Band – Vanha
Album – Melancholia
Country of Origin – Sweden
Genre – Death Doom Metal
Release Date – December 28, 2018
Label – Black Lion Records
Author – Hayduke X
Immense sadness. That is the feel of Melancholia. I suppose, given the name, that’s the idea. Vanha is the project of Jan, who does all of the instruments, writing, vocals, etc. The project feels very personal. I don’t know if this is true, but I’d guess Vanha is a way to work through negative emotions. It feels visceral.
Coming in at around 46 minutes long, Melancholia features six excellent tracks of mid-paced, emotive death doom, essentially a textbook example of the style. I don’t mean to say that the album is uninspired. Rather, I’m suggesting that this album can be considered an exemplar. Other bands attempting the Death Doom should look to the album as an example of how to play the style properly.
In addition to the standard metal instrumentation, Jan uses some orchestral instrumentation. Strings (violin in particular, I believe) are used to great effect to bring out the pathos of the album. The vocals are also a huge part of the composition with a melancholy growl of near grief. Play this when you need to sit in sorrow for awhile.
Biography: Hayduke X has been writing for MoshPitNation since June of 2016. Prior to joining the MoshPitNation team, Hayduke published reviews on his own blog Rage and Frustration. In addition, he has DJ’ed an online metal radio show of the same name as his blog, written for TOmetal.com, done interviews for Metal Rules, and collaborated with The Art of B Productions to create video interviews with a wide variety of bands.
