ALBUM REVIEW: Final Light – Final Light
FINAL LIGHT is a brand new act that will be alien to most, but the components that have made this collective a reality are far from unknown. Johannes Persson should be familiar to the vast majority of readers – if not by name, then at least by his unmistakable and inimitable vocals for post-metal legends CULT OF LUNA. There’s also a good chance you’ve encountered the name PERTURBATOR before now: the French synthwave master that has been circling the wider alternative scene for some time. Finally, Roadburn Festival – the Dutch Mecca of the experimental metal world – which congregates the world’s most interesting and forward-thinking bands in a yearly pilgrimage of discovery and innovation. These are the three ingredients that have come together to create Final Light, a one-of-its-kind project that melds their individual stylistic endeavours into a 45-minute whirlwind of jagged electronics and acerbic metal.
True enough, this is a perfect blend of the respective base works and ultimately does exactly what you expect coming in. The difference is though – and this is crucial – that it is done to such a high degree that it will still amaze and astound. There is not much that can prepare you for how well the combination works; the marriage of Persson‘s primal roars and PERTURBATOR‘s atmospheric 80s synths are horrifying and moving all at once. Nothing Will Bear Your Name broods and bubbles with scintillating synths before a cathartic release with the addition of the vocals. Stomping, rumbling and thundering onward through In The Void, you cannot help but be swept along in the current. The tracks breeze by seamlessly but make sure you feel every note down to your atomic level.
This project was initially born prior to the pandemic, which – like with so many other things – postponed the debut of the project at Roadburn, but it instead afforded them extra time to finalise and finesse their work. It was a time of great anger and rage for Persson in particular, which has been clearly captured on the title track. Apocalyptically heavy in every way, this is the post-metal master at his most visceral. Teamed perfectly with more surging and swirling synths, the track reaches a staggering crescendo that evokes everything from side-scrolling arcade games to horror blockbusters.
Ruin To Decay is a 10-minute epic that neatly ties together everything this project represents and distils it into one final pounding package. As saddening as it is to know that this is a one-off project and we may never get more FINAL LIGHT in the future, these six tracks are a spectacular and timeless collection that shows what can be achieved when you get those at the top of their game together. And there is so much to unpack that this will be a record you come back to time and time again. Therein lies the real appeal and sense of wonder surrounding FINAL LIGHT: just two people, with very distinctive styles, coming together to make something truly engrossing. Who knew that so little could become so much?
Roadburn has once again given rise to one of the most encapsulating and seemingly unimaginable acts in FINAL LIGHT, which is a spectacular experimental success, both as a band and as a record. That gives everything a very bittersweet coat though knowing that this is a one-off project, but do not be disheartened by this fact. Be empowered to know that in the vast annals of time, you got to exist at the same as this collaboration between two musical legends.
Rating: 9/10
Final Light is set for release on June 24th via Red Creek Records.
Follow FINAL LIGHT on Bandcamp.