Review by Jack on July 20, 2002.

Warbling through 54 minutes of downtrodden production, distorting guitar symphonies laced with keyboard amphetamines Weltschmerz are able to go about their darkwave gothic saga with precision and expertise maybe rivaling the depressing art of Katatonia and My Dying Bride; all be it on a different plain of suffering.

“Capitale De La Douleur” is Weltschmerz’s latest burden of agony upon our aggrieved and lamenting world. Picture this: I just have recently completed my second year 1st semester examinations for university, and just finished 3 hours worth of Industrial Relations exams. My current feelings at the time of finishing exams were elation, joviality and general happiness. I drove home on a general high and found sitting in my letterbox a parcel from Eibon Records. In this particular package was a CD from Weltschmerz entitled “Capitale De La Douleur”. “Oh yeah, cool”, I thought to myself. I slotted the CD in to my stereo sat down for a while absorbed the material and at the conclusion let out an almighty sigh...

It takes an entirely large moment in one’s life to deflate an undergraduate student from his or her general euphoria at finishing another semester’s worth of exams. What I am getting at is that Weltschmerz’s “Capitale De La Douleir”, is not a huge moment in my life but successfully managed to peg down my bliss at finishing university exams for another semester. If you ask me, that is one great achievement for a doom record.

The track ‘Colore Di Pioggia E Di Ferro’, starts off with some distorted keyboard doodling sounding like some offbeat disturbed climatic moment in The Bold and The Beautiful (you know the kind). Slowly and ever so slowly, monotonous drumming wanders in to the keyboard atmosphere, which has now seen the entrance of vocalist Desire to the set of things. Guitars soon strike an even more depressing chord... and slowly things transpire to bottomless pit of despair. The song is Italian (I think), does it matter that I only completed year 10 Italian and can’t make head nor tail of the lyrics? No, not at all, this sort of exposition is all about the music and not necessarily about the lyrics and meaning of songs but what you the listener can get out of the song.

Bottom Line: I can’t make a lot of real sense from the lyrics of “Capitale De La Douleur”, but this is an album that can be cherished from those regardless of their language. A wonderful trip to the dark corners of the mind. Weltschmerz write music that needs to be experienced mechanistically in order to fully appreciate.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 8
Atmosphere: 10
Production: 7
Originality: 6
Overall: 8

Rating: 7.8 out of 10