Hopelorn - From Withered Branches
Hopelorn is one of those bands that comes along and surprises you. I was expecting a Goth Metal album based on the cover art, but this isn’t even close. Rami Stalnacke, the sole member of Hopelorn, has been doing this band since 2008, but only started releasing music in 2011. So far, all of Hopelorn’s material has been self-released. I don’t know if this is intentional or not, but it seems strange to me that a band has this much output and still remains unattached to a record label. This is Hopelorn’s first full-length album, prior to which there were two EPs: Golden Fields, Black Wings (2011) and Tuonen Musta Joki Virtaa Sydamessani (2012). I don’t have the two EPs, but From Withered Branches has made me want to track them down. This is some kick ass stuff. The best way to describe this record is Swedish Black/Death Metal. It’s Black Metal, but produced as if it were old-school Swedish Death Metal in the vein of early Entombed or Dismember. That means a thick, brutal, Sunlight Studios guitar sound that hits you hard, just like Left Hand Path did. Amidst the punishing guitar riffs are atmospheric elements, melodic riffs, acoustic guitars and minimalistic keyboards. The additional elements add some much needed variety to Hopelorn’s sound. One of the problems Death and Black Metal bands face is monotony. I can’t tell you how many CDs I’ve owned that were essentially ten different versions of the same song. From Withered Branches is far from monotonous. There is plenty of variety and interesting musical parts, but none of it comes at the expense of the mayhem and destruction that is being dished out throughout the course of this album. Hopelorn is definitely a band to look out for.
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