Published: November 2014

Although In My Shiver present themselves as a DSBM/Depressive Rock band, they do not sound anything like Grey Waters for example. On the internet the band is given the Blackgaze label often, which is more appropriate in my opinion. There’s very little Shoegaze in this album and it has a Black Metal core, but there’s an abundance of Alternative Rock elements as well, such as clean vocals, which remind me of Anathema.

It’s puzzling how one reviewer gave an 80% rating for “Delicate Poison”. He calls the album “warmly bleak”, but I do not see “bleak” as an advantage here. It sounds empty, there’s nothing gripping the listener, no honest uniqueness. Sometimes honesty creates an impression of individuality, but here everything is based on the same formula - riffs, programmed drums, predictable compositions. I guess the atmosphere is that “warm” part with its light, melancholic feeling, but that’s about it. If Rock influences are more preferable to the band then it’s best to skip Black Metal elements altogether because it’s not working out so well. Moreover, the lyrics seem to be no third-rate Brutal Death Metal type, but they are trite nevertheless, e.g. “Only enslaved from the unreal colours! We hate, we trust, we are gray. Nothing now it’s human, sounds, perfumes, memories, all dragged in unique purpose; Cancel the light!” (from “Into the Gray Line” song). The words convey the fragility and dreariness of life, but in a very pseudo-philosophical way or at least it sounds like that in the context of these monotonous songs.

“Delicate Poison” has no specific features to distinguish itself from any other similar band. Obviously, In My Shiver is still in search of its unique sound. Yes, it’s safer to stick to what’s known rather than try to invent something of your own, but without an individual trait the band won’t get far.