Veldes - To Drown in Bleeding Hope
This is the debut album from Slovenia’s Veldes (not to be confused with the band Veles from Poland). I believe that this is also the only release by this relatively young one-man unit. For a first record, this is some really good stuff. Tilen Simon, the sole member of Veldes, has been in a few bands before this (metal-archives.com has him listed as being a member of Nephrolith under the name “Isvaroth”, as well as being a former member of Within Destruction and Wintersoul). One thing is clear: he does have a knack for writing dark and atmospheric Black Metal. To Drown in Bleeding Hope is full of brooding melodies and somber atmospheres. All of the songs have a melancholic feeling, and while occasionally it bleeds into depressive tones, I wouldn’t classify this as SDBM (Suicidal/Depressive Black Metal). I thought that it was a bit like combining the darkened atmosphere of Katatonia with the depressive minimalistic style of Burzum, but with more melody and ambience. It reminded me of being on the beach as a storm was coming in. The rain hadn’t started, but the atmosphere was charged and heavy. The wind was starting to howl and the sky was a brooding gray color. Some might find my description a bit melodramatic, but that’s how I felt when listening to this LP. One complaint I read about this album was that it was too short. I have to admit that I agreed with that sentiment, because while all of the songs are really good, the whole thing was over a lot sooner than I wanted it to be. These five tracks clock in at a total of 36 minutes. As far as I’m concerned, this could technically be considered an EP - though if we’re speaking of technicalities, Deicide albums were usually about this long too. I thought To Drown in Bleeding Hope was a very effective debut and I definitely want to hear more from this band.
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