Friday, November 29, 2024

Pillar of Light : "Caldera'

This Detroit-based sludge band lulls into things on their debut full length with a hypnotic manner of riff crafting that flows well. The vocals are delivered in the kind of hoarse bellow you expect from this sort of thing. "Leaving" does offer an even greater range of dynamics, but it feels like the vocals should have changed with the music to bring this out as with the same howling from the first song, it creates a more uniform sound.  

"Spared" is even more melodic than the previous song, but the howl of the vocals begins to feel tedious at this point as it is more of the same. If the shouted vocals differed a bit, but they are rather monotone. If you only listen to metal for the guitars and do not give a shit about vocals, then this might not phase you.. They do build things into a heavier climax, which sounds good if you can block the vocals out.  "Eden" opens with a more industrial-sounding ambiance, with reverb-heavy post-rock guitar melodies. As an instrumental, this proves to be time better spent without the vocals making it sound like all their other songs.

The first shift in the vocals is very marginal but I still heard it as the vocals are shouted more on "Infernal Gaze". The song is more sonic, so the vocals fade into the background, as a static narrative. Though it moves at a slower sludge lumber. "Unseeing" comes too close to having the same feel to me for it to be interesting and it begins to fade into the background. I do like it when things drop down to just the bass line as it is darker, but the vocals now have reached my threshold to endure. The strummed guitar that closes things out on "Certain End' creates a more effective mood and the post-rock shimmer is also something that plays to their strength, but the vocals just need to shit in pitch rather than just being shouted at the same tone, never extending out into enough of a scream to feel different.  The vocals eventually became a deal breaker for me I will give this album a 7 though as it does touch on some nice sonic spaces that get smeared with the monotonous roar.It drops on Transcending Obscurity. 



pst606

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