Sunwølf - Beholden To Nothing And No One (2014)
The third and latest album from
UK-based outfit Sunwølf is an intimidatingly sizable affair,
clocking in at two discs and ~90 minutes of epic-minded doom with
wide vistas of resonance. For the first quarter or so of the first
disc album, it's almost like a traditional doom version of post-rock,
with attention to developing the details and building up into
grandiose crescendos, even as dark, subtle shadows are growing
beneath the brighter and more overt elements, with aching vocals and
slow strums of instrumentation and soft touches of piano to paint the
scenes.
Then the full-on metal vocals erupt
from the sedation, the guitar swings into action with a grimy buzz,
and they rumble into life like a long-buried war machine reactivated
after decades of decay; after a few more songs, the rust has been
rattled away, and a cleaner, sharper form emerges, rolling
relentlessly on into crushing terrain, until all the concrete forms
have been wiped away, leaving them back where they began, with only
themselves still around to destroy.
On the second disc, the subdued style
returns, with slow passages highlighted by judicious use of audio
samples drifting along into sonic hypnosis with gleaming synth and
sax tones and spine-tingling bass groans. There's so much to this
album that I don't feel I can do it anywhere near the justice it
deserves; it's something you just have to hear. Similarly, just one
track can't represent all the different moods and wild moments of the
album, but until June 30th, the one down below is all you
can get. CDs will be extremely limited (personally, I'm hoping like
crazy that some sharp label will license it for a wider release), so
be sure to snap one up fast if you have any intention of getting one.
Hats off to this group for some truly magnificent work.
~ Gabriel
For Fans Of; Godspeed You!
Black Emperor, White Darkness, Jesu, Windhand, Wolves In The Throne
Room
~
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