When compared to 2011’s incredible As the Valley of Death Becomes Us, Our Silver Memories Fade, there has been a shift in the overall feel and tone. Valley felt closer to the “post-metal” tag the band has been saddled with. That album had a melancholic feel, an ebb and flow akin to the gentle sway of a ship lost at sea in a world as grim and grey as its cover art.
Nations to Flames, on the other hand casts the “post” handle aside, holds on to the doom sensibilities and ignites the flame of their industrial influences. Where Valley lamented the fall, Nations embraces the destruction.
The shift to the more industrial aspects is apparent straight away as opener “Fall” sees plenty of noise and sound filtering through as Graham’s more heavily processed vocals implore us to “fall into your shallow graves.” Those lyrics are heavily repeated, driving the message home. That sort of lyrical repetition shows itself many times throughout the album and emphasizes how it strips down the template and comes across more focused overall.
Graham’s guitars cut like a hot knife dripping acid, corroding and cauterizing with incisive riffs. I’m guessing it’s the Killing Joke influence, but riff choices go from sounding like Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson and even Gravity Kills all the way to thrash. As oppressive as it can get beneath the barrage of sound, there are enough open moments to allow the music to sink in. Attentive listening reveals the subtle nuances to Seita’s bass besides just filling sonic frequencies.
Speaking of filling, Graves’ fills are just part of the machine that drives the perpetual bellows breathing life into Nations. Graves propels the album with pulverizing intensity. Tribal, cyclical and edgy, this writer found the percussion to be the most enjoyable aspect of an album rife with gratifying performances.
On Nations to Flames, A Storm Of Light have an intensity that burns with the fire of creativity and artfulness while still relaying the message of how seriously doomed mankind is. It may not sound like Cathedral or Pentagram, but it’s still all about the doom.
Nations to Flames ups the aggression from the previous album while still layering in enough aspects to create not just soundscapes but sound scenes. The soundtrack to our damnation. Add in Graham’s brilliant lyricism (“In the darkness of night/We search for answers/With a coward’s heart/ And find only stars” from “Apostle of Hatred”) and Nations to Flames ends up as a show-er as well as a grower. A band that refuses to rehash the same formula has quite possibly brought us one of the year’s best releases.
(released September 17, 2013 on Southern Lord Recordings)
