Forming a creative partnership outside of their work with Melodic Black Metal outfit Autumnfall, vocalist Tero Ruohonen and multi-instrumentalist Jussi Hänninen set out in 2021 to create something a little darker and bleaker. The result was their Melodic Death/Doom Metal project, The Bleak Picture.
The Bleak Picture – Shades Of Life
Release Date: 27 June 2025
Words: Jools Green
The Bleak Picture released their debut EP, Songs Of Longing, in 2021 and their full-length debut album, Meaningless, last year, delivering works often epic length that meld stunning beauty with overwhelming anguish.
Not resting on their laurels, they return with their second album, Shades Of Life, seven tracks spanning over forty-five minutes of hauntingly bleak yet richly textured, atmospheric and all-encompassing music.
Sound-wise they deliver a classic Doom/Death meld that echoes subtle elements of the likes of Paradise Lost, Moonspell, Katatonia, and the slightly gothic aura of Fields Of The Nephilim. There are even some aspects of Daylight Dies, so Shades Of Life is an album that offers appeal to a broad range of atmospheric Death/Doom fans.
I cannot fault the final result. Alongside Jussi’s obvious talent as a multi-instrumentalist, Tero’s harsh vocals are superb, which he unleashes with harsh clarity, protracting with perfection when needed.
Shades Of Life is a well-varied offering, opening with Plagued By Sorrow. Hauntingly melancholic and hugely atmospheric from the offset, the subtle and reflective, melodic element courses in a haunting, floating manner across the duration of the piece which engulfs you.
Ebbing into quieter segments followed by crunchy builds, there is a subtle gothic edge which gradually develops across the track. Vocally, it is superb, largely deep and raw, but at the same time flowing with the melody. You also get a whispered element midway through the second half, in a superb piece that grabbed my attention from the offset.
Simple, clean guitars are followed by a very blackened ambient riff as Absolution opens, with keyboards and spoken word building the sound further. Gradually merging out into a very atmospheric but bleak mood, the haunting keyboards course around the harsh vocals.
Revisiting the cleaner lines and spoken element in the second half, this track delivers a sublimely bleak swathe leadwork towards the close in a superb thought-provoking piece.
Jangling guitars form a hypnotic repeat encompassing most of the Code Of Ethics. Alongside a meld of spoken and harsh vocals, this is all delivered at a reflective contemplative pace.
The next piece, Without The I, unleashes a very strong and haunting gothic feel to its doom-rich delivery. This is made all the more crushing by those vocals, which are also accompanied by haunting whispers and clean backing chants.
I love the slow, subtle build to Circular Reflection. It is a dark, sultry and reflective piece, with acidic whispered vocals initially. These vocals turn deeper as the slow climbing crawl progresses, and the pace builds slightly, with the layers of instrumentation gradually becoming denser and more textured. The closing leadwork is both haunting and sublime and once again, there is a very engaging gothic feel to the piece.
At almost eleven minutes duration, Silent Exit is the album’s longest piece. Its eerie reflective opener is overlaid with a beautiful haunting melody which weaves its way across the duration of the track. The vocals are initially clean and distant and with a slight echo, which returns further into the track, adding to that atmosphere.
When the harsh vocals kick in, the mood feels darker and bleaker. Musically, it has a wistful ebb and build. It is very fluid and haunting, which sits so well with the raw, deep, and bleakly reflective delivery. It has some great protractions and is a beautifully melancholic reflective piece.
The final offering, City Of Ghosts, feels stark, eerie and magnificently atmospheric as it opens. The vocals are raw and rasping getting lower as the piece progresses alongside clean backing vocals. A subtly disquieting piece that leaves the hair standing on the back of your neck and an impressive and memorable way to end an album.
The Bleak Picture release Shades Of Life on 27 June 2025 via Ardua Music and will be available on CD and digital formats.
