Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
When things are bad, the sensible thing is to turn to art and especially music to remind you of the beauty that once strode hand in hand with you. When a nation suffers as the Greeks have for the last few years, their world turning upside down as bail out after bail out by those with perhaps less altruistic agendas, then you would be forgiven to think that the mood of the people, let alone the young, can turn their ideas to being creative. Don’t mention that in front of Sorrows Path as they reflect on the 2010 release The Rough Path of Nihilism ahead of a new album this year.
The group have already had more than their fair share of mourning with losing one of their own so tragically and so young. Other bands would have not been able to cope with this sudden loss but Sorrows Path are far from ordinary as the album The Rough Path of Nihilism shows all too well. Athens may be the home of modern enlightenment, the joint spring board that saw civilization spring forth with its poetry and music and flourish; once more this seems to be the case as the harsh vocals from Angelos Ioannidis and creative doom laden material reflect the modern times that young Greeks face without having to go down a different and more disturbing path.
Whilst the music may be Doom Metal at its finest broadest edge, the talent that holds it aloft is tangible and forthright, it cries, not just in desperation to be heard but in anger, a burning impulsiveness that sits on the youth of Europe today. The question of where do they go now and where do they turn to has never been more acute and it can only be hoped they take the correct view that not all is lost when art is still able to be enjoyed. Even with the sound of regret and dismay emanating through songs such as Fetish, Queen of Doom, Prostitute and Empty Eyes and Blackened Hearts it still gets the youthful passion burning, no matter the age.
The Rough Path of Nihilism is a beast of an album, born out of anger that has been used with positivity and with more balls than most placed in the same position.
Ian D. Hall