ALBUM REVIEW: Time Immemorial – Heron
Post metal and sludge can often feel like two completely different animals but when combined and shaken in just the right measure, the result can be a delicious but potent cocktail. As the seasons begin to brighten, sludge metallers HERON are determined to continue casting an encompassing shadow as far as the eye can see, spiralling out from their first two albums with another blistering record that perspires energy. Far from your typical sludge metal release, Time Immemorial slides closer into post territory, with an often patient, ominous soundscape that builds layer after layer of atmosphere.
As the first track Long In The Tooth gets underway, it is paint-by-numbers-esque guitar that we are introduced to first, occupying the first couple of minutes of the album. Accompanied by subtle cymbal work, it isn’t long before this is joined by a thudding kick drum and grating bass guitar. Being a little pedantic, this opening section could be described as a little one dimensional, but the slow and steady lead into the track helps build a sturdy narrative upon which manic vocals build towards the halfway mark. Sometimes jarring and sometimes downright demonic, the album’s voice becomes the focal point and drives the track forwards.
From here the pace builds, and those finely spun layers begin the flourish. By the last ninety seconds of this nine minute track we are caught in a maelstrom of sludge metal hostility, equally as battered by relentless drums as we are eroded by the grating bass work. It does leave us wanting for a little more detail at times, but it’s atmosphere could be cut with a blunt knife. Things hot up in Death On The Malahat, a shorter track that steams straight in with a devilish blend of what can only be described as shoegaze meets death metal. There is a hint of DEFTONES‘ heavier work in the mix, as unrelenting guitars shoulder barge their way through a noisy landscape.
The vocals are unhinged by this point, and the pace only quickens as the track progresses, pushing from murky riffs into towering solos and distortion. Built for heaviness rather than comfort, it allows us to bang our heads, while ignoring the fact that again, there isn’t that much attention to detail. It’s a similar story in Boiling Ancient Light and Void Eater, two more tracks that do an outstanding job of creating an encapsulating story-line. With a tap of the foot we are lost in the tale, and it becomes more apparent than ever how well the post-metal ambience and sludge metal rigour combine.
The vocal performance continues to mirror the mood, bleak where necessary before descending into fits of rage or despair. Wolverine Blues takes a more direct, hardcore approach, before Endless concludes the record with more of the gloomy instrumentation that has impressed us over the course of the record. Running blindly into slabs of bass that feel like a slash across the face, we are once again swept across a rip tide of metallic malice. As a whole, the album could perhaps benefit from a little more intricacy, but music is all about mood, and Time Immemorial is a record that is impossible to not follow. It grapples for attention with a talon like grip, and it is quite the journey.
HERON are quickly establishing themselves as a worthy entity on the heavy circuit, and although Time Immemorial might not be a shining example of what a sludge record should sound like, it is a fantastic interpretation of how heavy music should look and feel.
Rating: 7/10
Time Immemorial is out now via Sludgelord Records.
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