ShamRain
Someplace else

This is truly a great album by the Finnish ShamRain, titled “Someplace Else”, released this year. The album follows their debut "Empty World Excursion" and a couple of EPs, which helped introduce the band outside their native country, where they are at least respected as a good and promising band. What music do these Nordic guys make? In my opinion, their music is excellent, very melancholic dark rock with atmosphere, similar to Anathema in their moments of greatest emotional intensity.

The 9 songs flow easily, yet leave emotions that, by the end of the album, urge you to listen to it again. It’s difficult to pinpoint the standout tracks, although my instincts immediately drew me to “To Leave”, “Aura” (heart-wrenching in its chorus), “The Missing Pieces”, “A Woeful Song”, “Laren U Freht Ona”, and “The Empty Flow”… And when, on a CD that contains 9 tracks, 6 immediately captivate you and you fall in love with them, it means the overall quality is really high. Personally, I believe this work is best enjoyed in the dark after a hard day, and it can lead to two distinct situations.
The first: the ethereal melodies, at times almost cold, and the general sadness and melancholy that pervade and saturate the album can capture the listener and transport them to a new dimension, a new world. This new place, this “Someplace Else” is almost a cocoon where time does not pass, where the music numbs your senses and the problems that trouble you seem to cradle you. You feel good inside this cocoon, warm, you almost revel in your sadness and take pleasure in it, and being in the company of your problems then doesn’t scare you much anymore.
The second situation: the overall sadness and melancholy take hold of you to such an extent that everything seems bigger, all problems insurmountable. In this case, it’s not excluded that tears may flow, especially in tracks like the already mentioned “Aura”, powerful when listened to at certain moments; but I don't think someone so volatile could listen to this type of music much, just as they wouldn’t listen to, without subsequently developing mental disturbances over universal problems, albums like “Pornography” by The Cure or something by Anathema.
Personally, it happened to me, purely by chance, to have it as background music one day when I was with my girlfriend: the kiss we shared was long and intense, beautiful, in a parallel crescendo to that of the song (“Aura” indeed), and in the end, I was crying, feeling immense happiness inside me (even though perhaps the song’s lyrics contain themes contrary to joy!). I know most readers might not care at all about my life experience, but I used it illustratively to convey how beautiful, intense, and extremely melancholic the album is.

In short: recommended for those who adore Anathema, The Cure, Autumnblaze, et similia (what’s this Latin!!), those who love to revel in sadness; not recommended: for those who have a view of the world filled with sunshine and lollipops, for those who simply hate these dark-like atmospheres. That’s all: buy it and let me know what you think!!

P.S. this is my first review, please try not to insult me!!