Offernat – All Colours Retract
Release Date: 9th September 2022
Label: Self Released
Bandcamp
Genre: Post-Metal, Blackened Sludge, Progressive Metal.
FFO: Neurosis, Isis, Black Tusk, Mastodon.
Review By: Rick Farley
Every once in a while, a band will come along that kind of defies labelling, at least genre wise. It makes it difficult to describe and hard to recommend based on other bands sound. Copenhagen, Denmark’s Offernat is one of those bands. Formed in 2020, this collaboration of musicians, all share quite diverse backgrounds. Together they become a cauldron of creativity where genres are explored, and dynamics are experimented with. Stylistically the soundscape points in the direction of post metal, sludge, progressive metal, doom, and black metal, all of which are reliant upon a highly dark and gloomy atmosphere. The band consists of guitarist Anders Kargaard Bork, drummer Jonas Bangstrup and William Frøland on bass who are all listed as vocalist too.
The sonic landscape on All Colours Retract touches on every emotion, making the record feel like a vehement journey through your conscience. Four massive songs of solitude and isolation mixed with angry intensity and dreadful spiritual concession. Cavern filling murky heaviness throughout is set against melodic quiet progressives passages that are full of subtle pieces of hope and dread. The sleepy moments of quiet reflection, make the muscular heavy riffs come in like a swinging sledgehammer. The prismatic genre blending can be extremely violent, soothing, drowsy, and disorienting. To be taken out of a certain vibe too abruptly can be a bit jarring for some people, and there are a few moments where you could feel a little lost. This could however be a purposeful aspect to the overall experience. Not a dealbreaker, but it’s worth mentioning. Overall, the record ebbs and flows with ease, echoing dreamlike atmospheres that are droning, rendering you catatonic only to turn around and be smashed in your chest with brutal force.
Just like the engaging mix of musical diversity, the guitar tones also vary, from fuzzy and hazy to a sharp but hefty crunchiness. Cleans are occasionally used for emotive purposes that add more depth to the ever-changing tranquillity. The riffs are a raucous blend of bruising hardcore, crushing hooks, blackened tremolo picking and twisting progressive elements. The drums and bass follow suit with matching intensity and a powerful low end. The tight structures create a solid foundation from where the twists and turns can manifest themselves instantaneously.
Vocally is where I’m slightly thrown off a bit. Having three different singers, you would expect some extreme divergence. While each vocalist bears a venomous and distinguishable tone, they all have the same raspy, straining, shouty style reminiscent of hardcore vocals. Their delivery never really changes throughout the entire record. It works for me, but doesn’t offer much in range. One of the members occasionally has a Slayer-esque throaty scream, which does rev up the coolness a little, but three singers kind of all doing the same thing may not work for everyone.
The production is outstanding. Recorded at Full Moon Studio by Simon Sonne Andersen, who is also responsible for mixing along with the band themselves. The album was mastered at Audiosiege by Brad Boatright. It’s all beautifully done, sounding clear and full of warmth. You can hear every detail of each instrument in full glory.
Thematically, nature is the underlying theme both musically and lyrically. As the place where one is drawn to escape the chaos of everyday life, finding peace and inner reflection. Away from those that seek to gain, by exploiting nature and human existence, towards its impending doom.
Everything considered, All Colours Retract is a damn good record that will give you memorable peaks and valleys. Forty-eight minutes of dissonant violence hell-bent on taking your psyche for a challenging odyssey through a musical perception of melancholy, beauty, and brutality.
(3.5 / 5)
