Decibel Magazine is now hosting the exclusive premiere of a new video from Finnish duo THE BLEAK PICTURE, created for the song “Tragedy’s Own.” The song is found on the band’s debut EP, Songs Of Longing, out now on Alone Records.
A place where Finish death/doom meets with England gothic rock formed following the no wave movement is the point of departure of the jaw dropping debut EP from THE BLEAK PICTURE, Songs Of Longing. Jussi Hänninen of missed cult act Fall Of The Leafe joins with Tero Ruohonen of Autumnfall in this absolutely must-hear act for fans of the genre that looks for something distinct without losing the essence.
Even as this music is rooted in the old-school, it serves as a new beginning. Looking towards the future without forgetting the past, THE BLEAK PICTURE is a coin with two equal sides that point your destiny underground. A perfect mix of early Katatonia constructed by the lightning feeling of superb melodies of the keyboards and guitars sharp enough to cut permafrost; mid-paced tempos with groovy keyboards in the same vein of Joy Division, Bauhaus, or Fields Of The Nephilim. It’s all met with a mix of vocal styles, with growls in the vein of Officium Triste mixed with clear passages drenched in anguish.
Self-recorded by Hänninen and Ruohonen, with session drummer Anssi Ikonen’s material recorded at Lucifuge Studio by Danil Venho, Songs Of Longing was mixed at DTT Äänitys by Danil Venha, mastered by Dan Swanö (Edge Of Sanity, Bloodbath) at Unisound AB, and completed with cover artwork photography by Tero Ruohonen and design/layout by Jose Postigo for Alone Records.
The band released the EP through Bandcamp last year, but now, Alone Records has welcomed the group to the label’s expansive roster and has officially released Songs Of Longing across all digital platforms as well as on vinyl and CD.
The new video for THE BLEAK PICTURE’s “Tragedy’s Own” was directed by Gure Hitzak. Vocalist Tero Ruohonen reveals, “I don’t want to go into detail on what the lyrics of the song are about, I’d rather leave that to the listener to dwell on and decide. With this video, however, it was very important to me that we got some theatre footage in it and this dark and murky feeling in general. The feeling of emptiness and longing and at times even anger and frustration was something I was personally hoping to channel in this video.”
Writes Decibel with the video’s premiere, “A lot of diverse influences – death growls, clean singing, synths, goth atmospherics – seem to coalesce in the stark new black and white video for the song ‘Tragedy’s Own,’ from Finnish duo THE BLEAK PICTURE.”
Watch THE BLEAK PICTURE’s “Tragedy’s End” video first at Decibel Magazine RIGHT HERE.
Songs Of Longing is now available through Alone Records with 300 copies on Clear 12” vinyl, on CD, and through all digital services. Find ordering options at the US shop HERE, the EU shop HERE, and Bandcamp HERE.
