Jaded Absolutism: 12 Albums To Depress You

If you ever have found yourself in a place where even the most uplifting of words and encouragement from those near and dear to you are equivalent to that of mere spoke disappearing into thin air, the hardest thing to do is to get back on your feet and start running again. Sometimes music of that inner dark nature is just the cure one needs to endure through those restless days, nights and thoughts. Here is a compilation of some personal favorite albums that have certainly helped me reconcile and connect with my inner persona and project these demons in a more dim yet creative light.

Katatonia – “Brave Murder Day”

This album has stuck with me for a very long time, as it has with most long-term Katatonia fans who were especially more keen during their death-doom days rather than the cleaner rock-type sound they have developed to now. BMD is one of the most pioneering death-doom albums that started the genre itself with its harsh yet depressing themes throughout its entirety. With Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth on raw, death metal vocals (and Jonas Renkse on clean vocals with songs like “Day”), this collaboration is suitably what made BMD a huge success for doom fans and metalheads across the board. The whole album in itself is a highlight of creative and beautiful sorts, as every song stands out as highlights of their own and carry their own memories along with them.

Katatonia – “Tonight’s Decision”

As if it wasn’t obvious already, my favorite band among all genres is ultimately Katatonia. Every album they have produced has differed from one another, although Tonight’s Decision in my opinion is the most depressive album these gentlemen have ever produced. Katatonia always left their listeners up to interpretation for their lyrical content – and although the title gives it away, it is fairly obvious what the theme of this album is about. Tonight’s Decision is 54 minutes of pure misery through and through, and it certainly falls no short of that, with Jonas’ vocals sounding similar to Robert Smith from The Cure, while singing words of despair and general feelings of hopelessness which will make you feel the lowest of the lows, whether you are enjoying the music itself or not. It is the epitome of depressive rock, and yet I find irony in the fact that this album has also helped me get by some tough times in my life as well. Perhaps the undertones of despair and relativity is what indeed draws us together, even in music.

Lifelover – “Konkurs”

There is a bit of history I have with Lifelover’s music as well, with this album in particular since I feel that it reflects the “inner core” of the band behind the curtains of irony quite well. Although they have been regarded as a black metal band by the general metal community, the relativity of genre falls fairly low when it comes to making an album such as Konkurs which cannot be categorized in just one particular genre. Without going too much into the band’s entire history and discography, whenever people ask me for recommendations or where to start with Lifelover, 9/10 times I will recommend Konkurs first. Although the lyrics are written entirely in Swedish, the music speaks to you in ways which will leave you drenched in a storm of melancholy and later submerged in a sea of nostalgia and buried memories. Whereas their previous albums portray a false sense of happiness and irony, as I stated in the beginning sentence, Konkurs truly reveals the core of what this band was and what their music shall always hold. Keeping the flame of depravity and discomfort alive.

Anathema – “Judgement”

Such as bands like Katatonia, Anathema also chose the path of turning their sound into depressive rock and have undoubtedly succeeded in doing so. Judgement is entirely based on their main frontman’s mother’s death which occurred not long before the album’s writing process began. For those of us who have dealt with personal losses in life know the all-too familiar process of coping and healing with the pain which accompanies it. It is equivalent to that of someone dropping a boulder on your chest which you are unable to easily shake off or remove. Even for those who have not dealt with a personal loss before, the lyrics on this album are somewhat obscured and can be applied to any given difficult situation one may be enduring through. It is both tragic yet strengthening.

Shining – “III – Angst – Självdestruktivitetens Emissarie”

Upon discovering a wave of depressive black metal bands in my teenage years, Shining were one of the few which stood out to me most especially. This album in particular was the first Shining release I had heard and since then I had been following this band up until their Halmstad release, when their sound had started taking a different route which was not so much in my personal favor (everything post-Halmstad to be more precise). Angst remains as one of my favorite dsbm releases although I do not frequent the genre as much these days, this is certainly one of the albums I always go back to. Even elements of the “black n’ roll” sound are present in this release, which was before Shining’s success had hit the metal mainstream. Angst is sure to invoke feelings of self-destruction and lingering negativity for listeners. I know it certainly did for me years ago, and sometimes the feelings re-awaken from their tomb when I put this on for a spin. This is the Shining I will always know and remember.

David Galas – “The Happiest Days Of My Life”

Being the only non-metal release I’ve included on here, here is a solo project which is sure to capture the attention of metal fans who are seeking for projects with “borderline-metal” elements which are beyond exceptional. David Galas does just this with his 2nd full-length, The Happiest Days Of My Life. It was a little debatable for me to choose between his 1st release, The Cataclysm, and this one. Here is a man who knows how to create the epitome of what audio misery sounds like. THDOML is a combination of drone and singer-songwriter genre-blending. It is distinctly executed in a way which makes his music quite recognizable and I do not exaggerate when I say that it is some of the most depressive music I have ever heard in my life. Being raised in the western deserts myself, I can certainly say the “summer blues” come back to life again upon listening to his songs. Although it isn’t desert rock in particular, misery is only mandatory with this man’s musical creations.

Forgotten Tomb – “Springtime Depression”

Surprisingly enough, Forgotten Tomb were one of the first black metal bands I had stumbled upon alongside Mayhem, Xasthur, Emperor and the like in the beginning of my early teenage years. One particular appeal of this band for me at the time was that I had not seen or heard of any bands quite like them with the lyrical themes they included in black metal. Although it goes without saying that black metal is supposed to generally be negative, back in the earlier years general negativity and depression had not been a prominent source to include in the song-writing process. It seemed like a subject most bands avoided to touch or did not want to appear “weak” in doing so. Prior to my discovery of Shining, I became fascinated with Forgotten Tomb and instantly became drawn to all their albums that I could manage to get a hold of. Springtime Depression stood out to me in particular, and still does to this day. It is indeed labeled as a depressive black metal album but there is something about the sound in particular which makes this release stand out amongst the many bands out there who are releasing dsbm albums today. Perhaps it’s the tuning of the guitars or atmospheric intro/outroductions, but whatever it may be, Forgotten Tomb simply make it work.

40 Watt Sun – “The Inside Room”

Initially, I was not a big fan of Warning as most doom metal fans were when they first came out. But curiosity got the best of me with Warning’s “post” project 40 Watt Sun, and I’m glad it did too. The Inside Room is a brilliant doom metal release which could even be considered a “new wave” of doom metal for some. I personally prefer this project over Warning, even after chancing myself a few times trying to remain unbiased between both projects, but 40 Watt Sun still reigns supreme in my taste. The lyrics are longingly bleak, as they should be with the style of traditional doom the band executes. It is ‘depressingly beautiful.’

Hypothermia – “Kaffe & Blod”

Here we have another Swedish project that succeeds in capturing the essence of depression quite well. Hypothermia’s frontman and founder, Kim Carlsson has been well-known for continuously releasing classic dsbm masterpieces, both for their lengthy-written songs and trance-like atmosphere that is either hit or miss in the black metal genre. Kaffe & Blod in particular stands out amongst all of Hypothermia’s releases for reasons which I still can’t quite put my finger on. Musically, it sounds similar to his previous release,Gråtoner, which is also an EP. There is a slight post-rock sound included in these two releases which are a bit more experimental than the previous Hypothermia albums. Very well-suited for long walks in the forest or a stroll at night, as I have found myself listening to this album more than just a few times for both of these occasions, and generally any given time longing to “escape”. Wherever one chooses to escape to, this album will certainly take you there. Whether it’s in the depths of the forest or one’s own dark subconscious.

Loss – “Despond”

If I had to choose a favorite ‘modern’ doom metal band based here in the U.S., Loss would rank up there at the top. Despond is a brilliant full-length debut which was only released last year (2011) and immediately grabbed my attention upon a first proper listen. Funeral doom never used to be my cup of tea until only a couple years ago. Although even to this day, it takes a real heavy and crushing release to really grab my attention, and Despond does just that. It is both soul-crushing and perpetuates monotonous misery completely devoid of light and reasoning. Definitely an album I would want to be played at my funeral.

Mournful Congregation – “The Monad of Creation”

Here we have another funeral doom metal masterpiece that is bound to shatter your soul and induce feelings of discomfort and sunken longings both past and present. Mournful Congregation, next to Loss are one of the bands few and far between who can pull off creating compelling and well-written masterpieces like this and continue to progress even further just when you think it cannot be musically possible. I chose this album in particular since it took me a couple listens to really fall in love with it and realize how brilliantly-composed it actually is. This would also rank up there as a candidate for albums I would want to be played at my funeral, once again.

Benighted in Sodom – “Laura Palmer”

Benighted in Sodom was an interesting project which emerged on the realms of the online community a few years back. Although now laid to rest, the many albums released by M. Thorn remain available for download and free of charge by M. Thorn himself. Benighted in Sodom definitely made music for the sake of making music. Although there was quite a large amount of music written in such short amounts of time, there was passion and soul included inside, whether it was for the sake of releasing his own misery upon the masses, or inducing and encouraging such behavior upon those who choose to walk the path of self-destruction. I chose this release in particular since I am a huge Twin Peaks fan and this is one of the best musical dedications to the series I have ever heard. Although there are no vocals included in this track, sometimes words are not needed for the way music sings to you in its own harmonious ways to the soul.

So this turned out a bit longer than I was expecting, but hopefully some readers out there will be able to submerge in these albums of light-shrouding audio misery.

Fire walking in darkness,
Tracy / www.t-terrorphoto.com