I remember my surprise when this band signed up with Metal Blade Records right after their debut album Epos in 2010. They have polished and restructured their sound and performance since then, having had a relatively successful journey with a series of solid records of what can be discerned as a quite modern approach to underground metal. Fusing crust, post-metal and sludge, along with an attenuated conception of what black metal might be in this day and age, Downfall of Gaia’s latest work Silhouettes of Disgust is anxious and affecting, of assorted taste, with its merits but also its weaknesses.
The tracks of the album are well-worked and diverse enough, moving from heavy fast paced parts (which are executed wonderfully), clean guitar sections, female clean vocal narrations as well as the characteristic main shrieked screams of the band, tempo changes and and an overall charged atmosphere that manages not to diffuse away as things progress. The band gets its hands dirty in various moments, like in “Final Vows” or “The Whir of Flies”, both highlights of the record. D-beat playing arrises in several parts of Silhouettes of Disgust, in more impassioned than harsh guitar lines that show how Downfall of Gaia expresses neocrust, especially obvious in the last two pieces “Unredeemable” and “Optograms of Disgust”.
Opening with a hefty, sizeable tune like “Existence of Awe”, the stage is set properly for the record. On the downside, it seems like after 10 years of activity and 5 albums since their debut, the music of Downfall of Gaia grows to be a little bit predictable even if it combines several elements, and it is not monotonous. The production has given a fairly loud sound to the snare drums as well, which might reach and annoy the ears of the more demanding audio listeners.
During the middle-paced, stripped down interjection parts of the album, when the band slows down and builds up the next heated section with simple guitar riffs, it may feel like an almost filler moment for some, even though the overall flow of the record is there. Lastly, Silhouettes of Disgust is in a general manner, not as sharp as their last album Ethic of Radical Finitude, which already felt like a record they had written before. The band, while still sounding relevant, would make good use of a stream of new inspiration for future releases if they want to avoid stalling.
Out on March 17th, 2023 | Metal Blade Records
DAMAGE: 3/5 [Good]
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