Originally written by Erik Thomas.
Synopsis:
More depressive elegance from the Netherlands’ masters of beautifully somber doom.
Review:
Much like Draconian, Shape of Despair, Pantheist, Slumber and many of the Finnish doom acts (Swallow the Sun, Ablaze My Sorrow, My Shameful), Officium Triste have the ability to litter evocative, rending harmonies with the very dregs of sorrow. “This Inner Twist” from their last effort, Reason, gave Draconian’s “Death, Come Near Me” a run as one of the saddest songs I had ever heard (though Funeral’s “The Architecture of Loss” has since taken that honor), and while Giving Yourself Away contains no such tracks, its still a stunningly somber effort.
The formula is pretty simple; vocally, a mix of deep, gruff roars mixes with sullen clean croons (that were missing on Reason) while the guitars deliver either layered, draining mid paced harmonies or lumbering, crushing doom riffage–all with the very barest of delicate synth and piano work over lengthy, developed songs.
These 6 tracks hover from the 6-10 minute mark and follow that formula to a T, with “This Charcoal Heart” arguably delivering the best of the tracks with a melodically rending climax that’s literally to die for, and “Signals” being the slowest, most plodding number. “The Crossroads of Souls” could be considered depressively epic, with Pim Blankenstein being joined by an angelic female voice and its sheer melancholic bliss. On the flip side, initially, “Inside Your Mind” is the album’s most urgent (though still mid paced) track, but after a sobering mid song piano break the song shifts into beautifully serene, lush and surprisingly hope filled pastures. Only instrumental and rather bland closer “Master of Your Own Demise” falls flat as the last track you hear on the album, leaving a slightly forgetful impression.
This is pretty much a no-brainer for fans of any band mentioned above. It’s a virtually perfect example of the genre, only hindered by the limitations of genre itself, meaning you essentially have to be a suicidal mopey individual with depression 24 hours as day to listen to the album in it entirety. Still, for the genre, Officium Triste continue to prove they are one of the very best.
