By John Bedard
Quite often I find that the thing I look for the most in any new album or band is that they do something different or unique. This is definitely something I have never heard before. While I am sure this would be called black metal, I feel like that is far too simple of a category for this. We could tack on more words like melodic or atmospheric or probably many others but even then I don’t think it would do justice. ‘LPT’ is in a class of its own. Both dark and at the same time oddly uplifting. There is fear and ominous dread while at the same time almost a feeling of hope. You can hear the deep emotional place this album came from.
The music really sells that ominous lonely feeling. It is slow and heavy with a wide variety of sounds. I really appreciated the use of clean guitars in the mix. It makes for a beautiful contrast from the heavy distortion in the background. The two tones were perfectly shaped to complement one another. In the track “Descending into Darkness” we have heavy use of a piano. This is by far the track that makes your spine crawl the most. It is beautifully dark and really captures the feeling that the name implies. All of the different instruments and musicians complement each other so well. No one overpowers the other. These people were meant to play together.
There are not many lyrics to be heard but what is there is great. Mostly they are soft or in the background helping to set and maintain the atmosphere. Often sounding mumbled or incoherent they really help to set and maintain that harmonious darkness that is present throughout the whole album while not feeling overdone. It almost sounds like ambient sounds or like when someone is talking in the distance just out of reach.
‘LPT’ is a must-listen. It is dark and passionate. It evolves over the course of the album making it feel like a real journey. You feel the descent into darkness and lonesomeness but with this odd through-line of hope. It is a beautiful experience that is relatively hard to explain to someone who has not heard it. It is worth every minute of your time to listen to this and once you have finished it is worth it to listen again.
- ‘LPT’ is out now. You can get your copy HERE.
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