Album Type:Album
Date Released:
June
30th
2014
Label:
Self
Released
Beholden To
Nothing And No One - track listing:
Disc I
1 - In the darkened
river I found the silence loom
2- The Widow’s Oil
3 - Vultures Crown
4 – The wake of
Leviathan
5 - Thrown into a
nameless time
6 – Totem
7 – Beholden to
nothing and no one
8 - Heathen’s rest
Disc II
1 – Twelve Sunne
2 - Come, O spirit,
dwell among us
3 – Ithaca
4 – Symptoms of
Dearth
5 – Lotus Island
6 – Of Darknesse
Review:
Sunwølf
return with their 3rd album – Beholden To Nothing and No-One. An
two-part album that runs for a mesmerising 84 mins or so.
The
1st part of the album is where Sunwølf experiment with their sound
by adding vocals for the very first time. Sunwølf have changed their
sound once again. The Stoner Rock vibe of their music is non-existent
as Sunwølf have adopted a more volatile and dangerous persona as
they blend Neurosis/Isis style Post-Metal/Sludge riffs through out
the album.
The
2nd part of the album is the more familiar drone based ambient post
rock sounds from earlier Sunwølf albums. It is a haunting 33-minute
spell of emotional based music that shows you two different sides to
this band. One that is violent and crushingly heavy and the other a
beautiful and understated post-rock collective.
So
let us talk about the 1st part of the album, which is where Sunwølf
truly shine as they venture to places they have not showed the
listener before. Tracks such as The Wake Of Leviathan and Thrown Into
A Nameless Time perfectly capture the dark brooding transformation
that Sunwølf have undertaken on this musical odyssey that Neurosis
would be proud to call their own. The instrumental work is intense
through out the first part of the album. Sunwølf have perfectly
captured the violent mood and energy of a world that is dangerously
close to oblivion. Vocals are shouted at you with real purpose and it
only adds to the destructive nature of it all.
Now
the 2nd part of the album. This is more of the same style of music
that Sunwølf created with their earlier albums though they still
include the slight hint of Sludge/Post-Metal madness lurking in the
background. Ambient Drone based Post-Rock music that plays out like a
love letter to Drone and Doom visionaries – Sunn0))) and Earth. It
has some beautifully played piano-based ambient moods throughout this
part of the album. It can be very mysterious at times as Sunwølf
play with your emotions by adding socially aware soundbytes to leave
you feeling emotionally cut-off from the world around you.
Sunwølf
have delivered an unsettling album with a dark twisted vision that
will have you thinking about its hidden meanings for a very long time
to come. Ignore Sunwølf’s previous albums, as this is where their
future lies. They need to stick with this style of apocalyptic sound
as it will take them a very long way indeed.
WOW!!!
– Plain and Simple. – WOW!!!
Thanks
to Sunwølf for sending me a promo to review. Beholden To Nothing and
No-One will be available to buy on CD/DD from June 30th 2014.
Check
The Band From Links Below
Written
by Steve Howe
