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Chris Maragoth - Depths of Despair
Available now on all streaming platforms - Chris Maragoth’s Depths of Despair arrives as a focused counterpoint to the current era’s creative drift. His work has always carried a gothic melodic spine, but this EP tightens the whole body up. The blend of metal, classical phrasing, and unforced emotional weight is deliberate, and the result, a set of compositions that function as a self contained narrative.
The title track opens with brittle piano and the faint abrasion of an old machine. It establishes tension before expanding into a gothic symphonic surge anchored by Cherry Summerfield’s vocals. Maragoth keeps the arrangement clear of excess. The emotional signal stays intact, carried by melody.
Hidden Signs of Sadness and Looming Evil, both driven by Sanya Smileska’s violin, push deeper into his classical instincts. The former is built as an image-maker, instrumental, steady, and transparent in its purpose. The latter plays with withheld resolution, pacing itself around the suggestion of threat. Maragoth resists the easy payoff. The restraint works.
Dance of the Damned extends that arc without breaking internal logic. Its classical lead in folds smoothly into a darker procession, completing the emotional thread that Looming Evil sets in motion. By the time History on Repeat closes the sequence, the earlier political undertone lands with gravity, the prior tracks have already cleared the space for it.
The EP holds together because nothing is automated, rushed, or styled for algorithmic drift. The craft is intact. The choices are intentional. The emotions are earned.
8/10
Words by Fuego Casa
In collaboration with Headbangers Australia