Released on: 27th April 2018
Totalselfhatreds’ latest is an album about rainbows, hugging cats and rebelling against the patriarchy as told through the eyes of a fly. While it also pontificates on other deep political issues such as the cultural appropriation of Roman numerals and the Latin alphabet. All while retaining an easily distinguishable style from all the other albums under the Rock & Pop section of your local disc dealer.
Except that none of those things are true.
They say that two’s company but three’s a crowd. Totalselfhatreds’ third album titled Solitude is filled with vitriol. A stark contrast to the dark beauty that it hides between its intense expression. The juxtaposition is welcome and the Finnish group have reiterated some wonderfully sombre concepts fitting of the DSBM genre into an abrasive tapestry woven in sound.
Ruminating on concepts like a love of night and darkness Totalselfhatred are experienced in such matters like Cold Numbness and Nyktophilia as they hail from Finland. Where nights can be as long as fifty-one days in the north and just eighteen in the south. It gives you a lot of time to appreciate that less can be more.
Solitude works with two styles. Black metal and acoustic rock. Totalselfhatred fix them together seamlessly into a coherent package that is both daring and solemn. The contrasting effects push the feeling and amplify the earnest mood of this mournful composition. Replete with anguish and determination Totalselfhatred are more tuned to the proverb that good things come in threes.
7/10
