Downfall Of Gaia
Ethic Of Radical Finitude – Metal Blade Records
Beautiful, beseeching almost, this is a record of such moving music it tears at your heart as much as the vocals tear at your throat. Enthralling instrumental intro ‘Seduced By…’ chills deliciously before lifting the veil to reveal sublime ‘The Grotesque Illusion Of Being’. Chief screamer Dominik Goncalves dos Reis’s feral vocals are so splinteringly high and raspy, they hurl you backwards. Downfall Of Gaia’s post-black metal monster comes with the core theme of unsettled minds, always seeking more, cutting through its tracks. ‘Ethic Of Radical Finitude’ thrusts forward the truly disquieting idea we are searching for a safe place we may never find. Pretty bleak. But let this record whip around your head like leaves helpless in a storm. The idea becomes no less unsettling, but the layers and depth of the music somehow become supportive and make it bearable. That is the level of power we are dealing with here. Musically and mentally, this is a dazzling.
Review by Jo Wright