Loather sounds like it should be a sludge/doom/post hardcore kind of band but, apparently not. And furthermore it is stated they should not be reduced to mere genre tags either. Damn that’s every reviewer on the planet done for then.
The opening number begins with a darkly melodic guitar line that is very, very goth. That intense almost spiralling sound building until the riff breaks out. ‘Ephemeral’. The vocals are harsh and buried in the background initially before moving to the fore in an echoing sound. The guitar brings a little more slow black metal to the party, amping it up. It’s a strangely raw sound after the goth opening and it has indeed a really atmospheric bite to it, moments of unexpected keys that jerk you to the side.
‘Holler Your Name’ once more has that deeply goth opening. Clean vocals, echoing to the gentle but fuzzed out guitar. It fluctuates between this goth or post punk approach and a rawer, dark cthonian black metal feel. It’s definitely curious and atmospheric. ‘Mortuary’ then goes full tilt into post rock/black metal; the melodic, breathy voices, the minimal guitar note repetition and then the riff. Think Amesoeurs with a little more bite in places, a point of high praise from me. It’s certainly intense and even eerie, tempestuous too. There’s a control about it though, a focus that directs every motion and twist with planning. This is certainly a song with purpose and none the worse for that.
‘Eis’ however is simply that place in post rock where the lilting melody and the slightly gritty but hugely melodic and echoed vocals live. It meanders and trickles along though I expect it is supposed to provide a cold and irresistible flow, however sadly it leaves me on the shore, watching something familiar that fails to entice me in. ‘Lost Sight’ is an epic eight minutes; initially like Eis with a kind of atmospheric and raw black metal driving it in places although it feel like this is only to highlight the fade back into the post rock. Again sadly it does little for me, something curiously disjointed as though they felt a need to put the black metal touch in despite themselves… Strange. Closer ‘Proper Burial’ has an opening melody which might not be out of place on a dungeon synth album initially (not a criticism in the least) and slowly builds the pressure with the riff growing in that pure post rock style. A few minutes of harsh vocals come with the return of the opening melody at odds with the sound before we fade.
I found Loather’s debut difficult as you can probably tell. Not because it is difficult music, because it most certainly isn’t, but perhaps because I find it to still be trying to decide what it wants to be. At the moment despite some lovely passages, and some fine ideas there is a disconnect between some of the raw atmospheric black metal aspects and the overall drive to that post black metal/blackgaze sound, as though someone in the band refuses to let go. The rawer black metal influenced areas I found more interesting, but then again ‘Mortuary’ more or less succeeded in their (I think) intended hybrid. On the whole though it feels like an unfinished discussion between the parts of the band to me.
Sorry, but I have to pass.
(5/10 Gizmo)
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