Hangman’s Chair
Saddiction
Nuclear Blast
I don’t know if it’s dropped tuning or eight string guitars but this album is low, like sub-zero heavy, whilst also being shot through with a breathless 80s post punk cool that elevates it and catches your ear instantly, opening track To Know The Night soars on skyscraping vocals and drills into the earth’s with super heavy guitars. It’s like Type O Negative and A-ha made a record together or a much heavier HIM. Whatever this mix comes from it’s awesome and very very effective. The Worst Is Yet To Come enters on guitars played so low you can hear the strings flapping then it about-faces into the sun doused in roomy reverb and that ever important gothic mystery. This is clearly a class act that understands depth and melody alongside full blooded doomy heaviness. Kowloon Lights nods to Joy Division as much as it does Paradise Lost and it’s this juxtaposition that is so fascinating, alongside the pure 80s icon vocal delivery that gives Simon Le Bon a run for his money. 2AM Thoughts is suitably introspective and dark and Canvas is full of heartache and drama. There’s lots of play with light and shade going on here with stormy skies punctuated with cracks of bright sunlight in its tonality, the result is a vast sounding record that demands that you light some candles, turn out the lights and, if you’re that way inclined, pour a large glass of red. As Healed flies into the night across monochrome vistas you find yourself feeling like you’ve been on a truly immersive journey to the depths of your soul and back, and for that this is worthy of your hearts and minds.
Review by George Miller