Arctic Sea Survivors
Into Barren Lands
Talheim Records
“...I love the oceans dark and deep but I have promises to keep. And miles to go before I sleep... And miles to go before I sleep...”
It`s a concept album about XIX century Polar Expedition led by Julius Payer to find the Northeast Passage...
It`s also instrumental post doom metal album which is quite not what I expected, it`s because I usually identify instrumental music with progressive metal bands, at least, I do not remember listening to any doom metal album, without vocals, such as Into Barren Lands.
This album has much simpler forms of music expressions - term doom metal indicates what to expect from the music a bit and clarify its nature. Unlikely to progressive music, post doom metal from Arctic Sea Survivors sounds like it is driven by steady guitar rhythms and groove, atmosphere of outside world as we know it - in our every day life has vanished from this album and had been replaced by mystery of exploring music and historic events. Emotional input in songs has impact on my vision of that exploration, how it might be like in reality, which picture I try to create when listening to songs from this Austrian band. I believe, when Arctic Sea Survivors were exploring the concept of this album, history, maps and other stuff, they have had to transgress some of the atmosphere from that historic Polar exploration to their songs, they made music have a believable vibe, and I want to treat their songs as transcendence from those XIX century events, something that Julius Payer and others could have felt and experienced in times when they were actually on their mission.
Music of Into Barren Lands has some thrill of exploring of the unknown, has moments of uncertainty and glimpses of hope, and music is bounded in slow&heavy guitar riffs, also has calmer instrumental passages - Sima de Los Huesos. The bleakness of sound reaches for feeling of isolation, like in face of separation and detachment from the world of the living. The band pulls for some emotional strings such as empowering the feeling of greater doom in the music, or when dealing with uncertainty of the environment (I simultaneously think about expedition itself as the background of the album which make me understand the instrumental side of the music much better). Graves On The Horizon (As We Float, Pt. 2) or Into Barren Lands (As We Float, Pt. 3) sound pretty heavy, depth of the music changes but not that much, and I can feel that the atmosphere for the album is getting better and dense overtime. In a track called On Older Tides, the band ties some rare melodic moments with guitar rhythm and few fine, catchy leads, it`s just bad that the album ends after this song.
Songs have quality of the concept album, something that connects music and make it sound epic, like one monumental album where all songs feels like it`s one long track with common factor which is a authentic, doomy atmosphere of the album.
Into Barren Lands songs have polished sound but I like guitar distortions, solos and music ideas for lead guitar that push mystery of music into something that only you can find answers to, by just listening to songs. A nice feeling of flow is also given to music by tuning of drums and delicate sound of percussion elements. By all meaning, it`s post-doom metal album that really feels like it has a concept that tells a good story, and narration are no vocals/words but the music itself.
It`s a concept album about XIX century Polar Expedition led by Julius Payer to find the Northeast Passage...
It`s also instrumental post doom metal album which is quite not what I expected, it`s because I usually identify instrumental music with progressive metal bands, at least, I do not remember listening to any doom metal album, without vocals, such as Into Barren Lands.
This album has much simpler forms of music expressions - term doom metal indicates what to expect from the music a bit and clarify its nature. Unlikely to progressive music, post doom metal from Arctic Sea Survivors sounds like it is driven by steady guitar rhythms and groove, atmosphere of outside world as we know it - in our every day life has vanished from this album and had been replaced by mystery of exploring music and historic events. Emotional input in songs has impact on my vision of that exploration, how it might be like in reality, which picture I try to create when listening to songs from this Austrian band. I believe, when Arctic Sea Survivors were exploring the concept of this album, history, maps and other stuff, they have had to transgress some of the atmosphere from that historic Polar exploration to their songs, they made music have a believable vibe, and I want to treat their songs as transcendence from those XIX century events, something that Julius Payer and others could have felt and experienced in times when they were actually on their mission.
Music of Into Barren Lands has some thrill of exploring of the unknown, has moments of uncertainty and glimpses of hope, and music is bounded in slow&heavy guitar riffs, also has calmer instrumental passages - Sima de Los Huesos. The bleakness of sound reaches for feeling of isolation, like in face of separation and detachment from the world of the living. The band pulls for some emotional strings such as empowering the feeling of greater doom in the music, or when dealing with uncertainty of the environment (I simultaneously think about expedition itself as the background of the album which make me understand the instrumental side of the music much better). Graves On The Horizon (As We Float, Pt. 2) or Into Barren Lands (As We Float, Pt. 3) sound pretty heavy, depth of the music changes but not that much, and I can feel that the atmosphere for the album is getting better and dense overtime. In a track called On Older Tides, the band ties some rare melodic moments with guitar rhythm and few fine, catchy leads, it`s just bad that the album ends after this song.
Songs have quality of the concept album, something that connects music and make it sound epic, like one monumental album where all songs feels like it`s one long track with common factor which is a authentic, doomy atmosphere of the album.
Into Barren Lands songs have polished sound but I like guitar distortions, solos and music ideas for lead guitar that push mystery of music into something that only you can find answers to, by just listening to songs. A nice feeling of flow is also given to music by tuning of drums and delicate sound of percussion elements. By all meaning, it`s post-doom metal album that really feels like it has a concept that tells a good story, and narration are no vocals/words but the music itself.
Tracklist:
1 Sima de Los Huesos
2 Passing The Void (As We Float, Pt. 1)
3 Graves On The Horizon (As We Float, Pt. 2)
4 Into Barren Lands (As We Float, Pt. 3)
5 On Older Tides
1 Sima de Los Huesos
2 Passing The Void (As We Float, Pt. 1)
3 Graves On The Horizon (As We Float, Pt. 2)
4 Into Barren Lands (As We Float, Pt. 3)
5 On Older Tides
Review by Slawek Migacz
Added: 16.06.2020
Added: 16.06.2020
Order at:
Talheim records
Talheim records
