Review by Lawrence Stillman on October 9, 2024.

A guy hanging himself from a tree while the words "I'm Fine" are overlaid on the cover art is not fine at all. Anyways, after listening to a lot of bands that took influences from the Peaceville Three, I finally got around to reviewing an album that took more influences from October's Tide instead of the Peaceville Three, which meant more gothic elements within the album.

This band from Russia is quite peculiar; instead of following the leaders of the genre, they decide to carve their own path and take their influence from bands like October's Tide, who have a more gothic take on the melodic death/doom genre. But that aside, one thing that immediately caught my attention is how much faster and more riff-centric their songs are. If you have been reading my death metal and doom metal reviews, you know that I'm a sucker for this kind of death/doom where it can get really dark and visceral really quick. This combo essentially created what I really sought after in death and doom metal records, combining the best aspects of both and the best aspects of the fusion itself.

The gothic elements that are present here do make the lyrics and song titles even more gloomy; it's all about the lyrical themes of suicide and depression, contemplating a future that does not exist and why they are still living despite knowing that there will be no future, just a metaphorical hell, with the samples of Vladimir Putin at the start of 'No Future' really selling the bleakness of a Russia falling into ruin with absolutely no way to save it (might be why 2 of the members moved to the US). The rest of the lyrics aren't any better either; they're still full of doom and gloom, just portrayed with a brighter-than-usual soundscape.

Musically, it feels like death, gothic, and doom metal have an organized choreography made out of conflicting ideas. At parts, you can see all three sides appearing all at once, like epic doom instrumentation with death growls and gothic choirs/keyboards. It sounds like an idea that should fail, but somehow Wine From Tears managed to shove them all together, sounding not just coherent but excellent as well.

Instrumentally, all the instruments are vastly different when it comes to the genre they stick in as the guitars stand by death metal while the keyboards are firmly in gothic metal territory, with the drums being firmly in the middle of all 3 genres. The vocals are a mix between doomy cleans, melodeath roars, and regular death growls, this is actually the least confusing part of the album, as this approach is commonplace in death/black metal bands with 2+ vocalists (see Rivers Of Nihil for a death metal example, at least when it still had 2 vocalists. Sigh for the black metal example.) The bass is quite audible this time around, which is unusual for a band that does not have a tech or prog label. Most of the time, you can only feel its presence, but once the vocals and rhythm guitars are removed from the sound, that is when you can perfectly hear the grindy bass. The best example of this is in the intro for 'The Orphan'.

This album is probably one of the best albums I have heard in a while, perfectly blending what I love about both sides of death/doom and then making it a depressive masterpiece that oddly hits too close to home due to how realistic and applicable the lyrics are in the real world for the common folk. Definitely a must-get for fans of death/doom/gothic metal, unless you are purely a death metal fan.

Highlights: 'Cotard's Delusion', 'The Orphan', 'Insignificant'

Rating: 9.7 out of 10