Shape of Despair

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Shape of Despair
File:Shape of Despair 2023-10-07 From Dusk Till Doom 1.jpg
Background information
Also known asRaven (1995–1998)
OriginHelsinki, Finland
GenresFuneral doom metal
Years active1995–present
LabelsSpikefarm (2000–2005)
Season Of Mist (2005–2010, 2012–present)
Solarfall (2010)
Avantgarde Music (2011)
MembersJarno Salomaa
Tomi Ullgrén
Natalie Koskinen
Sami Uusitalo
Henri Koivula
Daniel Neagoe
Past membersToni Mäensivu
Pasi Koskinen
Samu Ruotsalainen

Shape of Despair is a funeral doom band from Finland.

History

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The band was founded in 1995 as Raven by Jarno Salomaa (guitars, later also keyboards), Tomi Ullgrén (bass, later guitars) and Toni "Otso" Mäensivu (drums, later vocals).[1] They aspired to play faster, instrumental black metal influenced music following the footsteps of their contemporaries like Strid, Burzum, Darkthrone and Unholy.[2] However, the trio soon decided that the music they played was not as good as they wanted it to be, feeling that it lacked the atmosphere and emotion of the bands that influenced them.

During the summer of 1995, Raven recorded their rehearsals on cassette tapes, capturing all the songs that later became the Alone In The Mist demo. After listening to the tape, Raven decided it was good enough to record the tracks in a professional studio. Three years later, Raven entered Arkki-studio.[3] They postponed practicing vocals until the last minute and were surprised at how well Mäensivu's vocals fit their music. The Alone In The Mist demo[4] was not released until 2016.[5]

The band changed their name in September 1998 to Shape of Despair, in part to distinguish themselves from a UK hard rock band of the same name.[1][6] Additionally, they believed their new moniker better reflected their sound.

In 2000, they signed a deal with Spikefarm Records and released their debut album Shades of...[4] with Samu Ruotsalainen on drums.

The second album Angels of Distress, released in September 2001, featured Pasi Koskinen on lead vocals.[7] Sami Uusitalo joined in 2002 to play bass for the third album Illusion's Play (2004).[8]

In 2005, the band released a compilation titled Shape of Despair, featuring rare and unreleased material from the group, including tracks from the band's first demo Alone in the Mist and a new song called “Sleeping Murder”.[9] The album was recorded over a four-day period at Sundicoop Studios in Savonlinna, Finland.[10] After a 5-year lull the band released the EP Written in My Scars[11] and a split EP with Before The Rain.[12]

In 2011, Henri Koivula took over vocals from Koskinen.[1][13] Due in part to band members’ competing commitments to other musical projects, there was an 11 year gap between Illusion’s Play and their next full length album, Monotony Fields. Additionally, the instruments were recorded separately and months apart.[13] Released on June 15, 2015, by Season of Mist,[14][15] Monotony Fields was hailed by one reviewer as “a great come back” and their best album so far.[16]

In 2022, they released Return to the Void, which featured almost an hour of music.[17] Some reviewers praised the beauty and artistry of the music but commented that the sound was too monotonous.[18][19][20]

Members

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Current members

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  • Jarno Salomaa – lead guitars (1995–present), keyboards (1998–present)
  • Tomi Ullgrén – rhythm guitars (1998–present), bass (1995–2002)
  • Natalie Koskinen (formerly known as Natalie Safrosskin) – vocals (1998–present)
  • Sami Uusitalo – bass (2002–present)
  • Henri Koivula – vocals (2011–present)
  • Samu Ruotsalainen – drums (1999–2015, 2020–present)

Former members

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  • Toni Mäensivu – drums (1995–1999), vocals (1998–2001)
  • Pasi Koskinen – vocals (2001–2010)
  • Daniel Neagoe – drums (2015–2019)

Timeline

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<timeline> ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:18 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:120 top:0 right:15 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1995 till:07/03/2026 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1995 ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1995 Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4

Colors = 

id:vocals  value:red       legend:Vocals
id:lead    value:teal     legend:Lead_guitar
id:rhythm  value:brightgreen  legend:Rhythm_guitar
id:bass    value:blue      legend:Bass
id:keys    value:purple   legend:Keyboards
id:drums   value:orange    legend:Drums
id:bars    value:gray(0.95)
id:studio  value:black   legend:Studio_album
id:other   value:gray(0.5) legend:Demos/EPs

BackgroundColors = bars:bars

LineData = 

at:06/01/2000 color:black layer:back
at:09/25/2001 color:black layer:back
at:09/27/2004 color:black layer:back
at:10/31/2010 color:other layer:back
at:06/30/2011 color:other layer:back
at:06/15/2015 color:black layer:back
at:12/09/2016 color:other layer:back
at:02/25/2022 color:black layer:back

BarData = 

bar:Pasi      text:"Pasi Koskinen"
bar:Henri    text:"Henri Koivula"
bar:Nat       text:"Natalie Koskinen"
bar:Jarno    text:"Jarno Salomaa"
bar:Tomi     text:"Tomi Ullgren"
bar:Sami     text:"Sami Uusitalo"
bar:Toni      text:"Toni Mäensivu"
bar:Samu    text:"Samu Ruotsalainen"
bar:Dan       text:"Daniel Neagoe"

PlotData = 

width:11
bar:Toni      from:01/01/1995 till:01/01/1998  color:drums
bar:Toni      from:09/01/1998 till:06/01/1999  color:vocals width:3
bar:Toni      from:01/01/1998 till:06/01/1999  color:drums
bar:Toni      from:06/01/1999 till:05/01/2001  color:vocals
bar:Pasi      from:05/01/2001 till:12/01/2010  color:vocals
bar:Henri    from:08/01/2011 till:end  color:vocals
bar:Nat       from:09/01/1998 till:end  color:vocals
bar:Jarno    from:01/01/1995 till:end  color:lead
bar:Jarno    from:01/01/1995 till:09/01/1998  color:rhythm width:3
bar:Jarno    from:09/01/1998 till:end  color:keys width:3
bar:Tomi      from:01/01/1995 till:09/01/1998  color:bass
bar:Tomi      from:09/01/1998 till:11/01/2002  color:bass width:3
bar:Tomi     from:09/01/1998 till:end  color:rhythm
bar:Sami      from:11/01/2002 till:end  color:bass
bar:Samu    from:06/01/1999 till:06/19/2015  color:drums
bar:Samu    from:07/17/2020 till:end  color:drums
bar:Dan       from:08/15/2015 till:09/19/2019  color:drums
</timeline>

Discography

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Albums

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  • Shades of... (2000 - Spikefarm Records, Reissued in 2006 by Season of Mist)
  • Angels of Distress (September 25, 2001 - Spikefarm Records, Relapse Records)
  • Illusion's Play (September 27, 2004 - Spikefarm Records, Reissued in 2005 by Season of Mist)
  • Monotony Fields (June 15, 2015 - Season of Mist)
  • Return to the Void (February 25, 2022 - Season of Mist)

EPs

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  • Written in My Scars (October 31, 2010 - Solarfall Records)
  • Shape of Despair / Before the Rain (June 30, 2011 - Avantgarde Music)

Compilation albums

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  • Shape of Despair (August 3, 2005 - Spikefarm Records, Reissued in 2006 by Season of Mist)

Demos

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  • Rehearsal I (1995, as Raven, instrumental demo with 2 songs)
  • Rehearsal II (1995, as Raven, instrumental demo with 5 songs)
  • Alone In The Mist (recorded in 1998 as Raven, though never officially released as Raven, released in 2016 by Season of Mist under Shape Of Despair)
  • Promo 1998 (1998, as Raven)

References

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