Darktrance - Pessimum (CD)

Review
Forgotten Path
6/10

The third album from one-man project Darktrance, created by Дмитрий Губский from Ukraine is an example of Modern Black Metal. This music could be easily described as Atmospheric Black (I see some parallels with early Ulver). Also, it is particularly mixed with progressive consonances of Djent, which determines the quite unusual structure of songs and a weird virtual sense of space. I suppose that “Pessimum” is perfect for those who are fond of innovative sounds and support the label of third-age Black Metal or various terms of Post-Black; the aforementioned album has found itself in the embrace of these debatable concepts. Well, if you dig for some real naturalness and sincerity, not just technique and emotional hooks with the snakes of melody, you’ll be disappointed. As both the author’s of this project and creative journey (have played in two Melodic Death and in Djent bands) and the cover of the album lays down the law - here you won’t find any profoundness of Black Metal, but there prevails some characteristics to such a sounding state, which is going to be discussed at length.
Well, it seems that “Pessimum” is not really a pessimistic work; it is more melancholic and somehow not really melancholic beyond hope, but actually quite reminiscent of standard descriptions of moping and temperaments. The album is very long, strongly miscellaneous and a bit irritable; it is especially felt in the vocals which ply between sweet clear singing and an odd Hardcore/Screamo style - the transitions are often based on scarce details, the screaming is often inserted quite by surprise, but it is emotionally motivated. Especially vivid and pedantry which is characteristic to melancholy - the sounds are neatly seated in their places and don’t grow over other sounds; the music is peculiarly technically processed, all the empty mediums are filled with guitar effects or electronic sounds and sometimes there is no space left for arguably associative inserts. Also the melancholic reflection of the album is bright - a frustration about the present and at least musically quite an evident sight to the future: though it seems that the future doesn’t promise anything great, just as the cover shows - the grave, but the music still has lots of light; perhaps the author forgets the reality or is just glad for the fact that soon he won’t have to agonize. For instance, the song “Fall of the Emptiness” by its mood and title seem to speak not about tomorrow in the nothingness, but about a scenic socialistic or Jehovah’s Witnessess’ paradise with happy and equal people sitting around a table. But the melancholic voice is the brightest on this album (well, it often is characterized as weak and silent) - however, the author endeavours to introduce to us with ostensibly original music, only the echo of the clean voice could be heard, it is mixed with the new shouting. However, it is a rapidly forgotten echo...

Author: Bloodie

Review
Metal.tm
8/10

Bei DARKTRANCE handelt es sich um eine Ein-Mann-Band aus der Ukraine, genauer aus Kiev. Deimos nennt sich der junge Mann, der seine Kreativität offensichtlich nicht im Zaum halten kann, denn mit COLD RESISTANCE und DARGOTH hat der Gute tatsächlich noch zwei weitere Solo-Projekte am Start. Verrückt wie viele Ideen ein Einzelner doch haben kann, klingt "Pessimum" doch alles andere als uninspiriert oder ausgelutscht.
Die Mucke an sich ist zwar ziemlich unangenehm, kantig und depressiv, aber niemals schlecht oder langweilig. Gerade die ersten Songs auf dem Longplayer sind sehr schwere Kost, aber das erwartet man wohl auch, wenn ein Titel schon "Anthem of Melancholy" heißt. Die Mucke selbst schwankt doch sehr stark zwischen Black Metal à la FORGOTTEN TOMB und Indie-Gedöns, wie z.B. TOOL. DARKTRANCE setzen aber allem voran auf Atmosphäre und ich sage euch, dat hat der Kollege hier wirklich drauf. Alle Kompositionen (inklusive dem Ambient-Stück "Evening Again") klingen nach totaler Verzweiflung, Hoffnungslosigkeit oder sogar Todessehnsucht. Als Zielgruppe wurde ich am ehesten Black Metal-Jünger heranziehen, aber ich könnte mir gut vorstellen, dass auch die Schwarze Szene mit diesem Machwerk etwas anfangen könnte?!
Der Gesang ist meist geschrien, aber auch clean (und gut) gesungen, manchmal sogar gegrowlt und passt immer haargenau zur Mucke. Zum Glück hat es sich Dmytry Gubsky (aka Deimos) verkniffen auf die Depressive Black Metal Schiene zu wechseln, denn das hätte für mich dieses Album total zerstört. "Pessimum" ist ein Album für ganz spezielle, morbide, nihilistische Stunden und ganz gewiss nicht jedermanns Geschmack.

Anspieltipps: Der Opener "Anthem of Melancholy", bei dem bestimmt schon viele abschalten und das massenkompatiblere "Disappointed Again".

Author: Sascha S.

Review
Metalstorm
7.7/10
18.06.2013

I was initially put-off by Pessimum - yet another release that features my old nemesis, horribly overloud shouting vocals which rip your attention away from the music… And right off the bat at that!

Bracing myself for the rest of the work, my mindset was, well, pessimistic.

Ultimately I'm glad I persevered.

Darktrance is a one-man Ukrainian act. Deimos, when not busy being a Martian moon, is the brainchild here, as well as Dargos and Cold Resistance. Solitude tagged them as "dark metal"- and while I hate randomly spawning new genre tags, that one seems fair enough. Pessimum is not black enough to be black, not prog enough to really be prog (see also: Ameinsus, whom I reviewed earlier this year) … the whole thing is somewhere in the middle but with a dark/negative vibe.

Furthermore, it seems the band is more fluid in shifting from one style to the other. The title track shifts into black metal territory while "Whispers In The City Of Blood" sounds like it could be a song by The Cure (thinking "Burn" or "Fascination Street") if they ever cranked up the distortion pedal… "Soul Collectors" bounces between the extremes. Deimos also alternates harsh shouted vocals, which seem more appropriate on the title track than the opener against clean. Just as with the hooting and hollering, his clean efforts are perhaps flawed, certainly not the best, but they work. They fit. And that's what makes them enjoyable.

Once I got past my initial annoyance I found myself really enjoying this album, and more importantly, enjoying it a bit more with each subsequent listen. It's a grower. If you're in the mood for something, well, moody, that meanders all over the 'negative music' map, Pessimum is worth your time.

Author: BitterCOld

Review
Pitchline Zine
3/10
05.08.2013

Hay veces que uno se topa con discos que son todo un reto a la hora de valorarlos, que requieren de muchas escuchas para sacar algo en claro, que no entran a la primera y se necesitan tiempo y dedicación para llegar a una conclusión concisa. Y es que cuando se tiene una impresión (buena o mala) de un trabajo todo sale solo, pero cuando no se sabe muy bien qué se tiene delante hay que ponerse manos a la obra para exprimirlo hasta sacar algo.

Tal ha sido el caso de Darktrance (proyecto del músico Dmytry Gubsky, alias Deimos) y su nuevo disco ‘Pessimum’ lanzado por BadMoodMan Music, al cual no ha sido fácil darle una valoración. Y es que ‘Pessimum’ es un disco que puede parecer todo y nada a la vez: tiene elementos, sonidos y distorsión propios del Black Metal, pero no es Black Metal, tiene elementos del Doom Metal, pero no es Doom... lo cual puede despistar al oyente. De hecho son tantos los elementos que puede uno encontrarse en este trabajo (teclados y toques electrónicos en “Day X”, pasajes de teclado que pueden recordar a las bandas primerizas de Post-Punk en “Evening Again”, pequeñas reminiscencias al Rock gótico, etc), que a pesar de que podrían llevar un hilo coherente entre todas estas influencias, de no ser por las voces podría decirse que estamos escuchando una banda distinta en cada tema.

Y son precisamente las voces las que producen esa diferencia de contraste respecto a los instrumentos: voces generalmente agudas y raspadas sin llegar a las comunes del Black Metal intercaladas con otras más limpias y tranquilas además de algunos growls como en “Soul Collectors”, lo que a su vez son su punto débil, pues aunque al principio cumplen sin tampoco destacar, a medida que avanza el disco se vuelven repetitivas y peores, no hay más que escuchar el tercer tema que da nombre al disco para darse cuenta de ello.

La duración de ‘Pessimum’ tampoco es un punto a favor de este trabajo, pues a pesar de que existen obras con la misma duración que éste (una hora aproximadamente) con muy buenos resultados, en ‘Pessimum’ da la sensación de que los temas se extienden más de lo debido, lo cual con una duración menor podría haber conseguido que éstos “respiren” mejor y obtenga mejores resultados.

Por supuesto hay riffs y momentos buenos y destacables como al comienzo de Anthem of Melancholy y Soul Collectors, pero no son suficientes para suplir los inconvenientes que presenta Darktrance en su último disco, el cual peca de repetirse en los temas y de falta de nexo coherente entre los temas sin que resulte todo tan difuso. Eso sí, no se le puede achacar el hecho de ser un disco que pone a prueba al oyente.

Author: Soulkiller

Review
Forbidden Magazine
14.05.2013

I’ve been a long time fan of Solitude Productions eventhough the vast majority of their releases are in the My Dying Bride/Novembers Doom vein but every set of quarterly releases from them and their brother label, BadMoodMan, yield a release that’s something that honestly wows me and Darktrance is one of those releases. It’s tagged as “dark metal” but to my ears it’s a mixture of progressive and good 90’s underground indie rock with the brooding heaviness of Neurosis and possibly even some post black metal. Honestly, it’s not what I call metal at all but it sure slays most Southern Lord and Neurot releases these days so that alone gives them major scores from me.Perhaps if they’d not lost their taste they’d be releasing stuff this intense still today, but anyway here’s the lowdown on this one.

Upon listening several things immediately stand out in Darktrance that I rarely get to point out in too many other releases these days and those are the following: unique and unpredictable song structures that flow interrupted but never settle into one mode for too long; the shouted Neurosis-esque vocal style is typically balanced with nice deep, clean vocals to add a certain additional tempering to keep the sound from being too common or one-directional; there is a distinct presence of trebly and almost shoegaze/post rock/black metal fusion; nice hints of slightly symphonic touches just for texture; and plenty of explosive emotional bursts surrounded by melodic and introspective mellower passages within each song. These are especially dominant on the almost gothic meets skeletal modern black metal with post rock anthem “Whispers in the City of Blood” and for the first time listening on my commute today I put this album on random mode in the car and this song was the one that really grabbed my attention and drew me in.

In fact, for the entire ride I kept thinking about how to approach the album in the review because, as already pointed out, it’s not really METAL in the traditional sense and I’m a pure metalhead, but I am also a huge fan of other heavy music genres and this was a great amalgamation of many heavy styles with loads of groove and mood that cannot be easily rivaled by the current crop of bands coming into being with songs like “Disappointed Again” which embrace the doomy side of guitar tones, add in nice sharp angular leads, back them with some stormy down tuned rhythm bombs, and play off of a balance of opposite in tempo and volume doing a sort of “loud soft loud” simultaneously with a drudging, sometime instrumental moment combusting into a violent almost sludge/crossover fit vocally. Basically whatever your poison is Darktrance can deliver it in some degree of potency to get you hooked.

Okay, so now I understand why this album has received pretty solid reviews and I am hopefully giving it one as well here. With many albums in the last year or two, or three actually, it’s been difficult to give kudos to bands across the board but Darktrance are one of the few that I will not just simply review once and then place on the shelf, they will defintely command more listens and repeats in the near and distant future. Granted, I don’t listen to much stuff like this these days but this is sort of like Minsk,Isis, Mouth of the Architect fused with Neurosis and given a lot more breathing room in structure and atmosphere without compromising the oppressively heavy themes and sound. Maybe there’s some of the unique and not so “black” black metal present as well, as there’s definitely some solid crunching treble riffing and even some death metal flavors to be savored and YES , it’s dreary and melancholy in nature but definitely more in the bitter angst and violent acting out phase than the suffocating moping and drowning in gloom one. In other words Darktrance have balls that are wrecking balls of steel in terms of both magnitude and destructive potential so look alive folks, passion now has real physical force!!! No wonder it’s been receiving 8-9’s out of 10.

Author: Janet Willis