Band:	Still
Album:	A Theft
Style:	Post-hardcore, Black metal, Atmospheric sludge metal
Release date:	November 15, 2024
A review by:	musclassia

01. Yearn
02. Only Time Will Tell
03. Light
04. Dark
05. Oscillate
06. Life Eclipses Living
07. Small Mercies Of Falling Apart
08. Unresolved

They are still a band, and Still are unleashing some ferocious aggression in the process, streamlining the diverse sound of their debut album { } into something truly belligerent.

The band that I first compared this British band to in my review of { } was Oathbreaker, and while it wasn’t an exact 1:1 comparison, Still did a solid job of similarly bringing together unhinged violence and subtle emotional atmosphere by fusing elements from black metal, post-metal and hardcore, among other styles. A Theft immediately makes its divergence from its predecessor clear courtesy of a runtime that is 20 minutes shorter, and this concise structure translates into compact songwriting.

Out of the three styles mentioned in the previous paragraph, the one given by far the greatest pride of place during A Theft is black metal, and specifically a maddening dissonant iteration of it. There are moments with a sludgier emphasis to the guitar tone, and the vocal style retains a connection with hardcore, but the relentless blasting assault that dominates a substantial proportion of the album, particularly in the first half, leaves little space for other genres to make their presence known. The sounds themselves are not unfamiliar to anyone who heard { }, but the extent of their presence, and the absence of other elements from the debut, may come as an initial surprise.

This relentless focus isn’t immediately apparent, as opening track “Yearn” opens and closes with nothing but sustained cello notes, but the metal sandwiched in between escalates from slow, ominous dissonance to a fierce blasting assault. It doesn’t quite let fully loose, ultimately acting as a starter for the oncoming onslaught that is “Only Time Will Tell”, where janky dissonant arpeggios trade off with discordant tremolo riffs, while the drums blast incessantly. Having said that, A Theft is not monochromatic, and Still take their foot off the pedal in the closing stages, the drumming calming and allowing listeners to revel in those frozen guitar tones a little more.

In spite of its ferocity, the album isn’t devoid of hints of melody or motifs; there is a recurring arpeggiated guitar part within the song “Light”, albeit briefly. Actually, it is the songs “Dark” and “Unresolved” that explore such sounds a bit more comprehensively, featuring satisfying chord progressions to allow these faint hints of levity to shine through in spite of cacophonic accompaniment. “Light” and “Dark” also have slower, more brooding climactic sequences that demonstrate the virtues of Still when they embrace slower, heavier sounds, although the blink-and-you-miss-it ballistic aggression of “Oscillate” cycles in the other direction, almost bordering on what could be considered ‘blackgrind’.

I said earlier that the reliance upon blast beats is more prevalent in the first half of the album, and the song “Life Eclipses Living” marks the turning point for the album’s journey. Opening with noisy guitar feedback, when it kicks in, it still persists with dissonant textures, but they’re more spacious and deathly, while the drums rely more on double bass rolls. It’s a welcome change of pace on the album that, while not making one miss the debut album, does perhaps raise a question of whether Still are limiting themselves slightly on this record with the more restricted range of styles. Another moment that manages to do that comes in the final track, “Unresolved”; there is an absolutely savage riff around the 4-minute mark, a gnarly low-end blackened riff, that is easily the most captivating hook on the record, and its impact is even greater in how it serves as a platform for the band to ratchet up the intensity via escalating lead guitar tremolos and intensifying percussion, right up until the track, and album, collapses in on itself.

With that all said, A Theft is still a very exciting and engaging modern black metal album that makes good use of its intensity and tonality, and offers just enough in the way of shifts in direction to avoid sensory overload before it’s finished with what it has to say.