Shores of Null forcefully hit our pipeline with their one-liner Beyond The Shores (On Death And Dying) back in 2020. The somewhat clunky title hid a pretty snazzy piece of doom, spiced up by Elisabetta Marchetti‘s ethereal wails. And it turned out to be one of those one-track affairs, a challenge not to be taken lightly. Shores of Null‘s most monolithic 3rd full-length record to date and a great one at that. One that that ultimately made it onto our annual top 10 record list as well. And that’s a difficult feat to pull off, at the very least.
This sets the bar awfully high for their newest concoction The Loss of Beauty. Will the new album dissolve in the merciless onslaught of a torrent of tears after the gorilla glass armor of the monolith is taken away? Dreadful soul searching without a protective umbrella.
There’s a new-found power to this here new record. Beyond the Shores (Of Death and Dying) wallowed in the depths of funeralistic slow-marching desperation. In contrast, The Loss of Beauty hits ye between yer eyes with a sledgehammer of dread. It is as if the band left the island with the tear-drenched cemetery1 and embarked on a powerful rampage of distress and despair to Destination Woe. This first real track2 already gives you a taste of astounding oomph that roars in on Davide Straccione‘s emotive and generally impressive vocal performance. Effortless switches between different types of growls, rasps, and an array of moody clear voice, still slightly resembling Tethra’s gothic traits.
The record features a modern-day mix of powerfully melodic doom and doom death that’s sometimes sailing dangerously close to the shores bands like Insomnium like to ravage. But by and large, Shores of Null deliver tear-drenched tribulation that would sit well with any one of the Peaceville Three folks, perhaps with a ladle of Amorphis added for good measure. The tracks’ stately flow comes garnished with enough gothically-tainted melodic elements and metallic drama to please the palates of many doom fans out there. With guitar work that often delivers pretty amazing harmonies in a measured yet frenzied melodic onslaught. And some of that goodness lurches forward with discreet tremolos that allow for that slightly blackened look and feel.
The Loss of Beauty may seem a bit lengthy but it is devoid of fillers. And you’ll get a lot of pretty snazzy tracks instead. The Last Flower for instance with its Noumena-esque riffing. A track that suddenly dissolves into a whirlwind of blast beats that roar in on Straccione‘s throaty hollers. Or find meaty riffs that lead into Darkness Won’t Take Me with a multilayered rhythm section of the Giaccari / Colace tag team. Or the delicious Nothing Left to Burn that just blew us away. This track comes with yet another stellar contribution from a vocalist in his prime. The record also boasts a number of instrumentals for good measure, of which The First Son talked to us most.
So, where does all this leave us? The Loss of Beauty definitely is a step up from the band’s last offering. And that, despite the fact that the records cannot be compared like-for-like. I credit a lot of the improvements to the undeniably powerful performance of Davide Straccione. But this should in no way belittle the outstanding performance of the rest of the crew. Guitar work, drumming, bass, all of those contribute to an excellent avalanche of top-notch doomware. A band effort that will stand up to the best of them in the Doom Metal multiverse. So, it seems that 2023 may well turn out to be a great year for the adepts of woe on steroids. Great news indeed.
Record Rating: 8/10 | Label: Spikerot Records | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 24 March 2023