Dismal Euphony
Autumn Leaves

“Atmospheres filled with anxiety and anger, a dark tunnel where our most anguishing fears manifest, moments of pure desperation accompanied by others of apparent tranquility. A path where it is impossible not to get lost…”

It’s been 2 years since I started listening to metal. I first entered this fantastic world thanks to listening to "Oceanborn", an undisputed masterpiece by Nightwish. In these 2 years, I had never heard anything comparable to "Oceanborn", nothing that could shake my soul like "Oceanborn" did. At least until last week, when I started listening to “Autumn Leaves” by the Norwegian band Dismal Euphony.
“Autumn Leaves” is their second work, released in 1997. The 5 members offer a magical blend of gothic and black: heavy and dark guitars, horrifying keyboards (I have no words to describe the sensations these last ones give) and the classic duet between male growl (Erik Borgen) and female vocals (Keltziva): but don’t expect an angelic and lyrical voice in line with the goth stereotypes, Keltiva's voice is truly magical and has something innovative. The production is not the best, but this manages to give more atmosphere to the album.
Listening to this CD for the first time brought tears to my eyes, perhaps because I couldn't believe that humans could conceive such beauty: I fear that my words are inadequate to describe the sensations this CD offers: the tracks evoke natural landscapes, but not in the manner of Sins Of thy Beloved, for example, but in a much more oppressive manner.
It’s pointless for me to do a track by track: let’s just say it goes from cadenced moments like “A Thousand Rivers” to very black and horrifying moments like “Carven” and “Mistress Tears”, which manage to vent all my inner rage.
The funny thing is that Dismal Euphony is an unknown band: masterpieces should be known and admired. Give them a chance. They will surprise you.