Nebulae Come Sweet : "De Lumi​è​re"

This band out of Belarus caught me by surprise, as they go above and beyond to take things in a different direction. This album came out in March and sadly flew under the radar. They feel more European than American in the almost classical manner they go about this. They blend dark melodic brooding with big grandiose choruses. They prove just because you are singing it does not mean you can not do so in a commanding fashion that has balls to it. There is a progressive current to their songwriting, though perhaps at their core they are a doom band. 

They are not afraid to use saxophones to lead into "Candor". The song has a dark progressive slither as the notes swirl around before the more Opeth-like riff kicks in. The way they use atmosphere is more recent Tool than say Electric Wizard or even Pallbearer. They ride the line between doom and progressive. The vocals come closer to Pink Floyd than Black Sabbath. Rather than get heavier for the climax the guitars build the sonic dynamics. "Splendor" is even more romantic in its introspection. It moves almost more like a shoe-gaze song until the drums pick up the pace. It is not until the final moments of the song that the guitars crunch down in a metallic manner. 

"Claritas" finds things gaining momentum to build into a stomping metallic throb. The vocals are belted more aggressively. It builds impressively to ebb down to a fragile piano melody. "Fulgor" is a dramatic shift into tormented darkness. Some spoken musings fill in the gaps, but the screamed vocals are full of pain, in a manner that excedes black metal when it comes to sounding unhinged. It however sounds cool,. but feels more like an interlude than a song. 

The songs flow really well on this album. Melancholy strings lead out from the wash of ambient synths that closed the previous song when "Lux" stirs to life. It builds into a more sludge-like pound. With the vocals erupting into a coarse roar. The range they cover is impressive. This makes both ends of the spectrum more effective. The last song is an instrumental that serves as more of an extended outro, that feels like a real song in the light of the compositions this album has already displayed. But as it stands I will give this album a 9.5, and see how it grows on me even if I am unsure what exactly I am listening to.