Musical Style
Shape of Despair is a pioneer of an inimitable, haunting, and intricately woven style of music. While the exact genre classification has remained open to debate by many in the metal community, there is a consensus about their importance, place and influence in the metal and musical world. Some of the styles they have been tagged with include melodic Death/doom and atmospheric funeral doom metal with Gothic metal elements. The difficulty in classifying the band under one specific metal sub-genre is a result of the inherent complexity with which they operate musically.
Typically, the structure to many of the songs resounds with a wall of interwoven melodies. The guitars are low, distorted, heavy and constant. The synthesizers are usually light and contribute to the general ambiance. On Angels of Distress, a violin works in conjunction with the synths. The mood of the synthesizers, the droning guitars, two distinct vocal styles, booming bass, and deliberate drums, all act in concert to explicate the various themes of tragedy, wonder, and mystery of existence. The key to any description of the music is to focus on the ubiquity of the sound.
The band makes much use of repetition to better invoke a pervasive atmosphere. The drumming never strays from the deliberate pace of the songs. The male vocals are usually deep guttural growls. In contrast, the female vocals are ethereal, poignant and peaceful. Often whole passages occur with either female or male vocals; sometimes, both are used together. The contrast between the dark inherent in the male, and ghostly heights from the female, compares favorably to the antipodes of light vs. dark. In the sense that the vocals contrast in this manner it is similar to the "beauty and the beast aesthetic," attributed to Gothic Metal vocals.
The songs are typically long, avg usually 10 min. There is deliberate pace makes the transitions and changes in the songs more stark and noticeable. In summation, there is a distinct otherworldly feel to the music as the band intends to push the boundaries of conventional music.
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