ALBUM REVIEW: Limbo – Gaerea

Black metal has undergone something of a creative renaissance in recent years. Be it the booming popularity of masked orthodox ensemble BATUSHKA, the nihilistic assault from MGŁA, the ever-impressive Icelandic scene or a band like BEHEMOTH showcasing their sonic extremity on the biggest of stages, the black metal scene is arguably at its strongest. Enter GAEREA, an anonymous collective from Portugal. After making a ripple in the ocean with 2018’s debut full-length Unsettling Whispers, the band are back with Limbo, intending to make a much bigger wave.

To open your new album with a song just over eleven minutes is somewhat a gamble, especially for the uninitiated, but GAEREA come flying out of the gates with To Ain; and the song’s lengthy runtime allows the band to perfectly demonstrate their take on black metal, to wonderful results. A lumbering giant which opens with a passage of instrumentation that would sit comfortably on a BEHEMOTH record before exploding into a life with pummelling aggression and nihilistic fury that would make MISÞYRMING proud. The way in which the band fiddle and experiment with pacing here is also remarkable, allowing the band’s twisted and harrowing soundscape to truly unfold in all its blackened glory. A strong opening to the record indeed.

If To Ain stands as the perfect snapshot into GAEREA‘s soundscape, any potential missteps that follow would be understandable, but the band keep on delivering the goods in all their devilish goodness. Null continues the incredible start to the record by flying out the traps in top gear. Thundering blastbeats and vicious snarls are the order of the day here but the subtle splashes of melody, particularly in the guitarwork, help instil a sense of memorability to proceedings and showcase that GAEREA don’t always need to adopt a shock and awe approach to gain people’s attention. The devil is in the details and GAEREA have that in spades.

In fact, the band rarely put a foot wrong. Limbo is jam-packed full of quality and there is rarely a dull moment across its runtime. Glare boasts tremolo-driven riffing in absolute abundance, whilst the vocals twist and contort from death metal-esque growls to an almost DSBM-driven shriek and the subtle inclusion of orchestral chanting in the musical maelstrom proves to be a masterstroke. Conspiranoia benefits from a terrific build where foreboding instrumentation in the guitar departments presents a sinister atmosphere before bombastic drumming enters the fray and keeps you fixated. Once the track explodes in a black metal frenzy through sustained blastbeats and another bout of powerful vocal deliveries, you are left floored as GAEREA showcase another cut of musical class.

On the other hand, Urge, the shortest offering on the record, boasts slick and memorable riffing that intertwines brilliantly with the booming percussion and vicious vocals and its condensed package allows the track to never outstay its welcome whilst album finale Mare is an utter triumph. Here, the song’s lengthy runtime (akin to album opener To Ain) works in their favour once more as the sustained swirl of their musical maelstrom engulfs you in their chaos in one final glorious bout, ending the record on the grandest of fashions.

GAEREA describe themselves as cathartic black metal and that is exactly what Limbo is. A harrowing and immersive offering, Limbo is a finely-crafted presentation of a band hitting their true creative potential and on the back of this release, GAEREA will surely sit comfortably in the upper echelons of the genre.

Rating: 9/10

Limbo is set for release on July 24th via Season of Mist.

For more information on GAEREA like their official page on Facebook.