Review Summary:
"A life worth loosing" was most waited release of 2014 for me, and I wasn't dissapointed.
My first review, so don't beat me very hard...
This is review for A5 digipack album version. The digipack has different track list ( contains 11, insted of 6 track on tape.) and artwork.
I can't say that "Depressive Black Metal" is correct genre for this release. Sure enough, it's tracks contains several elements of black metal, such as screams and tremolo picking in few songs, and two black metal sounding songs as well ( "Under my influence( Guided to damnation)" and "Bury them under nails of crust"). But no.. It's not black metal, and all bm lovers will not find many blast-beats or long and poisonous DSBM tremolo riffs here.. It's difficult to define some genre for this music. This is "Ofdrykkja" genre that growth from Apati. It inherited all those moods and thoughts, and growth further to some kind of independent self-titled genre.
Album is well structured and sounds like a story from begin to end with "interlude between two acts" - Omöjligheten till lycka. It is piano composition in middle of the album, that "divides" album on to parts. Album begins with self-titled song "A life worth losing" - instrumental song with atmosphere of gloomy-hopelessness that perfectly conveys the album mood and is good intro to this journey. The journey through the gray urban life with a lot of drugs, alcohol and anxiety that starts with "Livets dystra gång" . The second track on this CD and one of my favourite tracks on this album. Pessimisten's apathetic speech (text is constructed by the rules of rhyme, as other his texts.) with raw guitar riffs that comes to culmination at the end of song. Guitar sounds pretty raw on almost all of the songs so isn't something special here, but I think it does special sound for these song.
Almost all of albums has "core" track. In my opinion the album core is "Ensam kvar efter dödens år". The song is dedicated to Obehag(Apati) and Hyle. Guitar on this track sounds in kind of mourning march but strongest side here is vocals.. Vocals from 0:55 is on top of emotions, full of pain and sorrow. You can listen to this track again and again without getting bored. Maybe it is because of main riff and structure or emotions, but you want to hear it again and again. "I skuggan av mig själv" can be putted in the one line with strongest songs from this album. Btw it is first Ofdrykkja song (as I know), that was recorded many years ago, so quality of the record is not so good here but it contains all the "message" of Ofdrykkja IMHO.
One of release's features is that many songs was recorded in different time and are in different quality. Different songs sounds "raw" because of this, but this does not affect the pleasure from listening to this album and often provides special emotions. Drum section is not the strongest side as well.. but.. who needs more complicated drum section in these songs? Off course, it would be great to hear more qualitative drum section on the next release but.. - this is the feature of this genre. Remember Apati or Lifelover for example. It is not drums or very complicated guitar riffs that creates this music. Here is the atmosphere of madness and despair, urban life and drugs that creates all and I think than the band accomplished this mission here. Atmosphere is perfect.
The strongest side of this album is vocals, not music.. So if you are not very concerned about complexity of the compositions and guitar riff, if the mood/atmosphere and vocals (lyrics) is the part that is most important for you - you'll enjoy this album.
