Atmospheric Depressive Black Metal band from Sri Lanka. On May 19th, 2023, Dhishti released their third studio album, Life Is Suffering. The album was released through Satanath Records and co-released with Australis Records (Chile), Tragedy Productions (Chile), and Slava Productions (Thailand).
Introduction:
Dhishti, Life Is Suffering: This review will evaluate every aspect of the album, from its intricate musical composition to its production. Our analysis will provide valuable insights to help you determine if this album is worth adding to your collection.
The First Three Sins of Life Is Suffering
Let’s start by discussing the first three sins of Dhishti and their Life Is Suffering.
The First Sin, The Strings/Keys: Features twin guitar work to create an eerie vibe, with blackened tremolo picking, dissonant harmonies and frosty Norwegian guitar tones. The thunderous bass riffs add depth to the sound. The Second Sin, The Vocals: Involves agonisingly high-pitched shrieks and tortuous wails, keeping you on the edge of your seat. The Third Sin—The Percussions: Delves into the vast world of raw and powerful drumming and demonic ritualistic beats drive the music forward.
The Fourth Sin: Overall Discussion: Concept takes us through their ancestors’ shadowy & enigmatic traditions
As the listener pushes the play button, the opening track, Kannalua, greets the listener with a ritualistic ambience and frightening, occult-like chanting in the ancient Sinhala language, setting the album’s theme in motion.
The listener continues their journey with the second piece, Maranashruti, and the five remaining pieces. The music takes the listener on a journey where the album speaks about “beliefs, rituals and prophecies that certain groups of people still follow….”
Dhishti’s fascinating concept takes us through their ancestors’ shadowy and enigmatic traditions1. The album’s lyrics are written in an older form of the native language, which dates back over two thousand years. The language was chosen because these rituals were initially done in Sinhala, and translating them into another language would take away their originality and authenticity.
Life Is Suffering is a compelling compilation of seven songs, each with its own style and character. The album is forty-six minutes long, with some tracks lasting more than eight minutes, allowing listeners to immerse themselves completely. Each song has a unique mood and takes you on an emotional journey, connecting you to the music and the performer.
Life Is Suffering is a fruit-of-art musical release that boasts top-notch (modern) production sound and quality that elevates the album’s overall quality. The music is a fusion of atmospheric and depressive black metal, creating a unique and captivating listening experience. The composition and songwriting are executed precisely and skillfully, resulting in a powerful and emotionally charged release.
Life Is Suffering is a depressing, dark, twisted atmosphere surrounded by the haunting sounds of Dhishti’s devilmanship and instrumentation. The album mixes things with occasional tribal drumming effects, dissonant harmonies and melodious/rhythmic riffs that break the darkness with some glimmer of light. The striking lead guitar work is a real treat for the ears, and it all comes together to create an unforgettable listening experience.
If you are an extreme metal or an atmospheric/depressive black metal fan, you must have Life Is Suffering in your collection. This music is a powerful, emotional and depressive journey.
The album comes to an end with the last song, Marudepawilla. We want to give a shoutout to Satanath Records for letting us review Dhishti and their Life Is Suffering album. Now, we’re going to wrap it up by talking about the final three sins and concluding the review.
You’re Listening to “Maranashruti—Live at Ominous…”
PlayThe last Three Sins
Let’s discuss the last three sins, our thoughts on Dhishti and their Life Is Suffering album.
The Fifth Sin, The Memorabilia: Is that for us, Life Is Suffering is an album that does not shy away from exploring the darkest and most disturbing aspects of human experience. Its soundscapes are hauntingly atmospheric and expertly capture many sufferings and agony.
The Sixth Sin, The Artwork:
The captivating artwork impeccably embodies the essence of the music’s lyrical themes.
The Seventh Sin, Disrelish:
Nothing to disrelish within the musical spectrum of Dhishti, and their album Life Is Suffering.
This concludes the Dhishti, Life Is Suffering review.
Track-Listing:
- කන්නලවුව (Kannalaua) (instrumental)
- මරණාශෘති (Maranashruti)
- සූර්යවංශ කාළ සජ්ඣායනා (Sooryawansha Kala Sajhayana)
- දිෂ්ටි (Dhishti)
- නීච පාප (Neecha Paapa)
- අක්ෂිධාරා (Akshidhara)
- මරුදැපවිල්ල (Marudepawilla)
Dhishti is:
- Jayakody – demonic invocations
- Nishendra “Vishrawa” Fernando – conjuror of darkness
- Bishan “Lord Vibeeshana” Young – summoning dissonant harmonies
- Gurusinghe – evoking low-end storms
- Ashane “Prahasta” Silva – demonic ritualistic beats
- You will be intrigued to learn that many of these ancient practices continue to be observed even today, despite passing time and modernity. ↩︎
