_________________________________________________________________________
| . . | . | . | . | . | | . | . | , |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | > | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | ` | ' | | | ' | | ` | ' | ' |
___|___|___|___|_______|_______|___|___|_______|___|_______|_______|_______|___
\______________________________________|______________________________________/
/ \
| Artist..: Lightlorn |
>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------<
| Album...: At One With the Night Sky |
>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------<
| Genre...: Black Metal | Label...: Black Lion Records |
| Year....: 2023 | Cat.No..: |
>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------<
| R.date..: 2023-10-26 | S.date..: 2023-10-27 |
>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------<
| Source..: WEB (24bit) | Encoder.: libFLAC |
| Bitrate.: 1691kbps avg. | F.Rate..: 44.1kHz |
>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------<
| http://play.qobuz.com/album/cacnjwu3l6csc |
>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------<
| Disc 1 / 1 |
| -------- |
| |
| 01. Amongst Stellar Remnants 7:23 |
| 02. A Tragedy in Starlight 7:23 |
| 03. Dimensionless Blackness 6:27 |
| 04. Ghostly Soliloquies 8:45 |
| 05. Of Longing Spirit and Infinite Solitude 8:10 |
| 06. Spiral Arms Like Swirling Rivers 5:47 |
| 07. Earthbound 6:25 |
| |
| |
| --------------------- |
| (639.05MB) 00:50:20 |
>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------<
| Formed in 2021, Lightlorn is a duo comprised of multi-instrumentalist, |
| vocalist, and songwriter Renwar alongside drummer Riaan Coertze, who is |
| also the sole-instrumentalist behind SIN.thetic. They released the EP |
| These Nameless Worlds (which made KepÆs list of EPs of the year) in 2022 |
| before coming to the brand new debut full length. |
| |
| The fact that is such a young project, and the only project Renwar has |
| under their belt at that, is nothing short of extraordinary. This debut is |
| as powerful and well-crafted as any other album IÆve heard this year. |
| Renwar pulls the all duty on At One With the Night Sky, writing the entire |
| album and playing everything alongside Coertzeæs vocals, so in many ways |
| this becomes a one-person bedroom black metal project in spirit if not in |
| practice. That singular creative position lends itself to the strength of |
| the albumÆs reach, built on themes of cosmic space and solemn loneliness. |
| Opener ôAmongst Stellar Remnantsö begins with a bass-y drone and pulsing |
| synth that sounds more like the buildup to a DJ namedrop but instead kicks |
| right into full melodic black metal for a solid minute. There is a brief |
| but stark instrumental dropout to leave room for some spacey clean guitar |
| licks and synth that feel adrift right before being assaulted by the |
| asteroid ring of black metal that follows. The combination of bright |
| guitar tone and up-tempo drumming with RenwarÆs evocative vocal tone |
| create a strong sense of melancholic loneliness, a reminder of the vast |
| scope of the cosmic landscape that lay beyond us. The lyrics are built |
| around grappling with the end of light and the inevitable finite nature of |
| existence, even on a scale as grand as the celestial; ôHere at the end of |
| creation / Stars long cold, dead remnants / Such grandeur in emptiness / |
| Such splendour in darknessö. |
| |
| This particular musical tone, the bright melancholy coupled with absolute |
| harshness, reminds me of last yearÆs Island by Asunojokei. The bands are |
| quite different, but they similarly play in a post-black metal space by |
| building around these incredibly bright, almost painfully so, guitars that |
| bely the dark and emotionally fraught nature of the lyrics and concept. |
| Whereas that band builds around the personal, Renwar brings this contrast |
| to space, where it becomes grim in the harsh exposure to open space. If |
| Deafheaven are sunbathers, Lightlorn are drowning in a sea of radiation |
| and decayed radio waves. The little flourishes of synth and electronic |
| music not only emphasize the ethereal infinitude of the bands aesthetic, |
| but also lends to its musical identity. I can hear touches of post-punk, |
| itself a genre seeking to expand beyond pre-defined boundaries and finding |
| the endlessness in the internal, which colour the music further with |
| shades otherwise lost in the grim light of deep space. The beginning of |
| ôSpiral Arms and Swirling Riversö, were it not for the rapid double kick |
| drumming, carries the shimmering guitars and near-pop musicality of The |
| Cure that transitions through reintroduction of those painfully bright |
| guitars and the harshness of RenwarÆs vocals. The song closes by returning |
| to this sound, replete with piano, to fully encapsulate the sad tone that |
| exists simultaneously in tandem with and outside of black metal. |
| |
| If I had to make any criticism of the record, itÆs that I want more. I |
| want to hear more of the synth, more of the post-punk sound, because it |
| gives Lightlorn such an intriguing identity and point of view. If this |
| sound is expanded upon and further shaped, it could easily turn the band |
| into one of the most unique projects in black metal. |
\_____________________________________________________________________________/
ixxu!imp