review: Thy Despair

Thy Despair

The Song of Desolation

Rockshots Records

8 May 2020

The Ukrainian band takes elegance and beauty, then chucks it in the fugliness of extreme metal, and the result, voilà Thy Despair! Metal Archives shows that the origins of the band go back to 2006. They changed names, personnel and apparently had a couple of hiatuses. This is their debut album, though they did an EP in 2018, a single in 2015, and their first single in 2011. It’s been a long road to get to the debut album. One wonders, of course, how the political instability, conflicts and violence in the country have affected their personal lives in the last six years or so. Here we are in 2020. The sound quality is good, and it feels like they and the production team worked hard at achieving quality in sound. Anyway, what is Thy Despair all about? We should probably say that the harmony of contradictions is their overriding goal, the duality of elegance and monstrosity.

The use of high operatic singing by one person and the growling by another creates a jarring listen at first. One moment you might think that you are listening to an opera, only to be jolted by the growling. Why is there a monster roaming in the opera house? Or, is there an opera taking place at the mosh pit? Do you immediately welcome it or are you pleasantly confused at the two faces, at the beauty and the beast? Thy Despair is symphonic gothic metal that brings out the operatic vocals to the forefront as a main way of singing; therefore; the listener will be asked to prepare for that type of experience for the duration of the album. The other side of the coin is the growling, in the context of a polished production they also ask the listener to open the possibilities of harsh elements within a beautiful context.

To summarize, 1.Thy Despair is gothic metal in the classic style as a melodic and melancholic sound. 2.The symphonic component is a big part of the sound. It is what provides some smoothness or comfort to the sound. 3.The guitars offer lots of melodies. This is, in part, extreme metal, but the guitars go a long way towards making things catchy. 4.The operatic singing is high, of course, and the growling, they do clash, but the band believes in bringing the opposites together. They are hoping that the listener is brave, tolerant, patient enough to get excited about the mission of harmonies in contradiction. 5.The album is done with skill and professionalism that it is worthwhile to new listeners and new fans of this style.

THY DESPAIR - Army Of Dead (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)

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