Published: April 3, 2019

Damp Chill Of Life is None’s third album, coming exactly 1 year after their second album Life Has Gone On Long Enough, which came 1 year after their self titled debut. The band, which is based in America’s Pacific Northwest, is made up of one or possibly 2 people who wish to remain anonymous (the information I got with this album credits Instrumentation to Anonymous, and Voice to Anonymous. I’m not sure if that is 2 different anonymous people, or the same anonymous person credited twice). None play depressive black metal, a slow and achingly melancholic style of black metal. After a very quiet intro (Fade), the album kicks off with the (nearly) title track The Damp Chill Of Life. The track starts with a soft keyboard intro, before a slow guitar riff comes in. The guitar is very fuzzy and lo-fi in sound. The music drips sadness and sorrow, which fits with the mournful vocals, which are fairly low in the mix, but the anguished nature of them help them to cut through the music. 

Cease is a soft keyboard led track, it’s soft and minimalist. About halfway through a deeply desolate guitar riff comes in, bringing with it some woeful vocals. We go back to soft keyboards for the ending. You did a good thing is a very slow, sad keyboard instrumental which leads into the next track It’s Painless To Let Go. This track is slow, with a relaxed pacing, spoken vocals and a beautiful melody lead guitar. I Yearn To Feel starts with acoustic guitar and piano. As the track goes on it gains more drive and feels tighter. The track is soft, lilting and beautifully melancholic. Final song A Chance I’d Never Have opens with an up-tempo acoustic guitar riff, that feels slightly uplifting, before guitar and harsh vocals come in and we are back in forlorn, sad territory. The song goes back to clean acoustic guitar and clean, whispered vocals again. After this softer section the song goes back to harsh and heavy. In this section None give us the only thing on the album that could be described as a blast beat. The track then goes back to soft for the ending of the album. Damp Chill Of Life is a great album. 

Yes, it’s got a really sad atmosphere to it, but that is in many ways the point, this is depressive black metal after all. The overall sense you get with the album is cathartic and cleansing. It might be counter intuitive that what helps you deal with sadness and depression, is achingly sad music like this, but whether it’s counter intuitive or not, it is true. This album is desperately sorrowful, but that's the point, this sombre feeling is what drives the depression away, and allows you to deal with life’s disappointment and desolation. Not everyone will get this album, but if you do get it, there’s nothing out there that can match it.