By: Richard Maw
Album Type: Full Length
Album Type: Full Length
“Until The Darkness Goes” CD//DD//LP track listing:
1. When The Darkness Comes
2. The Union
3. Apathy In Isolation
4. Deeper Than The Oceans
5. Beautifully Dark
6. Relive The Day
The Review:
Apostle of Solitude, doom denizens of Indiana, return after 2018's excellent “From Gold to Ash”. This time around the band... deliver another slab of molten doom metal! Certainly, opener “When The Darkness Comes” is bleak and foreboding with slow, S-LO-W, riffs, massive drums and plaintive vocals in abundance.
The record sounds great- organic but well produced- and the songs are not short on dynamics, either. This kind of light and shade in texture and volume is quite key to this kind of doom being successful. This is trad-doom; Saint Vitus, Trouble, The Gates of Slumber et. al. but a rather forlorn and sorrowful vibe which rules out aggression in the delivery. As such, it's operating once again in that sphere of slowed down heavy metal where you just have to have the songs and dynamics to keep the listener interested.
Fortunately, I can happily report that Apostle of Solitude have them in spades. Of course, it's all uniformly dark and melancholic and most tracks are six or seven minutes in length, BUT the band have played a masterstroke by sticking to a manageable album length. Six tracks; one under three minutes- bringing the playing time to about the length of a classic Sabbath album. Wise move. A little of this kind of emotional and musical heft goes a long way. The record is perfect to listen to in one go and digest as an album.
As the album progresses, it doesn't bring any jauntiness to proceedings; “Apathy in Isolation” is just as downbeat as “The Union”, while “Deeper Than The Oceans” is maybe even more so, If you are expecting “Beautifully Dark” to be a three minute thrasher... think again. It is instead exactly as its title suggests. By the time of “Relive The Day”, it's clear: there is to be no respite and no hope. Much like their previous records, this is not for the faint hearted and not for those who want to rock- this won't really make you want to break the speed limit, go on a night out or even bang your head. It's beautifully depressing and relentlessly bleak.
Apostle of Solitude have made another great record. The band are a force to be reckoned with live, as I can attest having gigged with them a couple of times in Germany and Austria. They're also top blokes, real gents and deserving of your support. Any drummer who'll lend me their Paiste cymbals for a gig is staunch in my book- thanks Corey. So show some support, buy this record and revel in the gloom.
“Until The Darkness Goes” is available HERE
