Shroud of Despondency
Pine

August 2012
Released: 2012, Independent
Rating: 1.0/5
Reviewer: Metal-Rules.com UK Team

It’s always hard to place bands, which ones are piss-poor, which ones reach the dizzying heights of greatness and which ones are distinctly mediocre. Shroud of Despondency don’t like to keep you guessing as they tread a very fine line between poor and mediocre. They are decent musicians, everything is so tight, so it comes as a shame that they lack the vision to craft anything that would stand out against the plethora of similar acts – the ones that mean you turn up late to gigs so you don’t have to stand through their set.



It’s clear to see what they are aiming for, which creates a sense of frustration as we can but sit idly by as they fail to create the album that they are clearly hoping to.



Track-wise there isn’t anything in particular that stands out as the ideas run out way before they make it onto the third track (which is at best a generous estimate). They trudge through track after track, wandering rather aimlessly in their attempt to create a dark masterpiece, instead mashing together something as evil as a Simpsons Halloween special. Before long their ambling loses all real focus, and they throw together riffs that just don’t sit comfortably together at all, and their efforts descend into anarchy – and not the good kind.



It’s obvious what they were going for, but instead of creating a dark and demonic leviathan that lurches forward demolishing all in its path, they have a slow and stuttering record, which I can’t delete from my iPod quick enough.



Review by Sam McKavanagh