It’s really easy to lose enthusiasm for trying to save a semblance of the Earth on which we’re living and, for a lot of people, abusing. It’s also easy to be short sighted of it all, because we likely will not be here for the worst of it if we push the climate to the breaking point, and as we move forward, we don’t seem to be getting better of caring for this place.

Canadian black metal power Liminal Shroud is not exactly hitting you about the head and torso with that message, but it’s decipherable from their words in their bio and their excellent new record “Visions of Collapse.” They speak of destruction of the coast and the cycle of annihilation in which we may be trapped, leaving their music to try to grasp onto some kind of hope. The band—guitarist/vocalist Aidan Crossley, bassist/vocalist Rich Taylor, drummer Drew Davidson—pours themselves creatively and philosophically into these five tracks, pushing their black metal to atmospheric new heights while also trying to survive amid the misery of living in a world we’re destroying.

“Nocturnal Phosphorescence” greets you with tingling guitars and an atmospheric heat that gradually builds, strong wails cutting through and into melodic drilling. The playing claws and sludges, growls slithering, the fury blending into the air. The cloud bursts, guitars cascading like driving showers, vicious howls rippling as the playing carves flesh, digging back into a black pocket. “Nucleonic Blight” trickles initially, whispers sending chills, and then the playing breaks and begins to drub. Shrieks hammer as the fires are agitated, the muscular push scarring and rumbling, the force disappearing into a haze. The force envelopes as the shrieks decimate, guitars blaze, and the energy hits full tilt, a spirited gust picking up everything and blasting to a forceful finish.

“Resolve” is humid and wiry at the start, the energy combusting with the cry of, “Take my breath, take my soul!” Scathing playing meets up with cleaner singing, adding texture and a sense of cleansing, waiting for the inevitable explosion. When it comes, the tempo mashes, sparking a rousing pace that makes blood challenge veins, jolting until it finally relents. “Malaspina” is forceful, singing warbling, growls trading off and snarling, viciousness finding strange bedfellows with melody. Things gets strangely catchy as strong melodies sweep, eventually becoming victim to a severe battering. Closer “The Carving Scythe” enters with drums powering, gnarly guitars gaining steam, and a storm that just arrived chewing up scenery. The tempo goes from forceful to calm and back again, tingling at times, rampaging at others. Wild shrieks strike as the atmosphere swells, heading back into the chaos, slowly dragging to a fading finality.

The world is turning against us, and as sick as you are of reading me openly worrying about the climate is as tired as I am of writing about it and wringing my hands in disgust. Liminal Shroud are more poetic in their worry, and “Visions of Collapse” is a record that acknowledges our potential demise and paints even darker shadows to hopefully make some kind of impact. This also is a spacious, ambitious record that is perhaps this band’s best, a release that should open the eyes and ears of any conscious black metal listener who gives a fuck.    

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/liminalshroudofficial/

To buy the album, go here: https://www.willowtip.com/bands/details/liminal-shroud.aspx

For more on the label, go here: https://www.willowtip.com/home.aspx