Album
Type : Full Length
Date
Released : 23/04/2013
Label : Domestic
Genocide Records
Apathy Remains Victorious, album track listing :
1).
Stillborn Motivation 10:25
2). When
This is Over 05:143). Seclusion 03:14
4). Forget Everything 10:57
5). Nothing Left To Accomplish 11:14
6). Passage 2:20
Bio :
A studio project based in
Helsinki, LAURASIA AWAITS US’
roots trace back to its earliest experimentations in 2009. Following an
assortment of lineup shifts, genre exploration, meditation and a long period of
dormancy, only two members remain: founders Lauri Santeri Lohi and Joona Laine.
A solid composing and recording process took shape in the Summer of 2012
resulting in their latest full-length, Apathy
Remains Victorious. Inspired mostly by life, death and beyond, the
lamenting hymns that make up Apathy
Remains Victorious are driven forward by the truest of human emotions
making for six lush, exploratory soundscapes that are at once somber and
sinister. Apathy Remains Victorious will
be released via Domestic Genocide Records on April 23, 2013
The Band :
Lauri Santeri Lohi | vocals, lyrics,
composition
Joona Laine | programming, guitars, bass, composition
Joona Laine | programming, guitars, bass, composition
Review :
Sometimes it’s good to get away from what you’re used to. It can surprise you, when you find something
so unlike what you’re used to, yet it still stimulates your senses. Here’s where Helsinki’s Laurasia Awaits Us
comes in: a doom-riddled outfit of the blackest proportions, with some prog
elements and dark inspirations to their writing materials. If darkness is what you desire, let Laurasia
Awaits Us and their album ‘Apathy Remains Victorious’ be your hosts.
On first glance, this album seems more like an EP. I mean: six songs? Is that all?
Look again: three of those six tracks are over TEN MINUTES LONG EACH. And yes, those tracks are bleak, dark and
doomier than a doomsayer spouting doom on Doomsday. Album opener ‘Stillborn Motivation’ is an
exploration in the depths of the human psyche, finding torment, sadness and
self-loathing on its expedition. And
boy, does the music convey that heart of darkness: fuzzy guitars sound like
tolling, drowning bells, and Lauri Santeri Lohi’s strangulated vocals seem to beg the listener
to help release him from his sorrow. As
he screams ‘this pain will last a lifetime!’ the rains fall down and a
lightning guitar riff flashes upon our sonic skies. Bad weather brings forth remarkable music, it
seems.
Nihilism and
depression flow through the album like a sinister blood, pumped by a heart filled
with the angriest despair. Even the
shortest song – closer ‘Passage’ – is a demon of aural oddness, at once
claustrophobic and yet, somehow, startlingly exposed. It’s like being dumped in a snow-strewn
forest, with no idea where you are, and no clue how to get home. It’s just amazing how this two-piece has
managed such an evocative song using such minimal musical arrangements: they’ve
made darkness through light. Incredible.
My personal pick of this half-dozen doom monoliths would have to be
‘Forget Everything’. It’s one of the
epics on the album, clocking in at nearly eleven minutes, and it snaps from
experimental soundscapes to snarling, fuzz-filled heaviness, almost like a guard
dog that has slipped its leash. Just
pray that you’re not that beast’s target, that’s all I’m saying.
If I had to define Laurasia Awaits Us’s sound, it would be Joy Division
with Friedriche Nietzsche as the frontman, with Trent Reznor conducting
proceedings. But this band is so hard to
categorise: instead, I merely urge you to seek them out for yourself and close
the world off for its 40 minutes of running time. It’s a journey of pain, internal conflict and
strife: and it’s one every single one of us has taken. This album is here to let you know that
others know how you feel, and that ‘Apathy Remains Victorious’ is your
companion through the hard times. With Laurasia
Awaits Us at your side, feel better when you’re feeling bad.
Words by
: Chris Markwell
For more information :
http://laurasiaawaitsus.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/domestic.genocide.records
http://soundcloud.com/domestic-genocide-records
http://www.reverbnation.com/label/domesticgenocide
http://www.youtube.com/user/domesticgenocide
http://domesticgenocide.bandcamp.com
