So Hideous
Last Poem/First Light

“From the fatal loins of two foes, a pair of lovers descends, born under ill-fated stars, whose tragic suicide will end the conflict.”

The crypt envelops him with its humid warmth, clinging to him like a sheath as he gradually descends the stairs lit by the uncertain light of the rising sun, barely filtering through the small windows.
In the middle of the room, on a marble bed, lies the person he had loved most in his life, that flash of joy which, though brief, had given him a reason to think that perhaps their love would convince their families to stop their brutal fights and massacres, as had been happening until then.
Tears in his eyes, anger in his heart, and a potion in hand: his mind is a whirlwind of thoughts, but only one emerges above the others, the desire to join her, where no one else could separate them.
He approaches to bid her a final farewell. “And so with a kiss I die,” and collapses to the ground on a cushion of moss.

Shortly after, she opens her eyes: the plan had worked, the fake poison had staged a false death that deceived everyone… But everyone, even those who should not have been deceived. She turns toward the door and recognizes him, recognizes that young face kissed by the first rays of the sun, those features she would have wanted to caress for her entire life, she runs to him to embrace him, but it's too late, someone has already taken him away with a sweep of the scythe. She is in a panic and despair, she will no longer have the chance to hear his voice and see his eyes shine. But a glimmer attracts her attention, his dagger. With a trembling hand, she grabs it: “O blessed dagger! This is thy sheath...” And piercing her sorrowful heart, “there rust, and let me die.”
And there they are, embraced forever next to one another. “A glooming peace this morning with it brings: the sun for sorrow will not show his head. Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things. Some shall be pardoned, and some punished. For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo”

Who are So Hideous? Not long ago known by the moniker “So Hideous, My Love,” the New York quartet releases their first LP (after a few well-received EPs) titled “Last Poem/First Light,” and hits the mark. The formula of these guys is a delightful surprise, a strange hybrid of violence (post) black metal, the suffering of (again, post) hardcore roots, and certain dreamlike atmospheres that frame everything, created even by a symphonic orchestra. There is pain in these six tracks lasting just over half an hour, there is a turning in on oneself, a child of screamo and the pain of living that flourishes so much in recent post black metal productions, but there is also so much epicness, thanks to the orchestral crescendos that raise the pathos in step with the fervor and urgency of the lyrics. While listening to the album, many groups come to mind that sail smoothly between the boundaries of post black metal and post hardcore, such as Harakiri for the Sky, Lantlôs (not the latest), Thränenkind, Envy, Elijah, A Hope for Home, and all the more emotional "post" fringe... People who suffer, who sandpaper their throats and burn their hands playing and turning their sentiments into music.

It is an excellent album but not easily accessible: it needs to settle and grow with listens. A tip: listen with headphones, without distractions, and at a volume blasted up to the bearable. Your ears will bleed, but the chills down your spine and the hair standing on your arms will tell you that you made the right choice spending time behind these inconsolable and theatrical whiners.