It’s starting to get warmer here in most of the United States as spring is thawing the frozen grounds (they never got that cold to begin with over the winter) and adding pleasant breezes to the air. Oh, and there’s pollen. It doesn’t seem like the ideal setting for music that feels more frigid and icy, yet here we are, diving right back into the cold.
Australian black metal duo Austere— guitarist/bassist/keyboardist/vocalist Mitchell Keepin and drummer/keyboardist/vocalist Tim Yatras—actually are looking at colder temperatures soon, and that is what their excellent new record “Beneath the Threshold” feels like. After ending a 13-year hiatus with last year’s “Corrosion of Hearts,” they’ve responded right back with this six-track, 42-minute record that further stretches their brand of black metal into atmospheric gaze. It’s certainly not foreign from “Corrosion” and instead refines what they created there into something that explores a little deeper, adds more melodies, and mixes into stardust.
“Thrall” begins with guitars dripping, and then things suddenly ramp up and burst with life, washing through time and jarring significant atmosphere. The melodies are sweeping and fiery while the lower end trudges through deep mud, ending in a heavy shimmer. “The Sunset of Life” unloads heat-generating leads, the shrieks barreling, dark and melodic waves crashing down and trying to pull you under. The playing storms as clean singing picks up and fills your chest, guitars eventually settling and going numb. That’s temporary, though, as a strong gust picks up, rippling your heart with emotion, cascading and enveloping everything within its grasp, bringing everything to an end with hellacious fire. “Faded Ghost” opens amid dark leads, moody singing, and a frothy storm that boils over. The singing stretches as the emotion caterwauls, driving through layers of shrieks, impenetrable energy, and a pressure that slowly subsides.
“Cold Cerecloth” charges up with riffs that chew on nerves, strong singing mixing with savage shrieks, warmth and melodic gushing pushing with the pace, the harshness carving into your mind. Infectious playing merges with shadows, igniting and creating heat that aims to melt the ice around your organs, battering and coming to a cataclysmic finish. “Words Unspoken” is a brief interlude, bringing a gothic sense and acoustics, making it feel like you’re entering a mist on the edge of a dream. Closer “Of Severance” starts ferociously, ripping and tearing, gushing with power as the shrieks aim to strangle. Great power ignites as the storming increases, a slurry mix that chills your bones and leaves icy brush burns on your extremities. The playing rains down as the intensity picks up again, bringing melodic spirals that shake your foundation, lathering before finally relenting.
Austere appear to be at a creative spurt after ending their 13-year hiatus a few years ago, and “Beneath the Threshold” continues that magic and drives it forward into an even more promising future. The thorny chaos and the lush melodies mix perfectly, creating light and darkness that live perfectly together. It’s clear this band has found new life and is brimming with ideas, and taking on this record is a mental and physical experience that will leave you exhausted yet fulfilled.
For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialAustere
To buy the album, go here: http://lnk.spkr.media/austere-threshold
For more on the label, go here: https://us.prophecy.de/
Meat Mead Metal 