Right off the bat, I want to make it clear that I don’t listen to metal anywhere near as much as I used to. That said, I think At War With The Sun is about to change that. Their brand-new EP, Remembrance, is everything you could want from funeral doom metal, filled with enough dirge and angst to make you feel as though everything you touch will turn to black after listening to it.
The first track on the EP, the release’s namesake Remembrance, is a 17-minute epic. The majority of that runtime is made up of sombre and melancholic instrumentals, building an atmosphere you can sink into and fully immerse yourself in — something that seems to be a staple of their sound so far, as can also be heard in The Garden. One thing I love about metal is a good, demonic-sounding scream, and despite only showcasing it in small pockets on this track, lyricist Jon Weatherill delivers some of the most satisfying screamo artistry I’ve heard in a long time. Having only two sections of lyrics within the track adds poignancy, not only to the words themselves but also to the instrumentals throughout, as they become the track’s main focus.
The second, and final, track on this EP, Become the Void, runs a little shorter at 11 minutes. Though this track features more of a vocal performance this time around — as opposed to the largely instrumental focus of the previous piece — the two elements once again work perfectly in tandem. The slightly quickened tempo adds a little more urgency to the overall dirge-like, harrowing atmosphere of the EP. I really enjoyed hearing more of the vocals on this track. As someone who has tried (and failed) many times to learn how to scream-sing, I truly raise my hat to this performance; I’m all too aware of the skill and effort required to achieve it at such impressive intensity. It serves the track wonderfully and really brings out the aggression in an otherwise despairing piece.
Despite only being a two-track EP, what it lacks in quantity it more than makes up for in quality. These two tracks are perfect examples of the band’s ability to make great metal music — whether it’s the long, immersive instrumentals on Remembrance or the intense vocals on Become the Void. From the aggression and desperation in those vocals to the overwhelmingly pessimistic instrumentals, At War With The Sun have crafted an incredible piece of work here. I’m excited for their future — and you should be too.
By: Josh John
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