Two Doom/Death Metal albums very close to my heart

Lethargy - The Dark Embrace of Silence
Ashes You Leave - The Inheritance of Sin and Shame

These two albums are very special to me, although they are not very loved in general by the respective target groups. Lethargy from Greece and Ashes You Leave from Croatia played emotional Doom/Death Metal here, never too harsh, but always interesting and also charming.

I can easily see why people find them average at best, it's clear that nothing revolutionary is going on, the sound is more or less muffled on both outputs, there are plenty of clumsy arrangements or 'unclean' bits, as well as what people call "boring metal standards".

I know... and yet I love these albums. The grunts (male vocals) on both records are not exactly 'special', but they fit really well. Lead vocals on "The Inheritance of Sin and Shame" are performed by the heavenly Dunja Radetic and truly, also someone who thinks the album is lame must hear what a talent she is. Very distinctive vocals, left raw and unpolished. Female vocals as well play a role on the Lethargy album as well as very amateur spoken word/clear vocal moments, and both outputs feature pathos, violins and flutes, as well as the obligatory dark, gothic and/or romantic lyrics.

Of course their meaning to me overpowers the "objective" view. The beautiful melodies, the rapturous melancholy and the direct charm, everything works together.

Autumn music for a cloudy summer day.


--Sapnish--