From Lows and Loss Comes Dismalimerence's "My Only Love"
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There are as many reasons to create art as there are works of art, reaching back to the first formative moment at which someone indulged that primal creative drive to create not out of utility but for the sole catharsis of the act. That which is borne from that writhing innermost place, the central pit that feeds the creative drive, is the work that reaches deep into the people who encounter it, forces the consumer to acknowledge the artist’s personal reality, and forges a bond based on empathy, shared experience, or both.
Dismalimerence is a band birthed in trial, and the pain that fuels it runs tangible throughout their music. Since 2011, guitarist and vocalist Elijah Cirricione has been working on the songs that would become the band’s full-length debut Tome: 1. We’re streaming “My Only Love” exclusively below — “one of the most straightforward songs on the album,” according to Cirricone.
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“My Only Love” is one of the older songs on Tome: 1, written “after a share of devastating events with someone I felt very intimate with,” per Cirricone. As the rest of the album took shape, this track served as a pillar around which to develop the band. While Cirricone learned to navigate his internal turmoil, losing and then regaining a sense of self, “My Only Love” remained steadfast. “I found that through the immense heartbreak and feeling a loss of my identity, this song was coming to life. I remember the song only slightly changing over the years, but lyrically it always stayed cemented,” he relates.
The song’s supportive role on the record is reflected in its lyrical themes — “‘My Only Love’ is about finding the internal strength to appreciate yourself,” says Cirricone. “At the time, I had so many depressive spouts that I could never feel confident. Luckily, I was able to overcome the immense self-doubt of those days, and turned that pain into this song.”
The song holds up remarkably well against the changes in metal over recent years. The band’s music is ostensibly black metal, but there’s so much room within that header for individualization — opportunity that Dismalimerence avail themselves of quite handily. One passage in particular around the second minute wouldn’t feel at all out of place in a Dyscarnate song, and that’s just one example of the stylistic breadth offered on Tome: 1.
Tome: 1 is a vibrant illustration of the healing potential found within the creative act. “Looking back on all of these songs, and especially ‘My Only Love,’ makes me feel so grateful for where I am mentally, and emotionally today,” Cirricone says. “I’m so appreciative for everything in life and whatever comes my way with Tome: 1.”
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Tome: 1 releases June 26th via Transcending Records.
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