Decades of Despair

Decades of Despair is a French metal quintet formed in Paris in 2007. They emerged during the peak of the global deathcore movement but distinguished themselves through a heavy reliance on melodic death metal tropes, specifically the dual-guitar harmonies popularized by the At the Gates and In Flames lineage.

Their sound identity is characterized by high-tempo blast beats, syncopated breakdowns, and a vocal approach that spans the standard deathcore range from deep gutturals to mid-range rasps. Their 2009 debut, Throes of the Wretched, established them as a technical force in the European underground, while their 2012 follow-up, Alive, showcased a more polished, hi-fi production aesthetic. Critically, they are viewed as a bridge between the more chaotic 'MySpace era' deathcore and the more structured, melodic metalcore that followed. They are often grouped with contemporaries like Brother Von Doom and Fallen Figure due to their shared emphasis on 'melodic-yet-crushing' dynamics. Their cultural position is firmly within the DIY metal circuit, maintaining a cult following among crate-diggers of late-2000s extreme metal.