SOLNEGRE – ANTHEMS FOR THE GRAND COLLAPSE

Ûkh is a phenomenal vocalist who can sustain notes with ruthless control and move mountains with deeper, doom-steeped registers that is iconic to the genre. “The Axiom / Song For the Inert Part II” has some incredibly long notes that are not sound wavers. In “For All That Could Have Been”, a slower and atmospheric track, Ûkh’s vocals break through the serene, both offering a calmer and lacerating variety to meet dead in the middle. Tom as a drummer leads a solemn march throughout the journey, framing verses and shaping the path for it all to come together in powerful collaboration.

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Each track is an atmospheric wonder, Gebre’s bass and keyboard shaping many of the layers of the soundscape. Slow and ascending emotive sweeps elevate the sound, while gothic and mysterious sustained synths bring an otherworldly feel to tracks as time lingers on. Basslines are clear and dominant, grim and compelling. Paired with additional musical contributions from guest artists, it ensures each track has their own identity, each a step before the plateau. “In The Stillness Of The Womb” is a solemn track with haunting vocals from guest Gadea es Ineseta accompanied by an eerie, expressive violin that raises the hairs on ones’ skin. It breaks up the album to create something magical. Songs have an almost classical structure to them with sections bleeding seamlessly into the next, “The Axiom ...” is a great example of how sectioning is carefully built into the song structure.

Rigel’s work as a guitarist is well-suited for the themes of the album, with a strong and melodic presence that builds the sound’s aura when combined with every layer, pairing in harmony with its bass counterpart. There are times there is a discordance of notes that are so delicate and pleasant to listen to, with quite a few calm openings leading into the heavy and grittier riffs with deliberate patience that feels earned. The emotion of the instrument bleeds through and leaves the listener raw with each track, “A Path of Aloneness I & II” has all the balance of heaven and hell and is an ethereal sendoff for the album, with a mystical vocal contribution from Carmen Jaime and guitar solo from Edu to bring the track to a close.

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Anthems For The Grand Collapse is a crushing album with solid mixing and it succeeds in setting out what it intends to emote with no fear in leaving anything hidden. It reflects the arduous journey it took to create it, in all its exposed sorrow and despair, yet has that sense of rebuilding and reaching the light even in the darkness. It feels like a gaze into the unknown, waking within a distant constellation and observing the wonder to reach out and grasp the secrets of the universe. It is a testimony to the value of persistence and is a strong addition to SolNegre’s catalogue.

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SCORE 10/10

Reviewed by GhostinthearmouR

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