### Loss: Despond

#### 06/08/12 || The Duff

Three funeral doom albums were released in 2011 to my knowledge – Mournful Congregation’s “The Book of Kings” took the top-spot where Esoteric’s “Paragon of Dissonance” was a double-album snoozefest. The third of last year’s doom releases was Loss’ debut album, a long time coming after many, many demos as far back as 2004 – newcomers these guys ain’t. “Despond” focuses more on the despairing side of funeral doom meaning not nearly as many riffs as the sub-genre’s stalwarts.

In this sense Loss are akin to Mournful Congregation, except the latter write grand epic-length tracks where Loss are certainly more digestible. The production is not your typical funeral doom fare, the mix is light, with an unusually clean bass tone and bright, ringing guitars during the more pensive sections and clean, crunchy during the heftier. A nice mix, but to say the least Loss are not for ye despairing in the self-loathing sense but rather the ‘she left me and took her vagina with her and now I have a festering rash on my underside that I refuse to treat’.

The music is altogether very dreamy, very slow-paced, a lot of epic leads and ringing chords, sparse, despondent cleans and interweaving guitars. Also, there are some hints of black metal (bands like Wolves in the Throne Room or Altar of Plagues – that sparse atmosphere of nature they do so well).

Really, you can’t go wrong with Loss, they seem like a ‘comfort doom band’, which is bizarre; I’m not used to EZ listening when to get into an Evoken or Esoteric record is to be left emotionally ravaged, but dare I say most of this is actually nice: a peacefully rewarding listen for 6 am coffees under grey skies and Winter weather.

- Information
- Released: 2011
- Label: Profound Lore Records
- Website: Loss MySpace
- Band
- John Anderson: bass
- Jay LeMaire: drums
- Timothei Lewis: guitars
- Mike Meacham: vocals, guitars

- Tracklist
- 01. Weathering the Blight
- 02. Open Veins to a Curtain Closed
- 03. Cut-Up, Depressed and Alone
- 04. Deprived of the Void
- 05. An Ill Body Seats My Sinking Sight
- 06. Despond
- 07. Shallow Pulse
- 08. Conceptual Funeralism Unto the Final Act (of Being)
- 09. Silent and Completely Overcome
- 10. The Irreparable Act