ALBUM REVIEW: Part Island – Latitudes

For quite some time now, LATITUDES have set the bar high in their quest to craft dense, intelligent heavy music. Since their 2007 inception, they have continuously pushed themselves and written increasingly innovative metal masterpieces. Early on in their career, they had already graced hallowed stages at festivals like Damnation and ArcTangent, as well as having toured with genre forefathers such as BARONESS and THIS WILL DESTROY YOU. Their proficiency for blending crushing heaviness with impossible beauty has seen them rise to be one of the UK’s most adored ambient metal outfits.

Their upcoming effort Part Island sees them continue this journey, contributing as yet another chef d’oeuvre in an untarnished discography. For the first time, vocals feature on every track, adding extra dimension to the already dense, bleak soundscape the band have dictated throughout their career. Opener Underlie is first to give us a preview of this, with painfully radiant acoustic guitar work providing a canvas for the equally gorgeous serenade of Adam Symonds. Elegant and simple in it’s construct, this introduction fades into a harrowing greyness. There is no vigour or aggression, instead the heaviness lies in the dark hopeless tones which ache with longing, falling like fog upon the exquisite melody.

Symonds continues to swoon in Moorland Is The Sea, joined by a rhythmic drum beat that marches amidst an arid panorama. Slow, moody riffs sit with their more tremolo, towering counterparts breeding a cacophony of dissonance that radiates sadness. The track prowls along, scowling as post-rock elegance wraps like vines around a black-metal crush that is by now well established.

The sound on which LATITUDES thrive continues to contort with Dovestone, and as relentless waves of atmospheric riffs slam amidst an ocean of jarring noise, it encapsulates the icy tundra personified by the band’s music. Individually, the members were heavily influenced by cinematic rock, and with eyes closed it is easy to visualise the sonic ambience they create. Like sea spray against rock, the hazy tone whipped up by intense musicianship feels cold, albeit innately comforting. Given that Part Island is the first LATITUDES album on which vocals have been used throughout, they never feel overly imposing. Instead, they slide seamlessly into the mix. Feeling more like additional instrumentation, they exist solely to add to the atmosphere, rather than overshadowing a proven concept.

The same applies to Fallowness which opens with a dizzying black metal onslaught, juxtaposed beautifully against a tepid acoustic bridge. In an instant, a sheer cliff face of brutality collapses upon the track providing a textured dreamscape, teeming with a distinctive doom metal lullaby. The Great Past is equally fast-paced. More tremolo, more thunderous riffs and neck snapping hooks combine in epic fashion, engineering the album’s most energetic track. With it’s flawless drumming, arousing guitar work and a bass-line that cuts through the track with a efflorescent waltz, this track alone is evidence of the record’s prodigious success.

Past Islands is a ten-minute closing track, and one that summarises the album’s journey in sublime detail. With another acoustic introduction leading into a pivotal riff passage that drips emotion, the energy picks up around the halfway point. With a catastrophic thump, LATITUDES throw in everything they have, digging deep into their instrumental arsenal and coming up trumps. Although it should come as no surprise that LATITUDES are capable of writing a track of such magnitude, that doesn’t stop it from being utterly jaw-dropping, as it spins through a head-bending finale that ultimately leaves the listener in a trance-like state.

Part Island is perhaps LATITUDES’ biggest success story. That is no easy feat given the depth of their discography, but with what they have sculpted here, they have exceeded even their own expectations and written a true masterpiece.

Rating: 9/10

Part Island is set for release April 5th via Debemur Morti Productions. 

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