TOTALSELFHATRED

Folks often talk about a certain brand of melancholic/atmospheric black metal that forces suicidal thoughts and leaves one in mental darkness long after the music has ended. After a while, certain discs become little more than a ho-hum exercise with some bands doing it well, but many seemingly going through the motions. But this self-titled disc from Helsinki, Finland's TOTALSELFHATRED is just goddamn depressing, and not in a musically pointless kind of way. Drenched in melody, built upon solid song structures, and smartly enhanced with keyboards, the disc succeeds in melding grace and sadness, but you darn well better be in the mood for it.

Those first cold strikes of piano keys on "Enlightenment" set the tone for the album, seconds before a keyboard wash joins and the riffs, drums, and vocals come crashing in. A flowing river of despondency commences and the listener is sucked into a void of hopelessness from which he cannot escape until the running time has elapsed. The lightly picked chords and molasses bass flows vaguely remind at times of ISIS' more ethereal moment, as well the dark/majestic end of European doom. That's not to say that there is not a good amount of propulsive drumming and muscle in some of the arrangements, but the haunting tones never go away, no matter how jagged the riff edges. Raspy, screamed vocals are the stuff of utter torture and anguish, yet are more intelligible than most heard in black metal and are not devoid of conventional patterns.

It is not as though TOTALSELFHATRED has rewritten the rulebook with this album. They just do it in a way that is convincing and heartfelt. Taken as a whole (and you really need to listen to it as a complete album),the disc is an exercise in the sonic purging of personal pain. It sure as hell isn't something I'll be busting at out the next beer-and-BBQ bash. Gritty, yet not grating, beautiful, yet terrifying, TOTALSELFHATRED could serve as the pharmaceutical industry's secret weapon in increasing profits on any number of anti-depressant medications.