Wrekmeister Harmonies - The Alone Rush review
Band: | Wrekmeister Harmonies |
Album: | The Alone Rush |
Style: | Drone, Post-metal |
Release date: | April 13, 2018 |
A review by: | RaduP |
01. A 300 Year Old Slit Throat
02. Descent Into Blindness
03. Behold! The Final Scream
04. Covered In Blood From Invisible Wounds
05. Forgive Yourself And Let Go
06. The Alone Rush
Whoa, there, that's a big fucking rating; certainly a paid shill wrote this, right?
Wrekmeister Harmonies are constantly changing their game. They used to create songs spanning the entire album's run time; then on Light Falls they shrunk them to more "normal" lengths and such is also the case here. They also used to have large ensembles of tens of guest musicians, but here there's only one. This is also an album marked by personal tragedy, related to deaths and illnesses of those close to the band, leading them to isolate themselves somewhere in Oregon to heal. And these are just the differences one can see without even listening to the album. There's more.
One thing easy to notice is that a lot more emphasis is placed on vocals, even though the instrumental part is still incredibly significant and more than just a vessel. Much of the album is marked by Robinson's sombre baritone crooning, sounding like a mix of Michael Gira and Nick Cave. The tragic background of the album can be clearly felt in the lyrics, detailing pain and solitude, but also very vivid images of death and murder as if taken straight from Cave's Murder Ballads. But as hopeless and desperate a message as the lyrics may convey, Robinson's voice remains strong and unscathed, as effective as one-dimensional. Closely behind his are Shaw's ethereal backing vocals, calming and soothing, sans the bloodcurdling scream sometimes during "Behold! The Final Scream".
The music is also much more minimalist than previous releases, cutting back on the sludgy drones and resting more upon piano, keyboards, and Shaw's violin. Assisting the band's core of Robinson and Shaw is Thor Harris, ex-Swans drummer, handling the percussion on the album, which, although minimal as well, gives the album a dying pace. The subdued sound creates a slow-moving album, burning slowly rather than exploding into crescendos and drones right away. These moments come, like the one in "Descend Into Blindness". The arrangements are rather sparse but become much more effective in that haunting and subtly crushing atmosphere. The cathartic, 14-minute piece "Forgive Yourself And Let Go" is the climax of the record, is dark and almost jazzy in its explosive dissonant crescendo filled with samples, something of a blend of John Coltrane, Dordeduh, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. And finally comes the title track, as the ray of hope at the end of the gruesome tunnel. Finally, healing.
If that is not praise enough, the album has amazing flow, thus it was fairly unnecessary to divide it into tracks, as the old approach of one-track albums could've potentially worked here. The album clocks in at just 46 minutes, which isn't that much of a stretch from their longest song. Also, it is amazing that the album is that short considering that it feels close to experiencing Swans's The Seer in just that little time, thus it actually makes me wish the album was a little (or a lot) longer. The production is also top-notch, handled by Martin Bisi, who worked with artists from Unsane to Herbie Hancock and from Helmet to John Zorn, so he's partially responsible for the expansive sound that the album has.
I can't find anything that I do not love about this album, or anything to criticize it for. It is just such a cathartic experience that I could easily put it side by side with F#A#∞ and Soundtracks For The Blind. Wrekmeister Harmonies have always been impressive, even though Light Falls was slightly subpar. But now with The Alone Rush, they are truly on the same level as their peers and forerunners I kept mentioning.
Time to heal.
| Written on 23.04.2018 by Doesn't matter that much to me if you agree with me, as long as you checked the album out. |
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