When I nabbed the promo for Oak of Weeping, I had no idea what DSBM stood for. Death something black metal? It was a bit of a gut punch to learn it stands for depressive suicidal black metal. Of course, depression has been the scourge of artists from Sylvia Plath to Robin Williams. Metal serves as a musical outlet that allows artists to express their darkest thoughts through a unique means. Sure, pop musicians can sing about depression, but only metal allows one to dive into the raw ugliness of those feelings. I hope it’s a useful outlet for artists who play DSBM, and for anyone who suffers from depression, please seek help. DSBM generally distinguishes itself from other forms of black metal with pained, anguished vocals and a doomier tempo. This all serves as the backdrop for the debut record from Hungary’s Oak of Weeping, The Grave My Father, the Worm My Sister. András Lipták bases this one-man project not on his own personal life, but on scripture, pulling its lyrics straight from the Book of Job. With its colorful, poetic album and song titles, as well as a novel lens on biblical text, this is about as tempting as the fruit that doomed Adam and Eve to mortality.
Oak of Weeping builds its music upon simple yet catchy foundational riffs. Each song has as its base a single riff or trem while snappy blast beats set a mostly brisk pace. While I can’t speak for the lyrics, as they are all in Hungarian, the overall mood is certainly not depressive—at least not instrumentally. Often the opening trems or arpeggios set a mournful mood, but the blast beats convey a much more upbeat tone. In many ways, the music here reminds me of the joyous, Latin dance-inspired black metal of To Escape. By the end of the final song, “Now That My Eyes See You, I Despise Myself,” the trems are uplifting and triumphant enough to convert the non-believers.
Lipták’s vocal style, on the other hand, is like an emotional wrecking ball. On opener “Let the Day Perish on Which I Was Born,” he sounds agonized and in the painful throes of death. I understand his performance will likely turn many listeners off, but I found its raw nakedness mesmerizing. Each song brings a different side to him. “You Have Turned Cruel to Me” brings much mellower pained shouts, to the point that in the final minutes, he’s merely whispering his pain. Then on “For I Am Full of Words” he wails like an otherworldly creature, cartoonish and over the top almost to the point of parody. Lipták conveys pain and suffering on a primal, animalistic level that’s certainly not pleasant, but it is effective. His voice contrasts with the pleasant sound of the guitars and drums, as if purposely throwing the joy from the instruments off-kilter with the anguished cries from his throat.
A few issues do hold The Grave My Father, the Worm My Sister from being a better record. The major issue is the repetitive nature of the instrumentals. While Oak of Weeping play some fantastic guitar parts, the songs carry on for too long without any real variation in the riffs/trems. The unpredictable nature of Lipták’s vocals does make this somewhat less of an issue, however. Another weak link is the penultimate track, “The Gates of Deep Darkness,” which lacks the musicality of the other tunes. Harsh guitar tones serve to create noise rather than establish any sort of rhythm. There are a few other minor quibbles as well, such as the 40 seconds of silence to end the opening song. It’s the kind of thing that pulls you out of the music’s spell and makes you wonder if your app crashed.
Despite the genre, Oak of Weeping has crafted a very enjoyable and non-depressing black metal record. Fans of DSBM or atmoblack will find plenty to like, even if the vocals are rawer and more troubled than the usual fare. I suspect there’s some deeper meaning in choosing to create a DSBM album about the Book of Job, but alas, I haven’t brushed up enough on my Hungarian to read more deeply into it. Still, Oak of Weeping has a good ear for an enjoyable riff and an unconventional approach. That’s enough for me to want to hear what Lipták creates next.1
Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 10 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Self-Released
Website: Bandcamp
Releases Worldwide: May 29th, 2026
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