In collaboration with our good friends at Season Of Mist, we’re premiering a new song, ‘Descending Inner Night’, taken from the forthcoming Shape Of Despair album, Monotony Fields, set for release on June 15th.
Back with a lesson in melancholy in which takes the form of their fourth full-length, the Finns have taken their time – 11 years to be precise – to return with a new album worthy of their supinely paced genre, which can best be described as a carefully crafted balancing act between atmospheric and funeral doom. Shape Of Despair’s previous album, 2004’s Illusion’s Play, was followed by a considerable hiatus, broken briefly in 2010 with the release of their Written in My Scars EP and a split 7” with Before The Rain in 2011.
Guitarist Jarno Salomaa comments on the track streaming now: “We have played this song under its working title ‘Unresolved’ only in the Ukraine and Russia so far. To complement the existing live recordings, we are now presenting our album version ‘Descending Inner Night’. This was the second track that emerged for the new album and combines both the old and new elements of Shape of Despair.”
Shape Of Despair was founded by Jarno Salomaa and Tomi Ullgren after the demise of their death metal band in 1995. The two guitarists were aiming for a darker and more serene sound. Debut album Shades of… (2000) proved an instant success, garnering much praise from critics and fans alike. The quickly following Angels of Distress (2001) is still regarded as a milestone of doom metal. Having added the corrosive and grinding vocals of Henri Koivula, which contrast with Natalie Koskinen’s aerial female voice, Shape Of Despair now return to reclaim the throne of funeral doom with an album that exceeds each and every high expectation their eagerly waiting fan-base has heaped upon them during their long years of absence.
Monotony Fields tracklisting
1. Reaching the Innermost
2. Monotony Fields
3. Descending Inner Night
4. The Distant Dream Of Life
5. Withdrawn
6. In Longing
7. The Blank Journey
8. Written In My Scars
You can pre-order a copy of the album right here.
Shape Of Despair is:
Henri Koivula: vocals
Natalie Koskinen: vocals
Jarno Salomaa: guitars, keyboard
Tomi Ullgren: guitars
Sami Uusitalo: bass
Samu Ruotsalainen: drums
