Despite all the negativity that has permeated our lives, especially here in the United States, it’s hard to remember sometimes that everything is cyclical. No one is on top or at the bottom forever, and when fortunes change, those who once held power might find themselves eating dirt. Or worse. Order to chaos.
Long-running Australian black metal force Austere can attest to this as they started their run with two albums in succession and then took a 13-year break where its members—Mitchell Keepin (guitars, bass, keyboards, vocals) and Tim Yatras (drums, keyboards, vocals)—could focus on other adventures. They returned in 2023, and each year since they have released a new full-length, the latest being “The Stillness of Dissolution.” Where the band left a void due to their absence, they’ve responded with an impressive clip of releases, and this might be their most adventurous. It’s black metal, it can be depressing, but it also glimmers with power, filling your veins with a new type of energy. It’s still morose, but it also shows a new level for the band, a creativity and inspiration that opens up the blackness.
“Dissolved Exile” opens and is immediately active, a noticeable trait on this whole record. Howls mar as the leads glisten, charring as the electric pace grows mightier, cascading into an atmospheric wash. From there, the power surges, guitars give off a reflective sheen, and acoustics wash away. “Time Awry” enters amid furious growls, the pace taking off and giving energy, clean singing working in and numbing over pain spots. The playing bubbles and kicks into higher gear, growls crushing as the spaciousness expands, the drums opening up the earth’s crust. The pace then buckles, rippling and pushing its weight toward a thick, foggy ending. “Redolent Foulness” is flush with oxygen, punchy in spots, the clean calls warming over chilled flesh. The playing gets fiery as screams lash away, the guitars adding a sense of sun splash, jolting as the melodies strengthen. The push and pull jars you as the forces grow even stronger, guitars letting out a final gasp that sits in ash.
“The Downfall” has guitars lighting up, the singing hanging overheard, and then howls snarling with viciousness even as the atmosphere growls more inviting. Dreamier singing alters the mood before shrieks destroy, the playing floods, and an overhead storm batters for good measure. “Rusted Veins” has guitars trudging and your mind expanding, feeling a bit like Agalloch’s woodsy dramatics. The playing is aggressive even with melodies lighting the edges, howls ripping back flesh, only to be countered by singing glazing over the mania. Guitars swarm and things remain heavy and punishing, relentlessly shaving your bones and muscles as it burns off its final drops of fuel. Closer “Storm Within My Heart” has guitars stinging and gushing, sweeping as the growls mar, ravaging and going for the throat. The playing scuffs and explodes with color, temporarily pulling back before everything blows open again, howls wrenching your congealing wounds. Dynamic dashes fly as the guitars crush and cascade, going cold as the final notes fade into the sky.
“The Stillness of Dissolution” adds a new wrinkle in Austere’s formula, pouring even more black metal elements yet also further melody, making this one of the brighter records in their arsenal. Make no mistake, this thing remains grim and blistering, only with some cooler air injected to give your burning lungs a chance to breathe fresh. The darkness is thick here, and the themes of life giving way to demise shadows your heart while blood is racing through your veins over this dynamic creation.
For more on the band, go here: https://austere-official.bandcamp.com/
To buy the album, go here: http://lnk.spkr.media/austere-dissolution
For more on the label, go here: https://en.prophecy.de/
Meat Mead Metal 