Shape of Despair
Template:Short description Template:More citations needed Template:Infobox musical artist
Shape of Despair is a funeral doomTemplate:Cn band from Finland.
HistoryEdit
The band was founded in 1995 as Raven by Jarno Salomaa (guitars, later also keyboards), Tomi Ullgrén (bass, later guitars) and Toni "Otso" Mäensivu (drums, later vocals).<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> They aspired to play faster, instrumental black metal influenced music following the footsteps of their contemporaries like Strid, Burzum, Darkthrone and Unholy.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> However, the trio soon decided that the music they played was not as good as they wanted it to be, feeling that it lacked the atmosphere and emotion of the bands that influenced them.
During the summer of 1995, Raven recorded their rehearsals on cassette tapes, capturing all the songs that later became the Alone In The Mist demo. After listening to the tape, Raven decided it was good enough to record the tracks in a professional studio. Three years later, Raven entered Arkki-studio.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> They postponed practicing vocals until the last minute and were surprised at how well Mäensivu's vocals fit their music. The Alone In The Mist demo<ref name="Young">Template:Cite book</ref> was not released until 2016.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The band changed their name in September 1998 to Shape of Despair, in part to distinguish themselves from a UK hard rock band of the same name.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Additionally, they believed their new moniker better reflected their sound.
In 2000, they signed a deal with Spikefarm Records and released their debut album Shades of...<ref Name="Young" /> with Samu Ruotsalainen on drums.
The second album Angels of Distress, released in September 2001, featured Pasi Koskinen on lead vocals.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> Sami Uusitalo joined in 2002 to play bass for the third album Illusion's Play (2004).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2005, the band released a compilation titled Shape of Despair, featuring rare and unreleased material from the group, including tracks from the band's first demo Alone in the Mist and a new song called “Sleeping Murder”.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The album was recorded over a four-day period at Sundicoop Studios in Savonlinna, Finland.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After a 5-year lull the band released the EP Written in My Scars<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and a split EP with Before The Rain.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
In 2011, Henri Koivula took over vocals from Koskinen.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Due in part to band members’ competing commitments to other musical projects, there was an 11 year gap between Illusion’s Play and their next full length album, Monotony Fields. Additionally, the instruments were recorded separately and months apart.<ref name=":1" /> Released on June 15, 2015, by Season of Mist,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Monotony Fields was hailed by one reviewer as “a great come back” and their best album so far.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2022, they released Return to the Void, which featured almost an hour of music.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Some reviewers praised the beauty and artistry of the music but commented that the sound was too monotonous.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
MembersEdit
Current membersEdit
- Jarno Salomaa – lead guitars (1995–present), keyboards (1998–present)
- Tomi Ullgrén – rhythm guitars (1998–present), bass (1995–2002)
- Natalie Koskinen (formerly known as Natalie Safrosskin) – vocals (1998–present)
- Sami Uusitalo – bass (2002–present)
- Henri Koivula – vocals (2011–present)
- Samu Ruotsalainen – drums (1999–2015, 2020–present)
Former membersEdit
- Toni Mäensivu – drums (1995–1999), vocals (1998–2001)
- Pasi Koskinen – vocals (2001–2010)
- Daniel Neagoe – drums (2015–2019)
TimelineEdit
<timeline> ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:18 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:120 top:0 right:15 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1995 till:{{#time:m/d/Y}} TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1995 ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1995 Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4
Colors =
id:vocals value:red legend:Vocals id:lead value:teal legend:Lead_guitar id:rhythm value:brightgreen legend:Rhythm_guitar id:bass value:blue legend:Bass id:keys value:purple legend:Keyboards id:drums value:orange legend:Drums id:bars value:gray(0.95) id:studio value:black legend:Studio_album id:other value:gray(0.5) legend:Demos/EPs
BackgroundColors = bars:bars
LineData =
at:06/01/2000 color:black layer:back at:09/25/2001 color:black layer:back at:09/27/2004 color:black layer:back at:10/31/2010 color:other layer:back at:06/30/2011 color:other layer:back at:06/15/2015 color:black layer:back at:12/09/2016 color:other layer:back at:02/25/2022 color:black layer:back
BarData =
bar:Pasi text:"Pasi Koskinen" bar:Henri text:"Henri Koivula" bar:Nat text:"Natalie Koskinen" bar:Jarno text:"Jarno Salomaa" bar:Tomi text:"Tomi Ullgren" bar:Sami text:"Sami Uusitalo" bar:Toni text:"Toni Mäensivu" bar:Samu text:"Samu Ruotsalainen" bar:Dan text:"Daniel Neagoe"
PlotData =
width:11 bar:Toni from:01/01/1995 till:01/01/1998 color:drums bar:Toni from:09/01/1998 till:06/01/1999 color:vocals width:3 bar:Toni from:01/01/1998 till:06/01/1999 color:drums bar:Toni from:06/01/1999 till:05/01/2001 color:vocals bar:Pasi from:05/01/2001 till:12/01/2010 color:vocals bar:Henri from:08/01/2011 till:end color:vocals bar:Nat from:09/01/1998 till:end color:vocals bar:Jarno from:01/01/1995 till:end color:lead bar:Jarno from:01/01/1995 till:09/01/1998 color:rhythm width:3 bar:Jarno from:09/01/1998 till:end color:keys width:3 bar:Tomi from:01/01/1995 till:09/01/1998 color:bass bar:Tomi from:09/01/1998 till:11/01/2002 color:bass width:3 bar:Tomi from:09/01/1998 till:end color:rhythm bar:Sami from:11/01/2002 till:end color:bass bar:Samu from:06/01/1999 till:06/19/2015 color:drums bar:Samu from:07/17/2020 till:end color:drums bar:Dan from:08/15/2015 till:09/19/2019 color:drums </timeline>
DiscographyEdit
AlbumsEdit
- Shades of... (2000 - Spikefarm Records, Reissued in 2006 by Season of Mist)
- Angels of Distress (September 25, 2001 - Spikefarm Records, Relapse Records)
- Illusion's Play (September 27, 2004 - Spikefarm Records, Reissued in 2005 by Season of Mist)
- Monotony Fields (June 15, 2015 - Season of Mist)
- Return to the Void (February 25, 2022 - Season of Mist)
EPsEdit
- Written in My Scars (October 31, 2010 - Solarfall Records)
- Shape of Despair / Before the Rain (June 30, 2011 - Avantgarde Music)
Compilation albumsEdit
- Shape of Despair (August 3, 2005 - Spikefarm Records, Reissued in 2006 by Season of Mist)
DemosEdit
- Rehearsal I (1995, as Raven, instrumental demo with 2 songs)
- Rehearsal II (1995, as Raven, instrumental demo with 5 songs)
- Alone In The Mist (recorded in 1998 as Raven, though never officially released as Raven, released in 2016 by Season of Mist under Shape Of Despair)
- Promo 1998 (1998, as Raven)
ReferencesEdit
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