REVIEW: ASHES YOU LEAVE - DESPERATE EXISTENCE

 

ASHES YOU LEAVE - DESPERATE EXISTENCE (Morbid Records, 1999):

Technical Information

Cover Art: Patricia Skender

Track List: 1- A Wish, 2- Never again alone in the Dark, 3- Desperate Existence, 4- Et Vidi Solem Evanere, 5- Momentary Eclipse of Hope, 6- Searching for Artificial Happiness, 7- Shadow of Somebody´s Else Being, 8- Outro

In this second album from Ashes You Leave, the band solidifies their reputation as an excellent band in the most deppresive style within the metal realm., sharing characteristics with doom metal, and some atmospheric metal. With the always wonderful vocals of Dunja Radetic singing the melancholic lyrics of the band and giving the songs a black aura to the tracks. The sound in this recording is much better than on its debut album, spacially on the guitars that are better mixed and sound much more fat than on that release. The extense tracks like "Never Again Alone In the Dark" or "Desperate Existence" allow the band to play with tempo changes (in the more than nine minutes that each of this tracks have) and multiple instrumental passages where each musician can explore the dark side of their instruments. There are also some eastern sounding melodies done with keyboards and violins and an interesting contrast between them and the growling male vocals. Favorite tracks: "Never Again Alone In the Dark", "Desperate Existence" and "Searching for Artificial Happiness. Contact: www.morbidrecords.de