Shape of Despair

[1] They aspired to play faster, instrumental black metal influenced music following the footsteps of their contemporaries like Strid, Burzum, Darkthrone and Unholy.

However, the trio soon decided that the music they played was not as good as they wanted it to be, feeling that it lacked the atmosphere and emotion of the bands that influenced them.

In 2000, they signed a deal with Spikefarm Records and released their debut album Shades of...[2] with Samu Ruotsalainen on drums.

[1][6] Due in part to band members’ competing commitments to other musical projects, there was an 11 year gap between Illusion’s Play and their next full length album, Monotony Fields.

[6] Released on June 15, 2015, by Season of Mist,[7][8] Monotony Fields was hailed by one reviewer as “a great come back” and their best album so far.