As Light Dies – The Laniakea Architecture, Vol. II
Release Date: 10th March 2023
Label: Darkwoods
Bandcamp
Genre: Pagan Black Metal, Folk Black Metal.
FFO: Ved Buens Ende, Fleurety, Dødheimsgard.
Review By: Andy Spoon
Any time that a band describes its music as avant-garde, I’m immediately interested. I like to imagine some type of large mix of instruments, wild song structure, interludes and multi-act improvisations, etc. When it comes to metal music, there is generally an acceptance that the music will transition between non-metal music and metal. As Light Dies is set to release The Laniakea Architecture, Vol. II, on March 9th, 2023 on Darkwoods records.
Immediately, the standout of the entire album is the vocals. Often, it feels as if the vocalist NHT, or Oscar Martin belches out the vocal attack with something that sounds like a hardcore growl. At other times, he harmonizes with other clean-sounding vocalists in a choral-sounding interlude. In some dramatic moments, his vocals break into the death-y, black metal vocals that the “folk” piece of the album tends to lend itself towards. There are moments that remind me of Peter Steele’s deep voice, almost giving that same “Boris Karloff” narration timbre that is immediately reminiscent of the voice-overs of past horror adventures.
Instrumentally, we are treated to a mix of strings and traditional black metal fare. Sometimes, it’s clear that the background pads and strings might just be a keyboard. More apparent is the solo work by the guest string players, who provide cello and violin to give a subtle addition to the sound that is “woody” and atmospheric. I don’t always love the addition of that with folksy music, but this album gave me a very different vibe. The vocal journey between English and Spanish lends itself to the atmosphere which the violin and cello bring. The “fun” thing about mixing the live strings with synth pads and strings is the slight dissonance between the perfect tuning of the synths and the analog instrument, as it’s remarkably-difficult to get the instruments to always match pitch perfectly. In doing so, it’s evident that the soloist’s melody stands out in the mix.
Some of my favorite elements of the better tracks include the angst of the vocals as the techniques change. There is often a desperation heard in the voice that sounds almost like the narrator is pleading, as if crying out for something to be heard. I love the theater in this element of the song. As a non-Spanish-speaker, I’m both missing out on some of the finer details of the lyrics, but also forced to zero-in on the tone and furore in Martin’s voice as he changes styles and techniques. It’s entertaining and intriguing. On the final track, To Finish, guest vocalist Cristina Galvan joins Martin to start the progressive track that ends the album on a dissonant and moody note, featuring heavy synth effects over rapid time signature and key changes that send the listener’s mind in about 10 different directions.
Overall, I find The Laniakea Architecture, Vol. II to be somewhat confusing. It’s got interludes between almost every track, shortening its technical runtime by a solid third, and its track count by half. In these situations, I don’t often count those 1 or 2 minute interludes as their own tracks. On Laniekea Architecture, Volume II, there were interludes with vocal incantations, some with old-timey folk music, others inspired by something that sound flamenco-inspired. The dramatic cohesiveness is present, making audiences no doubt aware of the drama which they are listening to, but some tracks tend to wander off and break the structure to such a degree, I wish they wouldn’t have. That’s not necessarily a knock against As Light Dies, but more of a statement indicating that perhaps this one was too “Avant-Garde” for me. Although I suspect that was not the case.
A roller-coaster of folk and metal musical elements and movements, The Laniakea Architecture, Vol. II jumps around between folksy elegies and existential nightmares while occasionally blasting listeners with grittier black metal content in a mix-and-mash that failed to get me as excited as I hoped. It often felt pieced together after the fact, something that I kept hearing over and over as I desperately tried to find the lynchpin between the whole presentation, working me up a little, but ultimately not getting where I thought it was going to go.
(2.5 / 5)
