Ikarass
Relapse Into Desolation

I am always on the lookout for new artists; lately, Post-Rock has powerfully made its way back into my daily listens.

And it was a real flame that ignited last night. I searched for a band with a sound similar to the German Lantlos (which my alter-ego De...Marga... posted on Deb on some recent occasion) and I came across, I was overwhelmed by the Spanish Ikarass, born on the Iberian Peninsula in 2013. Very little information about them online; only one work published as far as I can tell; which I am about to describe, briefly without getting lost in too many empty words.

Five songs that develop over almost fifty minutes.

Intense and dramatic; sounds in chiaroscuro. A continuous emotional rollercoaster that moves with imperious power, drawing heavily (but it's a grand and epic listen) from the immense Isis and the equally iconic Cult of Luna.

A substantial duration that relies on the tempestuous sound wall erected by two massive guitars, tuned, as you might guess, downwards. The voice is a tormented lament of the soul, that stun. A blind and furious bass does the rest, mercilessly, sinking the blade into the flesh. All tracks are constructed in the same oppressive way; long, gloomy instrumental excursions that suddenly give way to sweetly acoustic-flavored phrases...before diving back into chaos, into total mayhem.

The title track is the most brilliant and fitting example of what I have just described.

Truly a delightful discovery, in this barbarous and bastard year.

Diabolos Rising 666.