Currently, however, with this release the band has little to offer in terms of originality or thinking outside the box of the whole doom/death metal etiquette. That being said, when pondering upon the issue one might conclude there haven't been in recent years that many doom/death metal bands that actually pushed the sub-genre's boundaries, that boldly explored alien territories, yet still kept their pants on so-to-speak. Alright, maybe the Polish oddity Nightly Gale, but who else, really?

In that regard, Shattered Hope belongs to a clique of bands that have almost absolutely nothing to say, other than displaying how well they maneuver their musical instruments, if even that. The riffs are all reused, the melodies effective yet evidently rehashed, the atmosphere superficially great but rapidly dwindles towards the plastic.

If you're a nut about romantic doom/death metal and must own every new love-making soundtrack being released, then by all means knock yourself out and pick this album up -- it will quench all your romantic thirsts and hunger for simple, non-challenging melodies. However, if you are into real, heart-wrenching, novel sounds that leave a mark long after the last sounds have died, I'd strongly recommend you seek elsewhere.