To Choose Life is to Choose Grief

Conceived in 2019 by members Grushenka Ødegård and Ray King, New England depressive black metal band Dysthymia crafts music steeped in despondency, isolation, and hopelessness. Following their raw self-titled full-length in 2021 and a split with Saeva in 2024, the band returns with their sophomore album "The Morning Darkness".

The album pulls you straight into a cold, heavy atmosphere that feels genuinely lived-in rather than theatrical. Layered and dynamic yet grounded in its atmosphere, Dysthymia excels at crafting tracks that breathe and build. Quiet, desolate moments give way to rising tension, driving the music forward with momentum that peaks in huge emotional crescendos. Dysthymia's greatest strength is its excellent sense of flow and dynamic songwriting, weaving mournful leads, sparse and distant piano, acoustic guitar, tortured screams, and ethreal clean vocals over a foundation of distant tremelo riffs and prominent basslines.

"This album was written and recorded slowly, over the course of several years, during late nights and early mornings. Through sadness and joy, suffering and relief, life and death, we have returned to share these songs with you. It is our hope that you enjoy them and find them useful in making your way through the days, where even the dawn does not bring light."