There's are multiple reasons why many fawn over bands like Neurosis, YOB, Pallbearer, and others that walk those same lines, and it's due to in no small part being better at the craft than practically everybody else. Very few other styles in the whole of metal can compare when sludge metal takes an atmospheric turn where all the weight is still absolutely present, but it takes on a multi-dimensional form that holds nothing back except when it comes to plunging a knife into the human soul only to slowly twist. We've seen plenty of bands come out of the woodwork to try their hand at the sound to varying degrees of success with Subterraen absolutely being one of the more promising acts to rise out of the muck of humanity. Where it was with their debut four years ago that Subterraen planted the seeds of a towering presence, it's with their sophomore piece that the French act is already reaping what it has sewn.
Not since the likes of YOB's "Our Raw Heart" have I come across a work that blends such with such profound integrity to make for a performance that is as dense as it is unyielding in its fury, sorrow, and passion. Seeming to continue the trend from their first album with a theme focusing on the wounds of humanity upon the once tameless wilderness, it's with every single given aspect of "In the Aftermath of Blight" that it demands to be said that Subterraen has truly evolved into a beast that cannot be denied for all that it is. As if calling upon the very earth to rise up and demand blood for blood against the plague that have ravaged its surface for millennia, "In the Aftermath of Blight" is heaviness unbound with moments of atmosphere that can induce tears if you're fully invested into the picture that Subterraen is carefully crafting from the moment you step into the album. The pain and suffering of it all comes across beautifully as Subterraen puts on a tremendous display of heaviness that can easily give way to real majesty and crippling horror as the tapestry that's being woven throughout the experience is a mirror of what's happening in reality with Subterraen offering a spectacular performance to bring such visages to the aural form that easily brings one to their very knees. Intense from all angles, poignant in its themes, and masterful in its execution, "In the Aftermath of Blight" puts Subterraen further along the path to royalty in this particular vein of all-encompassing sludge.
Hours have gone into listening to these four tracks, and hours more will I pour into it. This is an album that demands to be hailed for everything that it accomplishes with the only viable lamentation that it has but four tracks to call its own. "In the Aftermath of Blight" is intoxicating despite its horrors and woes, but it's through a high-level performance that Subterraen puts you in a mindset that you never want to leave. While we have other names bringing their massive presence to the table, many are going to find it hard getting past Subterraen should they want to stake a claim for the most impactful and engaging work of sludge the year has to offer.
"In the Aftermath of Blight" releases on April 12th via Frozen Records!
LISTEN to an advanced track from "In the Aftermath of Blight" on Bandcamp here.
LIKE Subterraen on Facebook here.
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