Genre: Atmospheric/Depressive Black Metal
Quality: AAC @ 256
About: So, I had heard of this band before but not gotten into it much, similar to Lantlos last year. It was formed in 2005 by a person simply known as D. (not to be confused with Desolate AKA Mitch who was the third member of Austere) as well as a few Austere members. Now, it is the exact same two members as Grey Waters, who had a fantastic debut EP last year. While that is symphonic depressive rock with emo vocals (you read that correctly), this is a pretty straightforward black metal affair. I say "pretty" because you will have surprises all over the place, the biggest of which being "November" (which I will not ruin).
So, this pretty much is still the heart and soul of Austere, it feels like a natural progression of their sound, similar to how Timo Tolkki has progressed since leaving Stratovarius (last blog post). Instead of about an hour of blast beats with howling (majority of Austere songs), there are 6 songs each with different themes creating an album which will take you to the depths of your soul and back.
There are ambient parts (such as synthesizer or acoustic guitar) serving as an intro to the next section of a song, something I have not heard since Lunar Aurora broke up in 2005. Then your face is melted off. And it happens in nearly every song. Things like this that make this album so great. Every time I listen, I hear new things.
Yet within the darkness and madness you find strands of hope, a melody which soars towards the sun...
Keep on the lookout for the new Grey Waters release, although a completely different style, it's the same two members.
Mediafire Download
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Buy (CD. Vinyl coming later 2011, which I will probably buy.)