listless-selftited-reviews

Review from The Headbanging Moose

Wed, 30 Apr 2025 21:22:58 +0100

From: The Headbanging Moose

Published: April 22, 2025

Behold the debut opus by this one-man Depressive Black Metal project from Canada, aiming to capture an isolated sense of solitude through melancholic introspection.

A solo Depressive Black Metal project based in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, from the mind of vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Aidan Crossley, the vocalist and guitarist for the excellent Atmospheric Black Metal band Liminal Shroud, Listless aims to capture an isolated sense of solitude through melancholic introspection. Recorded and mixed by Aidan himself, who was also responsible for all visual design, mastered by Cody Baresich at Circle A Studios, and with photography by Rob Hehr, the project’s self-titled debut aims to hypnotize listeners into a dark, endless oblivion with its emotionally resonant guitars, desperate howls, and sorrowful keys, being highly recommended for fans of Austere, Woods of Desolation, Coldworld, None, and Gris, among others.

Devoid starts in a lugubrious, grim manner to the minimalist guitar lines by Aidan, gradually evolving into a dense display of Depressive Black Metal while at the same time exploding into his anguished gnarls; and Aidan speeds things up in Burning Sky, blending his core Depressive Black Metal with Post-Metal elements, and the final result is simply amazing. Then we have Bloodstained Memories, back to a more introspective mode, with Aidan extracting minimalist sounds from his guitar, sounding caustic and despondent until the end. Aidan keeps dragging us down to his Stygian lair in Futility, an interlude that sounds bitterly harsh before we face Absence, one of the darkest, most depressive of all songs, with Aidan once again extracting unsettling sounds from his instruments while also gnarling deeply. Passerine, the longest song of the album, also brings to our avid ears a harsh onrush of Depressive and Atmospheric Black Metal, with his guitar lines and drums exhaling melancholy, whereas lastly, Aidan brings forward A Final Yearning Breath, a serene, grim outro that will darken our hearts for all eternity.

In summary, Listless channels the songwriting, intensity, and surging expansiveness of Liminal Shroud while focusing more on emotive aspects of musical expression in its debut album, resulting in a must-listen opus for admirers of contemporary Depressive Black Metal. You can check what Aidan and his Listless are up to on Facebook and on Instagram, stream their music on Spotify, and grab a copy of its caustic debut offering from the Hypnotic Dirge Records’ BandCamp, worldwide store or Canada/US store (CD only), letting the project’s harsh and atmospheric music penetrate deep inside your soul. There’s always some controversy surrounding Depressive Black Metal as a whole, but when the artist is question is as talented and focused as Aidan, bringing to us the striking sounds of Listless, any type of preconception should be ignored, simply letting the music do its wonderful job.

Rating: 3.5/5

Reviewed by: Gustavo Scuderi

Review from Black Metal Archives

Wed, 30 Apr 2025 21:20:49 +0100

From: Black Metal Archives

Published: April 22, 2025

Original Link

In the throngs of an ever more depressing world shaped by despair and bleakness, there come projects that blossom in darkness. Listless is one of those aforementioned projects. Hailing from Victoria, BC, Canada, Aidan Crossley, a name that might be familiar to fans of Liminal Shroud, and gis act Listless are a masterclass in DSBM. Incorporating not only elements from genre innovators such as Lifelover and None, they expand upon them. There is artistry present in every detail and it paints a canvas of desperation, which should not be overlooked. In the following words, I hope I can highlight exactly why.

Our first track, Devoid, opens with a slow and steady pace, which eases us into this sonic experience. It’s a bit slower when compared to forthcoming tracks with emphasis on the depressive elements, including Crossley’s haunting wails. While it’s a good introduction, the second track, Burning Sky, is where we truly take off.

The inspiration from Lifelover is evident but with enough originality to warrant their own kudos. There is variation of both tones and textures, which creates an impactful sound. With the increased pacing, I began to resonate more with the music. There was a good mix of homage to the greats with original ideas meshing into something unforgettable.

Bloodstained Memories, the third track, brings us back down again with a melodic intro focusing on guitar, which leads back into a harsher direction. There is also the addition of ethereal sung vocals, which add a beautiful contrast to the desolation of the lyrics. A very balanced performance all in all. Our fourth track is a musical interlude accompanied by a sample from the film Marriage Story, specifically the argument scene between the two leads.

Which leads me to my one complaint: this scene has been used as TikTok audio near to death and temporarily took me out of the moment. That is not necessarily the fault of the artist here, as I’m certain people who aren’t as chronically online as myself won’t make the connection.

The fifth track, Absence, weighs the atmosphere down again like a millstone, almost dredging into doom territory. This is also my favorite vocal performance on the album, which, much like the lyrics, is “disgusting” and “rotting.” It is a perfect thematic match that embellishes an already fantastic track. When the tone shifts with the presence of almost angelic cleans, the song cemented itself as my favorite track off this particular album. Added to the driving outro, it is composed in a way that makes it near perfect.

Passerine is our next sampling, which has a post-metal riff immediately opening, reminiscent to me of bands such as Ghost Bath. This track holds truest to what I believe the majority of DSBM fans will be looking for. Some ambient feeling is present, but builds up to a lot of depressive pressure. The structure allows us a pause to steadily build back up to the oppressive atmosphere. Matched with a few dreary synths this is a well-rounded song. We close with A Final Yearning Breath, an adequately named instrumental that draws to a fitting conclusion.

Listless’s self-titled album brought me that nostalgia I haven’t felt since my school days of discovering DSBM. That deep, resounding, crestfallen bleakness that in some way made me miss those moments. It is a must-listen. Full stop.

Listless’s album will be released on April 25th through Hypnotic Dirge Records and is currently available for pre-order on Bandcamp as well as physical copies over on their EU and US/Canada sites.

I would implore you all to go and listen on a dark, cold night and enjoy what assuredly will be in my top ten albums of this year. Thank you for reading, and until next time, hails or something.

Rating: 4.5/5

Reviewed by: Blackened Bliss

Review from Headbanger Reviews

Wed, 30 Apr 2025 21:19:31 +0100

From: Headbanger Reviews

Published: April 19, 2025

Original Link

It shouldn’t be a shock to anyone that black metal can be quite the evocative sound. With all sorts of different avenues that the sound can take, it’s no surprise that such a dark and bleak sound has become home to one of the more emotional aspects of metal music despite what many regard black metal as a whole as: cold and uncomforting. Despite that, the corner of black metal out there that dives headfirst into the most depressive aspect of the sound is something that can harbor some of the more compelling acts that black metal has to offer. With its debut album, Listless offers us a tremendous testament as to why that’s the case.

Already having more than enough experience in other black metal acts like Liminal Shroud, the mastermind behind Listless clearly knew what he was doing well before even writing the first note for this creation. As such, the pitfalls that can come from depressive black metal are effortlessly avoided and, instead, give the record the chance to grow well beyond our expectations with virtually every given moment of this bleak record something to call its own and something that we can really become lost within. There is beauty in a macabre sense of despair, loss, and other such emotions, and it would be a gross understatement to make the claim that Listless did not channel all of that magnificently across these seven tracks. More than capable of pulling off the slow aspects of this sound while always ensuring there’s room for speed and evisceration of the flesh amongst the spiritual rending that’s constantly going on, it’s throughout the whole of this record that Listless does a tremendous job at making this a multi-dimensional record that’s always ebbing and flowing, beckoning you further into the abyss that Listless holds dominion over rather than crafting some flat creation that feels tiring to listen to rather than fully immersing you in a dark wreath of despair like what we have here. The flickering light that appears in this record teases you as you claw for some semblance of salvation, but there is none to be had as long as Listless has something to say about it.

Ever further are you pulled into this record’s darkness with jagged hooks that sink oh so deep, there is no escape from what Listless delivers in this compelling debut. Depressive black metal may not be everyone’s favorite when it comes to what black metal can pull off, yet it’s when the sound comes into the hands of an act like Listless that are able to craft such a work with real care, finesse, and intense attention to detail that such suffering feels no less than immensely exquisite. This is a creation like few others with the potential to grab ahold of the sound like what None pulled off being quite high. Listless needs only to stay the course.

Reviewed by: Vinterd