REVIEW: The Melancholic (Melancholia) by Vanha

"Listen to Vanha", "Listen to Vanha", "Vanha is wonderful"! These are examples for the messages I've received through Messenger after "Melancholia" came out to the light. Actually, as I am passing through a hard melancholic time, too hard to get up away bed! That's why I found that is a good chance to feel Vanha's "Melancholia" especially, the album is shared everyday on some Middle Eastern Metal groups, also "Melancholia" is released via Black Lion Records (Sweden) and I know well that BLR is selecting their choices carefully, and uniquely. So, I have this positive impression towards the release even before listening to it. Feelings that becomes reality after listening to the album!!! SO, LET'S MOVE TO "Melancholia"

Release Details

Release Name: Melancholia

Band: Vanha

Genre: Atmospheric/Death Doom Metal

Origin: Sweden

Type: Full Length

Release Date: December, 2018

Label: Black Lion Records

Rate: 8/10

REVIEW: The Melancholic (Melancholia) by Vanha 

By: Rana Atef 

As Usual, and as everyone who follows my reviews knows that I go through any album track by track. I want to attract you to some points before going through the album: 1- The album musically is connected so you may feel that the general mood of the riffs is so close, 2- choose a good time for listening to the album to be well involved in the mood (I am writing the review at 4:30 am), 3- Every track carries a special characteristic which is the presence of certain instrument. 

You can call what's mentioned above is a warming up! 

The first track of the album is "The Road"! With soft, darkened opening followed by Funeral Doom like tempo, it reflects the real meaning of being a lost on unknown road or in other words a road to nowhere. Those broken spoken sentences are like the exposition in act in any plays, they are narrative and descriptive. You can trace in the track the presence of steps walking towards the unknown. 

The melodic parts of the track are the exact description of lost, sorrowful person walking, looking behind, afraid of any ghost may follow it. 

Moving to "Storm of Grief", its dynamic intro is like failing into a storm of rhythms with no way out, even the vocals performing is trying to give you an image, image of being alone, standing on a high mountain, meditating inside yourself, and your grief. 

In the middle of the song, you can trace the orchestration work that backed the riffs through their rage. These orchestral sounds enrich the riffs of the track with more epic presence. 

Next is "Starless Sleep", its intro is somehow so calm accompanied with charming and melancholic violin/cello melodies, it is like a final nocturnal song before an everlasting sleep, the sleep which moves the soul from the occasions of chaotic life to the straless, darkened path of Death. That's why the melodies of the track are so weeping, and lamenting. They are shaking the soul inside.

"Your Heart in My Hands" is the upcoming one, In my point of view, this track is the most painful, and beautiful track in the album.  I felt this track with a real personal sense, as a 24 year old girl that loves a man met once 2 years ago, and he is like her mood-thermostat and she is trying to dissolve all the distance between her and him and trying to make him so proud of her although all her failed attempts! Do you know why my soul is fast connected to this track.

I felt those aching keys sounds with violin melody at the background as an epitaph for my ached heart, and a paralyzed logic of stopping this deadly love. Every keys note reflect one of my tears, and one of my open wounds. The clean singing part is really killing one! It is like a one who singing an elegy to those brokenhearted.

This track is like a knife which cuts deeper and deeper in the memory, bringing all the pain and sorrow in life and presents it in a form of deadly ghost who caught you on its web.

Next is "Fade Away", is so painful track, and you can trace the huge amount of sounds in it: keys, orchestration, and violins. It is like looking at everything around, and watching your previous sorrowful events, and thinking how this life is useless, hopeless, and helpless. The track is colored in colors of sadness, loneliness, darkness, and death.  

The final track is "The Sorrowful", the title of the track is the best description of it, Atmospheric/Ambient sounds mixed with darkened and melancholic riffs to give you images of a dark house with broken windows, and scattered pieces of glass on its floor. The image of a helpless man who is standing with crystallized cold drops of tears on his face, watching his hopes fall into the ground, sending farewell to all his shattered dreams, moving around bleeding, screaming inside!

Finally, I want to say that this album is a real piece of the melancholic, for the desperate depressed. Thank you VANHA for this amazing, artistic album! All The APPRECIATION