Tristitia
Garden of Darkness

Sweet chants rise in tribute to a deserted valley, a delicate touch of a guitar that flirts with mannerism, the atmosphere is decadent for a Doom heavy as a boulder, reinforced with sweetness and elegance. Then, the darkness. "Garden of Darkness," the dead work, this is how the latest masterpiece by the Swedish Tristitia can be defined, which, thanks to the genius and sensitivity of artists like Thomas Karlsson and Luis Galvez, becomes all the easier. Compositional virtuosity, virtuosity in expressing intense emotions, virtuosity in the mastery of handling feelings and passion to make theatrical an innate artistic gift. The alchemy is a source of inspiration, a desolate path, a last resort to reach eternal damnation. The concept of existence, of despair shines through in the album. A sense of agony, a work that attempts to make humanity understand the darkness that clouds the human heart, now troubled by infamy and malice.

Even Philip Ball in his biography dedicated to the mysterious "Theophrastus Bombast von Hohenheim," known to all as Paracelsus, in his "The Last Alchemist" tried to retrace the story of a self-proclaimed man, a doctor in medicine and theology who was a wandering scientist. He wasn’t afraid to be different, he didn’t wish to be powerful and rich. His wealth was found in culture, he revolutionized theories by mixing them with occult practices, he tread the paths of half of Europe during the more restless years of the Renaissance. He formulated an elaborate and eccentric philosophy of the universe, where science and rationalism would no longer be in conflict with mysticism and superstition. The controversial glory of a genius who did not hesitate to cross the precarious boundary between ancient and modern, science and the occult, an uneasy thirst for knowledge.

"a humble braggart, an invincible loser, a pious heretic, an honest charlatan, driven by deep love and contemptuous hatred, dining with princes and sleeping in ditches, embodying and at once challenging the madness of his world"...

Yes, the madness that makes man weak, induces him to sin, to kill, revealing his dark side. Such a concept triggers the clear evidence of the source of the album in question. "The Garden of Darkness," indeed. Eight pacts, eight seals constitute the pillars of the work done by the Swedish Tristitia. The sound quality is unique, exquisite technique, melody and delicacy at the service of the atrocity of Doom characterized by a well-crafted setup, where each instrument is distinguished in such a way as to presumably be a source of anguish. Where true virtuosity is expressed in the form of the one who plays the instrument so as to communicate emotions through the language of music, as a means to amaze, to exasperate, to bring happiness, to fall in love with what surrounds us. "Beholders Tears" the first stop, the first intense breath, the ethereal representation of that refined Doom of which the monumental My Dying Bride were masters. Whereas the latter were much sweeter in sound, representing the more romantic side of the genre, Tristitia are the more epic side of Doom, the utopia of pain, the arcane march of the unknown, decay, the manifestation of a life enslaved by sadness. "As Death Says Mine" the highest peak, the exquisite class of majestic and slow arpeggios, the care for melody is incredible. The band's true genius lies precisely in this, succeeding in being so delicate in such a context, where Karlsson's voice is a tribute to the most catatonic and majestic symptom of black metal. Harmony dominates incessantly in the intrinsic gothic nature of the work. Heart-wrenching, slow guitar solos, riffs, and rhythmic scales put at the service of the composition. An exceptional touch by Galvez almost feels like hearing Bach's transcriptions for classical guitar, truly impressive to reach certain heights at those levels in a field like metal. The album closes with the splendid "Tears Of The Moon", a mystical impact cleansed of all its smudges, a journey into the recesses of an indomitable life that is about to end.

That Gothic Doom, that epic Doom, that melancholic Doom that gets inside you until it makes you a slave to its pain.