Band:	Yearning
Album:	With Tragedies Adorned
Style:	Atmospheric doom metal, Symphonic gothic metal
Release date:	1997

01. Remnants Of The Only Delight
02. Bleeding For Sinful Crown
03. Flown Away
04. Haze Of Despair
05. The Temple Of Sagal
06. Release
07. In The Hands Of Storm
08. Canticum

Yearning is one of the most esoteric acts to ever come out of Finland, they have this special feeling that adorns their compositions, something special that can't leave you untouched. The depth of the emotions/atmosphere their music evokes is so intense that takes you on a journey in the mourning fields of nighttime, under the silent stare of the moon, somewhere in an old forest where tunes of melancholy and nostalgia echo.

What began as a dream during the 1994-1995 era started to turn to life with the official full-length debut album of the band during 1997, "With Tragedies Adorned". I guess the title of the album along with the poetic and grieving cover, which seems to pace in perfect harmony with the opening track's title, "Remnants Of The Only Delight", prepare the listener of what will follow, something deeply melancholic, poetic, yet dreamy in its very own esotericism, travelling your senses far away.

The sound of the band is not something you may cherish every day, it is doom metal driven for sure, yet a folk oriented element appears from time to time as well as classical music references that enrich the song structure, with every factor mentioned above strengthening the quality and inspiration of the band. The sound of Yearning is elegiac, epic, atmospheric, artistic, avant-garde, somethng that you cherish once in a lifetime i assume. The guitar work is definitely high quality, never being afraid to lend the first role to acoustic guitars and leave behind the heavily distorted riffing, yet never forgetting that they are a metal band! As i said above, the guitar work is high quality, the soloing guitars are always present through the whole duration of the compositions, offering beautiful and melodic solos here and there, or more powerful ones, whereas the riffing is gloomy and adds a doomy sense to overall feeling. As for the acoustic guitars, their interpretation is not just offering some pleasant to the ear chords, they are highly pleasant to the ear, with one big difference though, they offer some very creative and not simplistic passages, making the sound of the band even more affected. Juhani Palomäki's melodic interpretation haunts the listener in such a profound way that you can't deny losing yourself in the magic of his charismatic voice that reminds at times a bit of Garm (Ulver, ex Arcturus), yet tending to sound quite personal as well. Some more grunting vocals are present from time to time, adding a more variety in the vocal lines of Yearning, but the vocals that definitely steal the show have to be the clean ones that offer an intense sense of interpreting variety a whole lot by themselves! The rhythm section holds tight the compositions while the keyboard melodies evoke this dreamy, devout and melancholic at the same time aesthetic of Yearning, making the sense of gentle grief dwell in the soul of the listener, without forgetting though some more distressing passages, like on the ending part of "Bleeding For Sinful Crown". The elegant use of the flute is a very positive addition and enriches the sound of the band really well.

"With Tragedies Adorned" is pure poetry in any way, musically, atmospherically, emotionally and lyrically, every single part of it is pure poetry and chants the night in such beauteous ways. All you have to do is embrace its magic and lose yourself in the esoteric world of Yearning, just proceed to the "haze of despair"...