The Bleak Picture

The Bleak Picture is a doom/death duo from Finland. Founded in 2021 as a side project of Jussi Hänninen (Autumnfall/Fall of the Leafe) and Tero Ruohonen (also vocalist at Autumnfall). Their first promo was written, recorded and digitally released the same year with a follow up CD/Vinyl version in 2022, with the addition of real drums. They didn’t stop there but begun work on their debut album ”Meaningless” and finally, the album is released by Ardua Music on CD and on all major digital platforms. Bleak and desolate, without forgetting beautiful melodies, THE BLEAK PICTURE dives deep into murky waters that can also be called melodic death doom metal. The band’s doomy riffage borders on death metal heaviness, but the music manages to escape from the shallows of repetitiveness continuing in the atmospheric groove traced by the band's acclaimed first EP, with greater emphasis on dark melodies that wrap the songs in a cosmic shroud of stars. The vocal lines frequently alternate registers, offering haunted wailing cleans, catchier verses and dread-filled death calls. The sound is instantly familiar with nods to the ‘90s, but never sounds retro or like mere homage.