It’s been almost three years since we last spoke about A Constant Knowledge of Death, an incredibly mercurial and hard to pin down band working in the realms of post-rock, post metal, electronica, drone, and progressive metal. Back then, we premiered their work around their then-new album Vol. II Organic Emotions, highlighting the contract in their work between oppression, release, climax, and ambience. Today, when we premiere their latest track, “Abysmal Valley Dolorous”, we need to use different language; this new track, featuring Miles Dimitri Baker (Interloper, ex-Rings of Saturn), is much brighter and in ways more intricate, including shimmering guitar tracks laid over growls and clean vocals, together creating an emotion well hinted at by the cover art. Head on below to stream it and we’ll talk more after!
I really love this track; it hints at a new direction for the band but no less complex. When it starts off, led by the prominent acoustic guitar tones, richly layered over each other, and those agile drums, you might expect something like Devin Townsend‘s quieter works. But instead, you get something which hints at the same timbers and spaces but is much faster and more energetic. Then, there’s a one-two combo in the form of, first, the guitar parts contributed by Baker, sweetly electronic in the back of the rest of the instrumentation. The second punch comes in the form of growls and strained high vocals nearer the ending of the track, only increasing the dreamlike state of the whole thing.
That’s perhaps the bottom line takeaway from this track: it’s like being in a dream, a dream resembling the color palette of the album’s cover art to a striking degree, painting an ethereal, bright picture of the sky. That album is titled Vol. III.a: Forth From The Quiet To The Air That Trembles and is set to be released on April 19th. Keep your eyes peeled for it; the intricate games with acoustic instruments, heavier elements, and atmosphere are all over this album, making it the band’s most ambitious work to date. You can pre-order it right here.