Melodic doom/death from Pittsburgh. This is apparently their tenth year together, although they aren’t a band which until up until this point I had heard of. The accompanying blurb mentioned a few bands that would suggest that they would be up my alley – Woods of Ypres, Paradise Lost, Amorphis. It was also an album written just prior to the worldwide pandemic, while the words were written as the global lockdown wore on. They are, as you might expect, right party bangers in the style of Russ Abott.
Not really.
They are all sorrow filled, bleak and dismal tracks which positively ache sadness. This is not a record which you are going to sling on the stereo in the hopes of getting your mates to bang their fists. Deathwhite are not the Tankard of doomdeath. No, instead Deathwhite are exactly the kind of band which you put on while sat inside on your own on a depressing Sunday afternoon while it’s pissing down with rain outside. Alongside the leaden pace and tasteful guitar work, there are some great aural watercolour splashes of atmosphere thanks to the well wrought keyboard sections. Vocals are clean and mournful, reminiscent of Nick Holmes in the main with their downbeat delivery and misery-inducing tones.
In fairness, it’s been a very long time since I heard a doomdeath band that was willing to push the envelope a little and not sound exactly My Dying Bride or Paradise Lost, and if anything I believe that Deathwhite have a more effective doom base than many of their peers. IN fact, I was constantly reminded of the more minor key moments of a band like Khemmis, particularly in the effective way in which the guitar and bass trade off between melodies and vast washes of sound. Special mention here to the drums too – there’s some tremendous touches, such as on the mid-section of complex track, “No Thought or Memory”.
It’s not all weeping into lace handkerchiefs and thrashing dead flowers about in angst though; here and there the record has some real grit. “White Sleep” has an aggressive opening before settling into a more sedate and soporific pace. “Formless” is one for the music nerds, all clean, sleek soloing and atmosphere courtesy of the keys.
In all, while there are some great flourishes here and there, I can’t help but think a little more steel could have been injected into the sound. I often listened to a track and wondered when the rousing outro was going to appear, only for it not to. It’s not that this is a poor record – far from it actually – but that it’s a bit monotone and therefore one definitely for when you are in the mood for it. A little more aggression would have just provided some nice contrast to all of the sadness here. As it is, it’s an individual effort that is going to prove an effective listen to the miserabilists among you out there.
(7/10 Chris Davison)
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