Band:	Rye
Album:	Знание
Style:	Ambient black metal, Funeral doom metal
Release date:	May 05, 2025
A review by:	AndyMetalFreak

01. Гало
02. Ходдмимир
03. Каждого Ждёт

Emotionally atmospheric one-man metal projects that you can't quite put a finger on what genre they belong to seem to be all the range lately, and Rye fit into this category.

Rye (who also go by the Russian name Рожь) is based in Russia's Northern region of Karelia, masterminded by Vladimir Frith. The project has quite a unique style that incorporates ambient black, post-black, and funeral doom influences, with blackgaze and folk elements also featured to a lesser degree. Despite being establisshed back in 2012, it wouldn't be until nearly a decade later in 2021 that the full-length debut of Rye, Вечное, would be released. The debut gained quite a positive reception for its impressive emotion-filled atmosphere and quality production, and the fact it was crafted entirely by one unsigned man. This was followed up in 2023 by the equally impressive sophomore Всё. Now, a further two years have passed and, not being fazed by any ongoing turmoil surrounding the nation, Rye hopes to continue this promising run with the release of album number three Знание.

Знание consists of only 3 songs, beginning with the epic 13-minute opener "Гало" (Halo). This starts gently, patiently easing its way in with soft melancholic guitar strings before swiftly leading to more powerful instrumentation. The style of this opener is a melancholic cocktail of dreamy shoegaze, post-metal, and funeral doom. The tempo doesn't vary drastically, but contains short outbursts of heavier, more moderately paced passages following long, slow periods. The guitars are often distorted in sound, and mostly repetitively structured and hypnotic by nature, while the vocals are present just behind the instrumentation, almost as if deliberately placed in the background to give a haunting echoing effect, in the form of ethereal clean singing and semi-harsh blackened shrieks. There's a dark and menacing atmosphere on this opener, and the emotions surrounding it are rather negative and sorrowful.

The following song "Ходдмимир" (Hoddmímis holt) is much shorter at just under 7 minutes, and has a completely different vibe to it. The atmosphere here is seemingly much lighter and more uplifting, and generally more melodious and fast-paced, comprised of a combination of blackened metal styles, with a slight inkling of doom. The clean vocals sound almost like angelical chants, while the shrieks are harsher and more devastating. The drums pound with more ferocity with occasional blast beats, while the riffs become a touch more varied, with ferocious tremolos adding a blackened touch.

"Каждого ждёт" (Awaits Everyone) is a powerful 20-minute closer that seems to indicate to me that Frith was merely toying with our emotions on the previous two songs, leading us to a closer that'll finally break us. This begins with another soft doomy passage featuring some striking traditional folk influences, eventually leading to a massive build-up combining the band's trademark ambient black and funeral doom styles, intensifying for pretty much the remainder of the song. One noticeable change I found throughout this album as opposed to previous offerings is the raw and unpolished sound. The production is a tad less refined, but perhaps intentionally so, as the stripped-back approach gives it a more authentic and soulful touch.

I wouldn't say Знание has hit me quite in the same way as the band's previous releases did, and it does take time to truly sink in. However, when it does hit you, it hits you hard, particularly during the build-up on the final song. Rye has a style that won't suit every listener, with Знание focusing heavily of atmosphere and emotion, so it might be a case of being in the right mood and frame of mind in order to truly appreciate what's on offer here.