There are none better than None at leading us down dark atmospheric paths, something this anonymous Portland based collective have been doing admirably over four albums. Having been slumbering since they last froze us with ‘The Damp Chill Of Life’ back in 2019 they are back with another absorbing album ‘Inevitable,’ prepare to be tinged with a rich tapestry of music and emotions.
Running at near an hour with a continuous flow but divided into six lengthy songs or chapters, this reads a bit like a book and leads us through passages seeped in the miseries and futility of existence. Opener ‘Never Came Home’ gives us a template of softly plucked acoustic guitar melody suddenly thrust into heavier blackened furrows as vocals move from whispers to rage and screams. Has somebody waited for their partner to come back home and discovered they are never to return, what tragedy has occurred, betrayal or perhaps murder? Maybe they are buried amidst the trees of the cover-art? These are questions you will no doubt linger on as the story unfolds. There are long ponderous passages here and clues are just song titles as the music takes us through now empty rooms where all that lingers are the ghosts and memories of happier times. Perhaps our now alone narrator is still there, left in bleak abandonment, happily reminiscing on better times when the rooms were full of laughter and joy. Prone to obliterate the senses and numb them in a narcotic fug as tracks such as ‘Alone, Where I Can See’ take us through the ruination of the very soul. There’s little left of joy, the depressive grey streaks of melody and anguish from the vocals speak it all. There is no easy way out…
Moving through various stages None skilfully weave their narrative around atmospheric doom and black metal along with parts that will bring post rock and DSBM along to the miserable party. It’s all quite beautiful and although there is no escaping from the hurt beneath the folds, it is quite a relaxing journey to partake in. Easily carrying the listener away through lush melodicism and reviving with sudden bouts of bristling rage, it moves with grace and passion at its heart. There are no particular answers to be found in this sincere expression of anguish. No lyrics to help you on the way as we twist and turn restlessly through these lengthy passages, nothing in the way of social media to provide you with the inner workings of if this is even based on fact and fiction. The mystery of it all simply makes it all the more profound and genuine.
It may seem a cop out but even going into this album further seems to be doing it a disservice. It’s one that those who can take its abject sorrow and bleakness, you need to listen and contemplate alone in its entirety. Inevitable is described as “the last stage of grief” and like everything with None I guess the future is uncertain…?
(8/10 Pete Woods)
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