Band:	Lantlôs
Album:	Melting Sun
Style:	Post-rock, Atmospheric black metal
Release date:	May 02, 2014
A review by:	tea[m]ster

01. Melting Sun I: Azure Chimes
02. Melting Sun II: Cherry Quartz
03. Melting Sun III: Aquamarine Towers
04. Melting Sun IV: Jade Fields
05. Melting Sun V: Oneironaut
06. Melting Sun VI: Golden Mind
07. Melting Sun VII [artbook bonus]

Another semi-quasi-black metal band has taken all the "black" out of their music in favor of a relatively fresh and trendy, dare I say, "hipster" sound. Markus Siegenhort, aka Herbst, has fancied his band Lantlôs to contemporary and utopian heights. Provocative and emotive, Lantlôs show every sign of picking up the pieces after their surprising but drama-free divorce from Neige. Wanting to move on, there is no post-Neige hangover here, thank you very much.

Melting Sun pretty much will be a shock to anyone wanting anything resembling Lantlôs's last two releases, .neon and Agape. Those two albums are mighty fine examples of perfect crossbreeding between shoegazing and black metal. Although Neige was relegated to singing on those albums, his influence on the overall sound cannot go unnoticed. Alcest is the measuring stick every metalgaze band wants to size up and Lantlôs have established a demeanor refreshing to a scene fueled with a lack of diversity.

Right from the outset and through the end of this 40-minute spectacle, Melting Sun transits a perfect combination of concrete and aggressive song structures and dreamy, abstract climates. A virtual stockpile of charming and harmonious soft-metal moments, the ascendancy is a welcome change. The album delivers an effort of staggering thickness, savory sadness, and a wandering limitless acceptance. Like most dreampop and shoegaze music, there is a euphoric sense of buildup; the entire vibe of the album creates an almost plodding crescendo of the most overwhelming sense of anticipation.

To me, ever since Líam, Herbst has been a master of forging perfect guitar dispositions and textures. The massive wall of those layered guitar tones are the principal merits on this album. He just has a knack for combining melody and mesmeric moments of audio elation with ruthlessness and anguish. Heavily processed bass guitar, synthesizers, and drum work create a blissy, dreamlike, and majestic sonic template that's equally emotionally intense.

Now that Neige is gone, Herbst has taken over the vocal duties. Nothing special, his voice seems only to aid the darkening sound that somehow now seems to be made more brilliant and prismatic. Moreover, his voice eases along with beautiful melodies and gorgeous passages that collide gracefully with ambient chords and tremelo-picked noodling. Excessive use of reverb and echoey guitar lines allow the songs to vent celestial and spacey beams of light. All of these peripherals collectively are downright transcendent.

We may have to include this new era of Lantlôs under the umbrella of post-rock, and after listening to this incredible album I do not have any doubts Melting Sun will recruit new fans - or put off old ones. I, for one, love the entire package and applaud Herbst for taking a bit of a risk by creating an album under his own terms and conditions. I can't think of any more adjectives to describe this release, just go listen to it and enjoy.