Band:	Harakiri For The Sky
Album:	Aokigahara
Style:	Black metal, Post-metal
Release date:	April 21, 2014
A review by:	tea[m]ster

01. My Bones To The Sea
02. Jhator [feat. Seuche]
03. Homecoming: Denied!
04. 69 Dead Birds For Utøya [feat. Plague]
05. Parting
06. Burning From Both Ends [feat. Torsten]
07. Panoptycon [feat. Eklatanz]
08. Nailgarden
09. Gallows (Give 'Em Rope)
10. Mad World [Tears For Fears cover] [vinyl bonus]

A relatively new metal movement has taken me aback, leading me down an exhilarating, spiral path of emotionally charged and blissfully saturated musical sensibility. The blackgaze concept is a combination of black metal axioms with more dreamy and mellow textures and Harakiri For The Sky, a two-piece outfit from Vienna, Austria, have nailed it.

The usual characteristics of blackgaze/shoegaze/post-black (yes I lump them together as one, because to me, there really aren't many different musical traits that separate the three) are well represented in Aokigahara. Tremolo-picked riffs create an ethereal wall of sound, rapid blastbeats and shrieking vocals interchange with slower sections - often without warning - and the air of melancholy floats through the entire entity. The songs are very meaningful, and I found myself bobbing my head up and down in agreement with the comprehensive movement and motion of the themes.

There isn't any clean singing on the album, but to add some variance, Harakiri For The Sky asked some of their friends for help. Aokigahara contains guest vocals from other noteworthy black metal musicians such as Torsten (Agrypnie), Eklatanz (Heretoir), Seuche (Fäulnis), and Cristiano (Whiskey Ritual). These voices help by adding a bit of diversity to the light song structures.

Over an hour long, the album does drag a bit towards the end, but this little blip on the radar cannot take away the warm and fuzzy feelings I get when I listen to this album. The analog and low-fidelity production values found in this record - and most blackgaze music - emit a certain charm. I often wonder if it is done on purpose. A "woe is me" agitation, the recording sounds like a low-budget project that was recorded at home in a basement. It's a neat little gimmick and it works masterfully by adding bleakness and anguish to the inclusive presentation.

With this sophomore release, Harakiri For The Sky have created a dense landscape oozing with cross-grained tenacity and melodies as striking as this genre has ever seen. They have managed a unique and totally viable apex of work. Harakiri For The Sky are well on their way to hanging out with the heavyweights in the blackgaze arena, such as Deafheaven, An Autumn For Crippled Children and Woods Of Desolation. This is an illustrious exercise, one that should be listened to for its sheer passion and profound atmosphere.