narratives on wintry death, loss and sorrow. Behind the scenes, and one of the reasons it’s been a while in arriving, the band has had a bit of a reshuffle – taking on a new drummer and rhythm guitarist Tobias, while Jan Sallander moves from rhythm to bass – but that hasn’t changed the essential nature of the project: it remains a vehicle for the lush, symphonic compositions and arrangements of the band’s founder members, Sallander and Peter Laustsen.

When it comes to Swedish Gothic/Doom, there’s one obvious name which casts a very long shadow, and, indeed, Draconian’s Johan Ericsson was a long-standing guest clean vocalist, while Jerry Torstensson was the drummer on ‘Thy Dark Serenity’. Even so, When Nothing Remains have always stood out from under that shadow, establishing an identity that draws from the same ’90s Gothic/Death/Doom sources but merges it with significant symphonic Gothic Metal elements – at heart, perhaps more like that other Swedish Gothic/Doom band: The Equinox Ov The Gods. ‘In Memoriam’ continues the arc away from those original influences, though, with a further evolution of their trademark male/male ‘Beauty and the Beast’ vocal duets and wide range of synthesised orchestral instruments into ever-more sophisticated realms.

It is, in fact, a luscious, crisply-produced tug on every heartstring going – melodic tracks typical of the preceding albums, such as ‘Drowning In Sorrows’ and ‘Eternal Slumber’, rubbing shoulders with the MDB violin and riffs of ‘Ghost Story’, through ‘The Soil In My Hand’s Within Temptation-esque female-vocalled slow dance, to the weepy Gaelic folk theme of closer ‘The Spirits In The Woods’, which could easily have graced a Clannad album. Musically, it never fails to convince with its stately and majestic backbone of guitars and percussion underwriting some tremendous keyboard lines and synth/programming work: the depth and spread of that in places as full-sounding as a Therion-style band-and-orchestra extravaganza. And, once past the rather dubious spoken doggerel introducing the album, the interplay between clean and harsh vocals is perfectly balanced, declaiming passion and pain in equal measures. Every note and nuance, as might be expected, is rendered with a delicious clarity: the mix and mastering commendably spot-on for the material.

You could say that it essentially touches base with more or less every emotive Gothic oeuvre imaginable, to the point of haunting familiarity and aching nostalgia. But that’s the thing with music in romantic Gothic genres: its themes and boundaries are so well-established as to be cliché; what matters is not really that it embraces them, but how effectively it renders them. By that yardstick, ‘In Memoriam”s polished portrayal of the beautiful sorrow of fleeting, tragic existence is a near-flawless one. On the Doom side of the equation, it’s a little more ambiguous, though. The pace is certainly slow, often funereal, and the excellent growls and (limited) guitar leads are both classic Doom elements, but the expansively melodic melancholy pervading the album gives it an overall accessibility and spaciousness rather than any great sense of darkness and despair. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it does skew the likely audience somewhat. As my colleague Mark observed of ‘Thy Dark Serenity’: “To me, this is a Doom album suited more for listeners outside the genre and curious, than those already living within it”. If anything, I’d see ‘In Memoriam’ as a step further in that “gateway” direction, at least as likely to reach out to fans of Epica or Lacrimosa, and beyond, as to those of Lycanthia or Draconian.

Regardless, if you fall anywhere on that spectrum, you should find it no problem at all to spend an hour drifting with the languid tides of ‘In Memoriam’, knowing there are no hidden depths or dangers to drag you down. Much as the cover depicts, it’s a serene refuge in well-worn and comforting griefs, while any greater perils are held at bay, left to prowl outside. Don’t be surprised, either, if you find snatches of it echoing in your thoughts afterwards – some of the hooklines are fearsomely catchy. Even if you prefer your misery delivered in harder-edged packages, it would be hard to refute the quality and completeness When Nothing Remains have made their own: sure, it’s comparatively light by Doom standards, but without contrast, there is no darkness, either – right?

Author: Mike Liassides
Review
Reckoning Hour
7/10

Οι When Nothing Remains είναι ένα από τα δυνατά ονόματα της underground doom/death metal σκηνής της Σουηδίας και με την τρίτη τους κυκλοφορία ευελπιστούν να πλασαριστούν στις παραδοσιακές δυνάμεις του ήχου.

Το “In Memoriam” είναι όντως πολύ καλύτερο συγκριτικά με τις 2 προηγούμενες δουλειές τους αλλά όχι αρκετό για να τους κάνει να ξεχωρίσουν τόσο εύκολα από το πλήθος των συγκροτημάτων του συγκεκριμένου ήχου. Με πολλά πλήκτρα στον ήχο τους, με καθαρά αντρικά και γυναικεία φωνητικά αλλά και growls, με μελαγχολικές κυρίως στιγμές αλλά και κάποια πιο δυναμικά ξεσπάσματα, τηρούν πιστά όλες τις πεπατημένες και τα στάνταρντ του ηχητικού ύφους που έχουν επιλέξει να ακολουθήσουν. Και το κάνουν καλά, είναι καλοί μουσικοί, έχουν όμορφες ιδέες αλλά για να ξεχωρίσεις στο συγκεκριμένο στυλ αυτό που χρειάζεται είναι πάθος και ψυχή τα οποία να μεταδίδονται από τη μουσική και τους στίχους. Η προσπάθεια τους να παντρέψουν όλα τα στοιχεία μαζί σε αυτόν το δίσκο τους κάνει να χάνουν κάποιους πόντους αντί για να κερδίζουν.

Είμαι λίγο αυστηρός στη συγκεκριμένη κυκλοφορία απλά και μόνο γιατί οι Σουηδοί έχουν όλα τα προσόντα να ξεχωρίσουν. Ηχητικά θυμίζουν αρκετά τους συμπατριώτες τους Draconian που μάλλον είναι και από τις κυριότερες επιρροές τους. Κι αφού τα λέμε όλα, το εξώφυλλο είναι απλά απαράδεκτο για μια doom/death metal μπάντα, θυμίζει europower group Β΄κατηγορίας. Αυτές είναι λεπτομέρειες που πρέπει να προσεχτούν.

Για να μη μακρυγορώ, το “In Memoriam” είναι ένας αρκετά καλός δίσκος με όμορφες στιγμές, αρκετή δόση μελαγχολίας και πολλές ιδέες. Ακούγεται πολύ εύκολα κι ευχάριστα από κάθε φίλο του είδους. Απλά πλέον οι When Nothing Remains έφτασαν σε ένα πολύ κομβικό σημείο. Ή θα κάνουν το τελικό ξεπέταγμά τους με τον επόμενό τους δίσκο ή που θα παραμείνουν ένα συγκρότημα που απλά κυκλοφορεί συμπαθητικές doom/death metal δουλειές. Εδώ δεν τα κατάφεραν, στο χέρι τους είναι να το κάνουν με την επόμενη κυκλοφορία τους.
Review
Doomed to Darkness
8/10
23.02.2016

When Nothing Remains are a band from Sweden that plays a mixture of goth, doom and death metal and this is a review of their 2016 album “In Memoriam” which was released by Solitude Productions.

Nature sounds and synths start off the album along with some spoken word parts also being utilized at times and the music also mixes in a very tragic and atmospheric musical style and after awhile the music starts going into more of a heavy and melodic musical style that is in more of a doom metal vein.

When solos and leads are utilized they remain true to a very melodic and depressive musical style and most of the tracks are very long and epic in length and they also utilize a lot of death metal growls that are very easy to understand while some clean singing goth vocals are also brought into some parts of the songs.

Spoken word parts can be heard in the music briefly and the songs also bring back a lot of the early 90’s atmospheric doom/death metal style while also mixing in some more modern symphonic elements and when screams are used for a few seconds they bring in a touch of black metal and there are also female vocals on one of the later songs and they give the music more of an operatic feeling and the whole album also sticks to a very slow musical direction.

When Nothing Remains plays a style of gothic doom/death metal that is very atmospheric and rooted in the 90’s while also mixing in more modern symphonic elements to update the genre for modern days, the production sounds very professional while the lyrics cover sorrow, love and tragedy themes.

In my opinion When Nothing Remains are a very great sounding mixture of goth, doom and death metal and if you are a fan of those musical genres, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE “Drowning In Sorrows” “Ghost Story” and “While She Sleeps”.

Author: OccultBlackMetal
Review
Zombie Ritual Fanzine
14.03.2016

This is an excellent piece of doom/death metal, with oppressive elements, high quality orchestra arrangements and totally obscured atmospheres.

Coming from Gothenburg, Sweden, this band is on its third full length album already, and definitely they know exactly how to sound and how to transmit cold and depressive tunes. All tracks have slow and mid pace structures with iconic guitar riffs and profound gutturals. I’m quite impressed because of these incisive keyboards atmospheres and superb orchestrations. This band has quite eclectic tastes as they dare to add distinctive elements from other music genres, and the mix is not bad at all. The track “The Soil in my hand” we can hear female vocals with exquisite harmonies, and this is a beautiful song with touches of folk, and atmospheric stuff with synths. My only complaint is that 9 tracks of depressive and slow music makes me feel tired and a bit bored, but this album is ok, and definitely one of the best of the genre, I’ve heard from Europe this year. It’s highly recommended for followers of doom/ atmospheric metal genre

Author: Victor Varas
Review
Blood Chamber
9/10
02.03.2016

Eines der ganz wenigen Labels, die es immer wieder schaffen zu Blindkäufen zu verleiten, ist das auf Doom Metal spezialisierte russische Label Solitude Productions. Und eine ganz besondere Beziehung zu diesem hat dann auch die Haus- und Hofband WHEN NOTHING REMAINS, hat nämlich eben jene aktuell das komplette Mitteleuropageschäft übernommen. Ein prima Schachzug, wenn man dabei an das eigene Promoting denkt. Allerdings reicht für eine gewisse Qualität leider nur sehr selten das reine Marketing als Maßstab.

Also was ist das nun für eine Reise, auf die uns die vier Schweden auf ”In Memoriam” mitnehmen wollen? Rein optisch betrachtet, nimmt man die Cover der beiden Vorgänger als Vorlage, sind es die selben ausgetretenen Pfade der Jahre 2012 und 2013. Nun, das ist bestimmt nicht schlecht, wenn an diese Alben angeknüpft werden kann, sind doch beide mehr als nur hörenswert. Und so ist die Spielart auf der aktuellen Scheibe eben genau da anzusiedeln. Vielleicht sind hier und da die Gothic Elemente ein wenig deutlicher, aber der eigentliche Charme ist in jeder Sekunde der, der die Band ausmacht: Melodisch melancholisches Taktgeschleppe.
Das Tempo ist sicherlich langsam, oft an der Grenze zum Funeral, aber auf der klassischen Seite der Elementarlehre des Dooms finden sich ausgezeichnete Growls und sanftes Gesäusel, sowie auf der instrumentalen Seite schöne behäbige Gitarrenriffs, die gemütlich den Weg voran schreiten. So entsteht eine Art des leichteren Zugangs zu in diese Welt, was bei vielen Veröffentlichungen in diesem Genre mitunter völlig abhanden gekommen ist. Also weniger Haut von Gans, sondern mehr Gemütlichkeit. Für mich ist dieses ein Album, das geeignet ist mehr für die Zuhörer außerhalb der Doom-Welt zu tun. Und wer durch Bands wie MY DYING BRIDE, DOOM:VS oder in Maßen sogar DRACONIAN bereits in dieser lebt, der sollte ruhig neugierig sein.

”In Memoriam” ist ein Werk, das aus einem Stück gegossen wurde. Es glänzt durch eine satte Produktion und verleiht den einzelnen Stücken enormen Tiefgang. Daher ist es auch schwer einzelne Tracks aus der Masse herauszuheben, als Anspieltipp möchte ich daher die Songs 1-4 und 5-9 hervorheben. Natürlich werden ausgewiese Szenekenner monieren, dass WHEN NOTHING REMAINS nicht so wahnsinnig viel an Innovation an den Tag legen und sich wirklich sehr häufig bei den oben genannten Bands bedienen, nur ich für meinen Teil muss sagen, dass diese Art von musikalischer Aufarbeitung von Referenzen hervorragend funktioniert und ein Album hervorgebracht worden ist, das wirklich eine komplette Stunde zu unterhalten vermag.

Author: Thomas Schönbeck [ts]
Review
Franconia Metallum

In seiner Grundausrichtung ist “IN MEMORIAM” sehr melodisch gehalten, und dazu passt die Stimme von Jan Sallander sehr gut. An manchen Stellen klingt sie regelrecht traurig. Mit großartigen Songs wie dem schleppenden “DROWNING IN SORROWS”, das kriechende “A LAKE OF FROZEN TEARS” mit tiefen Growls, wobei bei den anderen Songs auch Klar-und Sprechgesang eingesetzt wird oder dem flotten “ETERNAL SLUMBER”, kann man aber auch nichts falsch machen.
Das schwere “GHOST STORY” mit seinem prägnanten Refrain öffnet die Türe, “IN MEMORIAM” doomt zunächst lässig vor sich hin, bevor es mit dem flotteren letzten Drittel überrascht. Das schnörkellose “WHILE SHE SLEEPS” ist die Nummer mit dem größte Hit-Potential, gefolgt von dem über 10 minütigen Opener “REUNITED IN THE GRAVES”. “THE SOIL IN MY HAND” brilliert mit weiblichen Vocals und zum Abschluss rundet ein sehr atmosphärisches Outro das Album ab.

Author: Thomas Müller
Review
Dead Rhetoric
8/10
29.02.2016

Sometimes it boggles the mind who some bands stay below the radar for so long, despite continued excellence. Take a look at When Nothing Remains, a death doom band that has been doing their thing for three albums at this point. Not much on the pre-release hype train, but then again, who needs hype when you can pull off this genre of music with this much finesse?

The doom/death approach of When Nothing Remains is mostly tried and true (in the realms of say, Draconian, Novembers Doom, or Swallow the Sun), but the level of songwriting is what makes the difference here. Lumbering and melancholic riffs really tug at the listener, offering plenty in the way of sadness and sorrow. But there’s something so elegant about the melodies that are interlocked into each track, and the background work that makes them so highly emotive. Using keyboards (and strings in particular) to elevate the mood, tracks like “Ghost Story” carry the downtrodden weight that the genre is known for, but also a certain degree of epic majesty. The atmosphere that is conveyed from beginning to end never moves from being compelling. In terms of highlights, “The Soil in My Hand” switching things up with female clean vocals and softer tones and serves as a nice centerpiece, and the opening track “Reunited in the Grave” nicely opens things up with 10-minutes of doom/death magic, effectively showcasing everything to come: sullen atmosphere, great growl/clean dynamics, and crawling riffs atop serene melodies. The cover art (and it’s relation to the previous two album covers) is worth noting as well, which is rather unique and quite fitting to the music within.

Maybe third time is the charm for When Nothing Remains, who have built up an excellent discography. Sure to be a sleeper hit this year, In Memoriam is a damn-near must have if you enjoy doom/death in its purest form.

Author: Kyle McGinn
Review
Lords of Metal
6.5/10

Deze band komt uit Zweden en speelt gothic/doom. Grote inspirators zijn ongetwijfeld Theatre Of Tragedy, maar nog meer Draconian. Net als bij hun grote voorbeelden wordt gebruik maakt van een zware grunt en een lieflijke sopraan, een combinatie die eigenlijk altijd wel werkt. Daarnaast zijn er natuurlijk allerlei sfeer verhogende effecten uit de keyboards te horen. Alles is keurig op elkaar afgestemd, alles klopt en alles gaat zoals bij het genoemde grote voorbeeld. Op één klein detail na: er is bijna niet door te komen. Dat ligt niet aan mijn smaak, want bovengenoemde bands kan ik wel degelijk hebben, maar het tempo ligt zo laag dat de songs een eeuwigheid lijken te duren. Melodieën gaan soms zo traag voorbij dat je zit te wachten open de volgende toon. In de songs waar het tempo wat omhoog gaat is duidelijk wat de klasse van deze band is, want nummers als ‘A Lake Of Frozen Tears’ en ‘In Memoriam’ zijn sterke composities die vragen om meer luisterbeurten. ‘When She Sleeps’ is zonder meer de mooiste tranentrekker. Maar aan de andere kant vragen liedjes als ‘Reunited In The Grave’ en ‘Drowning In Sorrow’ om overgeslagen te worden. Wat me verder opvalt is dat er ook gebruik wordt gemaakt van heldere mannelijke zang. Die is niet bijzonder overtuigend, in tegenstelling tot de grunts en de sopraan. Dat hadden ze beter anders kunnen indelen. Rest mij nog te zeggen dat het album en zeer goed geluid heeft. Voor de echte fan van gothic/doom is dit wellicht een fantastisch album, maar het metal gehalte is mij persoonlijk gewoon te laag.

Author: Wilco
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