ALBUM REVIEW: Sunless – PSOTY

Colossal ambiance is the key here for British post-metallers PSOTY (formerly known as PET SLIMMERS OF THE YEAR). Second album Sunless sees a more focused and refined band tackling huge soundscapes. Vocals are added only when necessary which makes for an interesting listen. If the instrumentation creates a big enough statement of its own, it’s always admirable when bands choose to withhold vocal melodies. Debut album Fragments Of Uniforms was highly praised and spelled promising things to come, but the band have outdone themselves with Sunless, a post-metal beauty. With the genre madly on the rise, PSOTY are trailblazers for the UK scene.

Oil Blood is a mammoth tune with huge riffs and basslines. It’s topped off with a vocal line so powerful you can be forgiven to think you have fast-tracked to the song’s climax. There is an air of MARTIN GRECH about this opening track with its eerie build-ups and godlike thunderous vocals. A suffocating lack of light and optimism overpowers, making Sunless an apt title for this monstrous record. Oil Blood makes its listeners embrace the darkness, setting the tone for the remainder of the album. The ending of the track is a mesmerising lump of sludge and soaring riffs – gloomy perfection.

Dark post-rock heaviness ensues with The Yawning Void. The title hints at the cavernous depth of textures exposed here. Entwining riffs glisten in the void amongst reverent drums. Thunderous tones fill the chasm, rearing a beast so abhorrent, the setting soon becomes a tomb. The Yawning Void is a superb example of the tactful exclusion of vocals. When Watcher Of The Abyss bursts in with its terrific vocal melody, we can appreciate its inclusion more because of its absence in the track prior. A calm break occurs before clean vocals gleam from the blackness. The band soon erupt into more sludgy riffs the likes of HEROD and BARONESS would be proud of. The sheer power PSOTY manifest is impressive due to their modest line-up.

Acheron provides a spectral interlude. Full of shimmering notes and resonating riffs, it is a stunning interruption of the oppressive heaviness heard so far. Queen Of Hades soon invades this tranquillity with its mournful riffs and bewitching tremors. Doom and dissonance bring a devastating air to proceedings and it is morbidly beautiful. There is sense of restraint with this track, a strain of dark innocence. Soaring riffs drive up the emotion which triggers a feeling of weightlessness. This crashes down to slow beat while the band conjure a menacing build-up before the storming ending. With all its troughs and peaks, Queen Of Hades is an incredible track. The result of careful planning and punishing riffage.

Another brief spell of light and shimmering notes is supplied by the divine Charon. If you think this harks the beginning of a more positive period for PSOTY then unfortunately you’re mistaken. King Of Ephyra is incredibly melodic but in a haunting manner. This track is the perfect balance of escalating riffs and vocals alongside reserved sections. A standout track on Sunless, if PSOTY deliver more like this on the next album then the post-metal crown will be theirs.

Album closer Obscura is a fitting finale. Continuing from the melodic power of King Of Ephyra, this track is an absolute belter. Around the five minute mark of Obscura, a soothing quiet envelopes the listener, with hushed vocals and intricate guitars. This quiet is short lived as a climatic crescendo erupts, providing the perfect conclusion for this breath-taking record. It should be noted that the production has been spot-on throughout Sunless. No element is too dominating or too subtle. There is a sublime balance between the crushingly heavy and the delicate tones. With a spectacular feat such as Sunless, surely it is only a matter of time before the crossover appeal of PSOTY is finally untapped and unleashed.

Rating: 8/10

Sunless is set for release September 13th via Candlelight Records. 

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