Hell Is Other People : "Moirae"

 

The Depressive Suicidal subgenre of black metal does not seem to be as much of a thing in 2024, but this Canadian band approaches black metal in a manner that brings a more emotive sense of atmosphere to their churning darkness. When comparing them to the bands that once pushed this sub-genre of black metal forward these guys have more in common with Totalselfhatred than the more over-wrought dramatic stylings of Lifelover or Shining. The dense anguish painting the first song does set my expectations high for the rest of the album that follows. I am most impressed by their ability to convey heaviness through deliberate emotions rather than blast beats, so if they devolve into the typical model of black metal I will be disappointed. 

The second song does find more of the traditional elements of black metal coming into motion, though they are balanced out by the sense of melody that the overall throb forms so when drums with a more blasting feeling bubble up beneath things, they are just the thunder under this storm cloud of depression sailing toward you. The dramatic shift to "Degrade" lonely chords ringing out to set the stage offers the kind of dynamic I appreciate in heavy music. The post-rock flavored minimalism makes the groove of the drums crashing in more effective.  The vocals also drop into more forceful roars in places here. Overall the snarl of the vocals gets the point across and feels more like an expression of the kind of aggression that spills out when depression is forced inward. When blast beats are used here, they are effective as the song has already provided the gradual build for the feral acceleration to make sense. 

There is more of a dissonant buzz to "Loss" This is slightly tempered with double bass at times to make it more purposeful, but as with any band that lets themselves abandon restraint in this manner, it is hard to rein things in when it comes to capturing more than a sound and writing a song. However, the more sonic section toward the end that creates a ringing swathe of guitars is pretty cool.  The last song sprawls out into 13 minutes. This is the first moment that feels more Agalloch-inspired. It wanders through a wide range of black metal tropes while being true to who they are as a band. I will give this album a 9.5, it's worth multiple listens and they captured a stunning mood here that is convincing in the darkness it paints a picture of. This album drop October 11th on Transcending Obscurity. 

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