October turned out to be a busier month than I initially expected, mostly since I have been bouncing between being sick for a number of days, the LoL World Championship (yes, I used to play a lot of league a few years ago and love watching professional games) and now being stuck on a work-related trip. Despite this, I've been itching to sit down and write a review, so tonight seems to be the night when I finally sit down with a drink and let my written words do the talking.
Coming out of the submission box is a peculiarly captivating creation from Germany, a trio which conjures a rather interesting take on black metal. To give you a brief historical summary of the band before we delve deeper into their music, the first spark which they crafted came in the form of a demo way back in 2011, closely followed by a split with "Earth Chaos" in 2012 and then this EP saw the light of day a year later. They have a total of eight releases, having five additional releases which come after "Surpass Eclipse", the newest being their live show recorded on the famous Roadburn Festival in 2018. These guys seem to be working hard non-stop and the sheer number of their material speaks volumes. To be completely honest, for the purposes of this review I limited my knowledge of their music to "Surpass Eclipse" only, since I knew that I would end up straying all over their releases if I jumped in too deep.
So, what's so interesting about this EP? To begin with, the band could be put in the basket of the Cascadian black metal sub-genre and they immediately manage to shine next to the likes of "Wolves in the Throne Room", "Panopticon", "Ash Borer" and many other well-established names, yet at the same time they successfully make your blood freeze with the classic Norwegian sound of desolation.
The EP opens up with a song called "Castle High" and it instantly jumps at you with remorseless tremolo riffs, reminiscent of the already mentioned tones of the northern European wastes. The intense blast beats carry you all the way to the end of the song, yet the sound overall isn't as static as some black metal acts tends to be. There's a sort of vibration flowing through and moving the tones, subtle variations of sound which make the overall experience extremely melodic.
So, what's so interesting about this EP? To begin with, the band could be put in the basket of the Cascadian black metal sub-genre and they immediately manage to shine next to the likes of "Wolves in the Throne Room", "Panopticon", "Ash Borer" and many other well-established names, yet at the same time they successfully make your blood freeze with the classic Norwegian sound of desolation.
The EP opens up with a song called "Castle High" and it instantly jumps at you with remorseless tremolo riffs, reminiscent of the already mentioned tones of the northern European wastes. The intense blast beats carry you all the way to the end of the song, yet the sound overall isn't as static as some black metal acts tends to be. There's a sort of vibration flowing through and moving the tones, subtle variations of sound which make the overall experience extremely melodic.
A complete contrast to this is the second, and final, song named "Eclipse", which starts off in the same vein as its predecessor, but only to fall down entirely after the three minute mark. What ensues is a droning melody filled with melancholy and a gradual incline towards atmospheric screaming and a slow feedback-enhanced fade out. I enjoyed this track quite a lot, as it is a true mood setter.
Judging by these two songs, or in other words by the entirety of this EP, it is these sudden atmospheric changes where the band excels at. They somehow manage to weave a specific ambiance for the listener and these drops and tempo shifts are successfully nudging you in the proper direction. The initial fast speed sets you on a specific path, but then the contrasts provide such an impact that it makes you feel like you don't know what to expect around the corner of the next riff.
Additionally, the sound itself is raw enough to evoke the well-known sensations of listening to black metal, yet at the same time clean enough to deliver a discernible message. That is a fine thin line that needs to be balanced and it seems that "Sun Worship" manage to thread on it properly.
My only complaint about this release is that it is simply too short. I feel that an inclusion of one more song could properly display the full range of creativity of this band, because the current shortness somehow seems to leave things unsaid. On the flip-side, you could consider this as a sort of teaser for what is yet to come from this band and it's possible that I'm just being picky and hungry for more.
The bottom line is that this band is certainly capable of delivering an explosion of a recording which is a superb entry level for people who just discovered "Sun Worship". As stated above, the band is still going strong to this day and I've had a very dear friend from Germany confirm to me that they are still great indeed, without a second thought.
Before I wrap this review up, I'd like to take a few lines and let everyone know that the band is doing a 10-day tour in the following weeks, so in case you like their tunes I highly recommend making an effort to try and catch them live. I have copied the dates below, but you can also check them out and get in touch with the band on their facebook page found here.
"Emanations of Desolation" Tour 2019
25 Oct - Berlin // Zukunft am Ostkreuz
26 Oct - Mannheim // Forum
27 Oct - Bern // Reitschule Cafete
28 Oct - Metz // La Chaouée
29 Oct - Liège // Kultura
30 Oct - Tilburg // Little Devil
31 Oct - Köln // Halle am Rhein
01 Nov - Utrecht // dB's
02 Nov - Bielefeld // JZ Stricker
03 Nov - Hamburg // Rote Flora
That's all for now, I hope that you enjoyed the review and that you will give these guys a listen, this release definitely puts them under my spotlight. My sincere apologies to the band for having to wait so long for the review, it somehow breaks my heart to realize that I have neglected your music for so long. I truly hope this review makes up for the lost time. Until next time, see you later everyone, I've got some more "Sun Worship" tunes to discover!
Judging by these two songs, or in other words by the entirety of this EP, it is these sudden atmospheric changes where the band excels at. They somehow manage to weave a specific ambiance for the listener and these drops and tempo shifts are successfully nudging you in the proper direction. The initial fast speed sets you on a specific path, but then the contrasts provide such an impact that it makes you feel like you don't know what to expect around the corner of the next riff.
Additionally, the sound itself is raw enough to evoke the well-known sensations of listening to black metal, yet at the same time clean enough to deliver a discernible message. That is a fine thin line that needs to be balanced and it seems that "Sun Worship" manage to thread on it properly.
My only complaint about this release is that it is simply too short. I feel that an inclusion of one more song could properly display the full range of creativity of this band, because the current shortness somehow seems to leave things unsaid. On the flip-side, you could consider this as a sort of teaser for what is yet to come from this band and it's possible that I'm just being picky and hungry for more.
The bottom line is that this band is certainly capable of delivering an explosion of a recording which is a superb entry level for people who just discovered "Sun Worship". As stated above, the band is still going strong to this day and I've had a very dear friend from Germany confirm to me that they are still great indeed, without a second thought.
Before I wrap this review up, I'd like to take a few lines and let everyone know that the band is doing a 10-day tour in the following weeks, so in case you like their tunes I highly recommend making an effort to try and catch them live. I have copied the dates below, but you can also check them out and get in touch with the band on their facebook page found here.
"Emanations of Desolation" Tour 2019
25 Oct - Berlin // Zukunft am Ostkreuz
26 Oct - Mannheim // Forum
27 Oct - Bern // Reitschule Cafete
28 Oct - Metz // La Chaouée
29 Oct - Liège // Kultura
30 Oct - Tilburg // Little Devil
31 Oct - Köln // Halle am Rhein
01 Nov - Utrecht // dB's
02 Nov - Bielefeld // JZ Stricker
03 Nov - Hamburg // Rote Flora
That's all for now, I hope that you enjoyed the review and that you will give these guys a listen, this release definitely puts them under my spotlight. My sincere apologies to the band for having to wait so long for the review, it somehow breaks my heart to realize that I have neglected your music for so long. I truly hope this review makes up for the lost time. Until next time, see you later everyone, I've got some more "Sun Worship" tunes to discover!
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