AUSTRALASIA

This is not a typical review, but more of a messy collection of my impressions of this superb album.

This band creates varied musical scenes that take me away form my surroundings, into vast landscapes, either forest infested green or white cold ice plains. The journey can be fast and aggressive, depending on the current part of the song, which can be fast and angry in tone. It can be slower, in a contemplative state of mind, at which it can drag a bit and annoy if you are not in the same mood. But if you are in the right temper, it fits. As some other post-rock music, this can be a sort of soundtrack to your state of mind, your doings in the time you're listening to it.

This album has a heavy sound to it, making it a clear part of the metal genre, an attribute not so clear in their next release - The fire in our throats will beckon the thaw. There are some excellent heavy guitar riffs that make my whole body vibrate as I listen to it. The music has a sound of fullness; it is dense, as if it contained a concrete filling. And in the same time it is not crude, uncompromising, senseless music, but tracks filled with what I hear as being filled with emotions, emotions of all kinds - Melancholy, anger, frustration and all other personal associations I get whilst listening to it. You may think that being totally instrumental, they are boring and repetitive, but not at all. They start with a musical idea and continue evolving and developing it. They do not linger too much with it but they do emphasis parts they probably think should be stressed out. Nightendday and Drought are my two favourites here creating amazing images in music, and containing a varied panel of emotions. There is an excellent simple metal riff in Drought, that just makes me feel alive each time I listen to it. For a mesmerizing, moving, thrilling album, made of progressive metal (but not senseless aggressive one) and a post-rock spirit, this album is an excellent choice. 3.5 stars

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