I have a confession to make: every year, I am filled with this completely irrational fear that somehow, music will disappear. I don't mean that I'm afraid that there will be no music; that's a bit too absurd even for my overactive brain. But the process of finding and listening to excellent music always feels ephemeral to me and I'm worried that one day, I just won't remember how to do it anymore and I won't hear truly excellent music in said year. This goes on up until, usually, about mid-February, when suddenly a deluge of fantastic music hits me and reminds me that my networks are far-reaching and my tastes diverse and, therefore, excellent music is just around the corner. Excellent music like Fall of Leviathan's In Waves, an album which continues the tradition of fantastic, heavy, and emotional post-rock from out of Switzerland.
If you're thinking of bands from there that we've covered before on the blog, I want you to square the distance Mountain's Evolve and hubris., whereupon you will arrive at Fall of Leviathan. In Waves, their debut, is an excellent blending of the styles of post-metal and post-rock, hitting on all of the great tropes of the sub-genres and their inflection points. Big riffs are set in the relief of drawn out, patient, and emotional ambience, culminations wielded like scalpels inside of their silence. Towering chords usher in the death knells of drawn out tracks, heavy with the weight of sampled words and feedback. Drums spear the mighty bass lines, puncturing them with heft and delivery as they, in turn, buoy the rest of the track.
In short, and in way less words, In Waves is a fantastic specimen of what can be done with post-rock and metal when you know how to compose for the genres, with an understanding that every turn, part, and note must serve a purpose and not simply be there for its own sake. The result is a moving release that reminds me why, even after more than a decade of exploring it, post-rock remains one of my all time favorite genres.
In Waves releases March 1st but you can stream it right here in full. Once you've done so, make sure to head on over here to pre-order it.