Glare of the Sun - TAL - Metal Epidemic

Glare of the Sun – TAL
Release Date: 13th September 2024
Label: Lifeforce Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Doom, Post-Metal, Sludge, Progressive Doom.
FFO: Altars of Grief, King Apathy, Cult of Luna, Mountaineer, Red Moon Architect.
Review By: Mark Young

The third album from Glare of the Sun is what is technically known in the trade as ‘a bit of alright’. The subtle opening guitar lines and throated roar announce Colossus, the opening track. Content with their use of an ascending structure to build their sonic scene, it isn’t a blast of hyper fast metal, it is a slow and measured build that shows that they know how to write engaging music that uses mood effectively. Everything is ‘just right’ from that repeating melody line to the perfect placement of synths to the drums, it is a top opening track that is followed by Rain, which uses the guttural/clean vocal switch to great effect. It’s not that it is overly heavy, they don’t beat you over the head with repetition but rather use just great songcraft that balances the light and dark, to take you on a musical journey. That cosmic feel is ramped up on Äon, which reminds me of Gozer, and their ‘The Path Always Leads To The End’ in how they use that measured approach and background sound to provide a massive and expansive sound. The heavy comes crawling in on this one, not with guitar, but with the vocals that have turned up the grit. It is amazing that here we are in September, and we are still getting belters of this quality. Of the opening three tracks, you could say that they are similar, and they are in the way that they don’t go for the obvious. They just build epic soundscapes.

Relikt changes that feel, the power cosmic is now engaged, their guitars are now up and awake, cutting through and providing an extra dimension. They pair that heavy attack back, gradually building, waiting for the right moment to hit the button, and it comes, combining with another storming melody line. There is a clear Side A/Side B feeling, and Relikt stakes its claim as the song of the album as they add more layers to the closing moments. Epic stuff.

Now with the bit between their teeth they push onwards with Stonefall bringing more of that cosmically charged songcraft with added heft. The heavier guitars don’t overshadow their arrangements, the superlative melody lines are still there, it is just now they have an extra dimension in which to wow you. Leaving Towards Spring dials back to the sparse sound of the opening tracks, a clean vocal is now deployed to start that trip, and it’s perfectly in sync with the emotive music behind it. It’s soon replaced by a tortured howl, which is there to remind you that all is not right with this journey. Once again, they drop a song that has echoes of what has come before it without it repeating the same idea. It is another masterwork, practically flawless.

Amnesty opens and just flows organically with acoustic guitar, which you think is content to meander along. They aren’t and hit the switch, detonating an arrangement that uses every trick they have at their disposal – synths, dual vocal styles and a cracker of a riff that comes in. I’ve said this earlier; I didn’t expect this at all, the breadth and scope that they present in each song. The two tracks that close out the CD/Digital release, Storm of Light and Horizon, keep an incredibly high level of quality in place. The former, I would say fits more of that traditional doom approach but filtered through their distinct vision, it still has that grand build to it, that underlying cosmic feel that has been in place from track one. Horizon, however, looks to the build that was so successful on Amnesty. It uses a similar approach in the clean opening and the sudden detonation that brings in the heavier edge, but is no less a song. For me, you have to hear all of these songs, because each one is just so good. They have so much going on, the ending orchestral piece on Horizon is fantastic, finishing what should become a classic album of the genre. Brilliant album, just brilliant.