I'm following SHATTERED HOPE from their first demo and they always made steps forward every time I listened to their new stuff or live on stage. So I was really happy to see their debut full length album "Absence" in my hands for a review.

I don't think that I have to write down their history from 2002 until now, since the thing that we are all interested in is music itself. But if you want to read a few things you can visit their official site, or read the review of their 2007 promo.

So here we are dealing with seven compositions that, if you like labels, are definitely under the umbrella of funeral Doom/Death Metal. And even though doing something new and sound fresh is, we can say, prohibited in this gerne, since in this kind of music it is difficult if not impossible to put anything "new", SHATTERED HOPE sat at the table with really good cards in their hands. Of course they have influence from bands like MY DYING BRIDE and SATURNUS. Alongside, they have some aces in their sleeves like "Yearn", a song that leaves the down tempo and sounds more "Rock" in front of the others. The production is in a good level and the band is showing their evolution by re-recording two songs from their previous demos."Vital Lie" is 3 minutes longer and "Enlighten The Darkness" can show how SHATTERED HOPE has evolved. The sextet sounds in good form and the long slow tempo with some quick breaks shows what they are capable of in the future.

"Absence" is an album that fans of Doom/Death Metal will definitely find interesting. Nice ideas combined with a good growl voice bind nicely and the atmosphere is the one that an album like that should have. My only objection? Like three years ago, and I know that I wrote earlier it's not easy to find new elements in this genre, they have to filter their influences better and not sound like a copy of those.