Ozal - Stillborn Hope volume 1
OZUL – Stillborn Hope Vol. 1
Progressive Voyages Album
Norwegian/Costa Rican documentary filmmaker, Paulo Chavarria has produced another wonderfully cinematic and emotionally dense and narrative-driven, progressive rock album, with his Ozul solo musical project.
Stillborn Hope Vol. 1 is a prequel to his intriguing, eclectic and vibrant 2024 album, Man On the Shore, which took, as its theme, a real-life news story of the body of an unknown man, found dead, lying on a fjord. Nobody knew who he was, and no one had reported him missing.
Paulo wrote a fictional story of what might have happened to him – drawing upon the documentary be directed in 2022 called ‘The Bothersome Father.’ It dealt with the subject of child/parent separation and the complicated political, judicial and emotional issues raised, but it also had a deeply personal dimension related to the breakdown of his father’s first marriage and the effect it had on Paulo as a child.
The new album rewinds the clock back and explores what happened in the protagonist’s deeper past that contributed to the tragic, final discovery of his body on the water’s edge. It forms the second chapter of an ambitious trilogy from Ozul, (which will culminate in Stillborn Hope Vol. 2 next year). Whilst the previous album looked at what happened to the father, this new release looks at the ‘why’. It traces the slow disintegration of a family unit – the silence, the alienation and the psychological warfare and domestic ‘cold wars’ that led to the father’s separation from his son and ultimately drove him to his solitude. Whilst thematically linked to Man On The Shore, the album can still be fully appreciated as an independent release, with its own distinct character.
Paulo sings, plays all the music, and mixes and masters everything, making it truly a solo artistic statement. His musical influences shape the melancholic, cinematic soundscapes on this album – notably those of Steven Wilson/Porcupine Tree, The Pineapple Thief, Riverside, Anathema and Airbag. Whilst previous releases have also mixed these with the heavier, metal-orientated elements of Opeth, Katatonia and Devin Townsend, Paulo has deliberately focused on the project’s more atmospheric and acoustic side with this album. This artistic choice helps the story unfold with the patience of a film, like ‘audio cinema’, using texture and intimacy to score the slow collapse of a home. This is accentuated by Paulo’s yearning and delicate vocals which provide a floating, gossamer-light fragility at times, which contrasts so well with the sad lyrical content. There is that sense of foreboding and sadness as the protagonist starts to see the cracks in his family life, and how he has been silenced and manipulated as a man and as a father.
The music is mainly propelled by lovely acoustic guitar lines, backed by atmospheric, ethereal keyboards, with the drums and bass complementing the contemplative pace and nature of the compositions rather than dominating them. It is the well-judged, lyrical bursts of electric guitar which provides the drama and drive that emotionally lifts the songs. It all provides a lovely consistency and holistic quality that flows throughout the album and immerses you within it. You feel a Shakespearian-like tragedy unfolding gradually before your eyes, especially as you know how the story ultimately concludes. Each track is effectively an ‘audio’ scene in that narrative.
Earth Bled Black opens the album with the character at a moment of realisation that his life and relationships are not in a good place, and he reflects how he has not been able to foresee the situation he is in, despite the warning signs. Delicate acoustic guitar and forlorn vocals create a dispirited ambience, and even a pick up in tempo doesn’t raise the prospect of hope. Keyboard chords add to the brooding feel, and whilst the dancing drum and bass rhythm builds the musical intensity, the melancholia remains - even when some measured electric guitar lines close the track.
Vulture sees the man looking back at events and identifying and lamenting the shadows of people or events that threatened what should have been a normal life. In the midst of welcoming his first child into the world, these shadows deepen and he already feels the premonition of loss before him. Musically, the track feels like a continuation of the opening one, with acoustic guitar and background keyboards emphasising the unsettled nature and despair of the song, despite its melodic nature. Some lovely electric guitar soloing provides a pleasing contrast and supports a rise in dynamics at the end.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdiCGiBPp5A&list=RDkdiCGiBPp5A&start_radio=1
Her Favorite Art is the darkest moment of the album, as he sees that behind claims of love and care, he has been deceived, controlled and manipulated. Dark, sinister notes are plucked, as Paulo’s vocals reveal the nightmare he senses he is in. There is an off-kilter, electronic feel and dreamy, almost Eastern-themed mystery, at times – making it a pivotal track despite being the shortest song in length.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Hzh_fKBlXo
Unread Letter To The Blind sees the character collect his thoughts and observations and collate with within a letter –-but one likely not to be delivered to, or understood by, those people around him in his life. A plea for understanding – but it is ultimately a futile action: a hope designed and deemed to fail. The acoustic nature of the music is maintained, but the instrumentation resonates more strongly as the track unfolds, taking on a more cinematic sweep, with poignant vocal harmonies and emotive guitar solo soaring high, all intertwining into a memorable conclusion.
Cold War In Silence sees the man realising he has been pushed away and manipulated to a secondary role with his family. He sees how the people around him have effectively used psychological warfare to make him feel disposable and doubting his own concept of reality and even his own sanity. He had hoped his family life with his new child could be rescued, but it is not to be – and he is now clear who is behind all the chaos. There is a refreshing change in the musical dynamics here, with pulsating bass and shifting drum rhythms adding to the guitar and keyboard interplay and plaintive vocals - all culminating in darker and heavier, riff-driven sounds and a vibrant burst of electric guitar soloing to end.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCJRhZjPDCQ
Erase sees the man facing up to the reality of his situation and accepting the need for him to move away and disappear – provided that the child he holds so dear is not taken away from him. Yet not even this is enough, and he ends up losing everything. There is a pastoral, sorrowful atmosphere to the acoustic guitar and keyboard wash, with electric guitar again punctuating the music, along with ominous background sound effects, and sorrowful vocals dancing amongst them.
Lost For Words sees our protagonist addressing the only person who might have helped him, yet did nothing. He reflects in disbelief about this level of cowardice, apathy and complicity, as is ‘lost for words…’ This final track starts with a burst of energetic acoustic guitar strumming and Eastern-style rhythms, which is built upon by hypnotic electric guitar patterns. The keyboards combine with the other instruments to create an otherworldly atmosphere that is the most progressive excursion on the album, leading to a powerful, if ultimately desolate, finale.
Although there is a similar, acoustically driven, musical flavour throughout most the album, each track still displays its own distinct character. However, it is this consistency of style and the album’s length – at just under 42 minutes – that makes it an accessible, satisfying and rewarding listening experience best savoured in one sitting. Its melancholic nature and subject matter certainly make it an emotive, thoughtful and cathartic listen, with the introspective, progressive instrumentation and emotionally-fraught vocals, and that ‘Nordic’ darkness, making Stillborn Hope Vol. 1 a complete, self-contained artistic statement, and a testament to Ozul’s uncompromised vision: a dark, cinematic journey through the wreckage of the human heart.
The musically heavier, metal-influenced sound of Stillborn Hope Vol. 2 is scheduled to be released next year and will continue the story – jumping forward in time to explore the generational trauma of the protagonist’s son – a man discovering the family secrets and trying to navigate the lies he was told about his father when a child. I look forward to continuing the journey and seeing where Paulo takes us next.
Released – April 17th, 2026
Bandcamp STILLBORN HOPE VOL. I | Ozul
Website: www.ozul/bandcamp.com
Facebook: Facebook
YouTube: OZUL - YouTube
Author - David Edwards
