I really like the ambiance of the previous album I heard from this California trio.
Sticking to the vast epic nature of their song writing the new album is comprised of three songs that clock in collectively at over an hour.
They take their time building into the first song. The intro is five and a half minutes before we get to the first blasts of "Dawn". While their is the hypnotic drone around the edges, in the eye of this storm is prett straight forward and raw as the production is denser but also a muddier guitar tone and the vocals even mixed further back.The modulation is slight and more felt than heard. Live if this was loud enough I imagine might come across like getting hit with the Swans wall of sound and this is something I can let drone in the back ground as I write since it doesn't demand my closest attention , but it begs the question ...What about the songs? Is it fair to even think of this in the same scope as Emperor or even Deafheaven , who create chaos but it still functions in the bounds of a song rather than as a movement. Ten minutes in and it's moving but not really going anywhere. There are very subtle shifts on more of a vibrational level than a chorus, is this blur the verse , well I'm assuming it is. Can they recreate this live and what would they be recreating is another question as there is a very in the moment organic quality to this. At the twelve minute mark we have a change, the drums are accenting the cymbals things are swelling and being stirred like a boiling broth. It takes on more of a dim shimmer than anything really black metal here, though the moment is short lived before plunged back into the frothing void. There up to this point aren't really any dynamics to speak of and the ambiance is in the punishment. The drummer begin to refocus their accents which gives it some definition. The drums roll into motion creating a swirl around the flurry that gradually seems to have notched up the intensity by the last seven minute mark. Though the final three minutes are consumed by a locust like swarm of feedback.
The vocals are pretty much an after thought like the we're on the bands previous efforts a distant howling from a far away wasteland. I doubt any real words or lyrics are present this just seems like a static layer of screaming for the sake of screaming.
The following song plots a similar course to destination unknown though takes less time getting to the blast which it hangs on for the listener is seventeen minutes into the the drone of "Emergence" something that earns a head bang takes places as they find more of a gallop before drifting off into feedback and distant howling, this is drawn out for the next two and a half minutes. The guitars do seem to have a darker tone as the album progresses, like astrommcloud getting blacker as it nears. The majority of the drone this song takes on carries a little more ferocity than the previous song.
The third song waits two minutes to develop past the ringing of delayed feedback. It simmers to life keeping with the progression of evoking a somewhat darker feeling than the rpevious song but is full blast ahead.
Often feeling dynamically flat it can be said that I can also just leave this album on and let it play. This doesn't mean the songs are necessarilly distinguishable but it all flows together like I'm listening to a more tempestuous Phillip Glass Peice . I wonder how Phillip Glass feels about black metal. Though I can listen to the album on constant repeat Becuase im a sucker for the hypnotic drone of this flavor of black metal, there is not much in the way of actually song writing , which I understand these guys are more about the sonic architecture than hooks and choruses but I feel they are capable musicians who could have taken steps forward and this feels like a lateral move the kind of uncompromising cop out Slayer makes when they pump out the same album year after year so this get a 7.5 whiles it's a captivating listen for what it is what it is could stand to be more dynamic.
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