Your Shapeless Beauty
My Swan Song
7.6
Your Shapeless Beauty was a big surprise for me. What I thought was going to be some horrible, under-produced, "TRVE" black metal (due to some less-than-sparkling production), turned out to be something incredibly interesting and genre-spanning. Billed as "Dark Metal" by Adipocere records, Your Shapeless Beauty is just that: not quite black metal, not quite doom metal, therefore Dark Metal. All this coming from France of all places? Quite interesting, I must say. As stated earlier, YSB combines both doom and black metal. There are some calming, dark, clean vocal moments (that aren't sappy or annoying), and some lawnmower black metal moments as well. They are at their best, however, when they combine the two sounds at the same time. The can somehow pull off playing riffs that sound like both high-speed black metal and methodical, melodic doom riffs. Sometimes, especially in the later songs on the album, the song will start off with a gloomy bassline and some clean sort of talking vocals, and then it will absolutely erupt into a maelstrom of chaotic yet controlled black metal. All of these elements make for a great listen. The vocals are a big standout on the album, they either have two vocalists or they do some vocal layering. In the harsher moments, they combine some brutal death vocals with some harsh, grating black metal ones. In the clean moments, there is a combination of the talking vocals like Anders Friden on earlier In Flames albums, and some low, mournful singing. It all comes together quite well, and YSB really has their act together. The only thing that impressed me more than the vocals was the drums; good god the man is inhuman. Lightning quick double bass coupled with octopus-like agility on the cymbals, snare, and floor tom make for some mind-blowing metal. Simply put, My Swan Song is a great album by a great new band. What a nice surprise it was to hear some unconventional black metal, not too pretentious and not too "KVLT". It all boils down to the fact that Your Shapeless Beauty is a great "compromise band". They combine the best of black metal with the best of doom metal to create something interesting and fresh. Freshness is one of the best factors of a millennium metal band, and YSB comes highly recommended from the Wrathchild.
Wolved Are Not Yours - KILLER opening track, a showcase for what the band can do Of Roaches and Shades - One of the more doomish songs, quite powerful
