Band:	Selbst
Album:	Despondency Chord Progressions
Style:	Black metal
Release date:	April 2024

01. La Encarnación De Todos Los Miedos
02. When True Loneliness Is Experienced
03. Third World Wretchedness
04. Chant Of Self Confrontation
05. The One Who Blackens Everything
06. Between Seclusion And Obsession
07. The Stench Of A Dead Spirit


Despondency Chord Progressions is a more than fitting title for Selbst's latest offering, as it takes those feeling worthless about themselves and plunges them ever deeper into a dark, intensifying, dissonant realm of sheer hopelessness.

Selbst originally formed in Venezuela as a black metal duo featuring multi-instrumentalist N and vocalist Frozenby back in 2010. However, N moved to Chile in 2016, from where he went on to release the self-titled full-length debut alongside new vocalist Nicolás Onfray. A year later, N became the band's sole member, releasing what was to become the band's acclaimed sophomore effort Relatos De Angustia in 2020. Now, N returns once again to present Selbst's third full-length offering, Despondency Chord Progressions.

Despondency Chord Progressions is a continuation from where Selbst's previous releases left off, lurking at the dissonant end of the black metal spectrum. Styled in multilayered structural patterns, it's equally rich in impassioned melody as it is intensely dissonant, while the dark lyrical content explores one's self-contempt and loneliness, and reflects on our own insignificance in the world in which we live. N claims Despondency Chord Progressions' album title, along with the track titles and theme, is of personal significance to him, and hopes it will reach out to listeners similarly. These dark topics and soundscapes are outstandingly captured through his impeccable songwriting and exceptional performance, and with that, the music certainly matches the deeply disturbing cover art.

The album begins very strongly indeed with "La Encarnación De Todos Los Miedos"; this fantastic opener immediately unleashes a devastating wall of blackened dissonant fury through rampaging tremolos, complex basslines, and manic blast beats, courtesy of session drummer Jonathan Heredia (Aversio Humanitatis, Eternal Storm). There are several bands within the style of this opening track that I'm reminded of, chief among them Panzerfaust (particularly in the vocal department) and Mgła, but there's also a sprinkle of Ulcerate in the densely suffocating atmosphere and complex structures. The first track is certainly a memorable opener, but things only get more intriguing once the next song, "When True Loneliness Is Experienced", arrives.

This next track begins with a unique and oddly satisfying soft rock solo, almost in the vein of Pink Floyd's "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", before the instrumentation erupts into blackened ferocious mayhem, much like the opening track. The vocals begin with soft, passionate clean singing, but quickly turn into torturous shouts and blackened shrieks of agonizing despair, whilst wailing dissonant chaotic leads and semi-melodic tremolos make their presence known. However, it's the heavy bass that tears its way right through the mix with unrelenting force that I find most striking. This song then perfectly flows into the next track, "Third World Wretchedness".

The most striking part of "Third World Wretchedness" comes a few minutes in, where the tempo momentarily slows right down, and it's here where you're met by a striking melodic riff that progressively builds its way up with dramatic symphonic elements in the background. From here, the album continues in very fine form, and the next 4 songs vary in structure throughout. The vocals range from agonizing cleans to devastating shouts and shrieks, the twin guitar work goes from chaotically dissonant and furiously melodic tremolos, to soft, sweeping melancholic leads. The tempo drastically increases and decreases several times, going from an unrelenting frantic tempo to slow, soft atmospheric sections. Then there are moments in which listeners can be left speechless, from the amazingly performed solo on "The One Who Blackens Everything", to the Carlos Santana-inspired Latin American guitar work on "Between Seclusion And Obsession", and finally the hypnotic flowing Mgła-style rhythm section of "The Stench Of A Dead Spirit".

With 7 tracks containing just about every element you can think of in the black metal genre, Despondency Chord Progressions turns out to be quite a triumphant success for the one who simply goes by the name N. Selbst have certainly come a long way in the past 14 years, steadily developing and maturing whilst remaining a South American underground act, and with this release they've now reached new heights in modern black metal. Let's just hope there's more to come.