It’s been a rough start for Dysthymia.
Two years after their last release, Grushenka Ødegård (vocals/guitar, Mourn the Stars) and Ray King (guitar/bass/drums, ex-Dzö-nga ex-Tengger Cavalry) have signed with Hypnotic Dirge Records for the release of their second album, The Morning Darkness.
They’re joined by Laniakea (drums, Mourn the Stars) and Rosin Lludw (guitar).
The album begins slowly with I Live With What You Created, an opening track that starts off almost silent, then a piano draws us into the haunting, distorted riffs filled with Grushenka’s desperate screams and Ray’s haunting harmonics. The mix easily captivates us, featuring a few blast-beat-driven accelerations, but we also notice some softer passages with clean vocals that contrast with the screams, and the sound carries us into We Can Never Go Back and its rather soothing opening, which ultimately becomes an ode to suffering. The poignant vocals resonate amid the dark yet soaring riffs, giving the reassuring bass a prominent role and creating a sort of light in the darkness before To Choose Life is to Choose Grief takes over, clearly showcasing a much heavier tone. The guitar is also more unsettling, and when the melodies try to hypnotize us, we openly let ourselves be carried away before landing on Until I Was Nothing, once again greeted by a shell of gentleness that once opened, changes drastically and drags us once more into the ruin of the soul. The riffs remain highly atmospheric, but the vocals are imbued with heart-wrenching pain right up to the very end, leading into the title track The Morning Darkness, where sorrow is expressed one last time through a deeply moving and incredibly evocative distortion; and although it remains intense until the very last moments, the sobbing lends it an even more organic dimension.
Perfectly capturing the ethereal yet gripping DSBM spirit, Dysthymia lends The Morning Darkness an oppressive quality, at times even tinged with tenderness. I’m convinced this band could become a true benchmark in the genre.
90/100