More than eight and a half years ago we highlighted the Spanish black metal band As Light Dies as an example of a group who had surprisingly and successfully incorporated an extravagant variety of musical interests into their creations, exuberantly pushing them into the realms of the avant garde. At that time, the occasion was our premiere of a head-spinning song from a full-length record named The Love Album – Volume I, which was released in October 2014.
As Light Dies are now returning with their next album after this long hiatus. Their fourth one overall, its name is The Laniakea Architecture vol.II, and it will be released on March 9th via the Darkwoods label. It is described as “their most complex and multifaceted album in their whole career”, which is kind of a jaw-dropping thing to contemplate for those of us familiar with their previous bewildering and bedazzling works.
Two songs from the album have already surfaced, and today we present a lyric video (in Spanish) for a third one, so that you can judge this claim for yourselves. Its name is “La Ascensión“.
The themes of the album are described this way: “In this new episode, As Light Dies propose us to join into a byzantine journey to the end of life and what remains eternally unaffected, the deep sorrow to the unknown, when the endless void approaches, the sailing towards transcendence, the ascension to the Cosmos and the final redemption, being part of the wonderful organized yet irrational structure, The Laniakea Architecture…”
Nine people are credited with contributing to the music on the album, including a violinist, a pianist, and a cellist, together with a range of voices. But it’s the way these instruments (and the more conventional metal ones) are used, along with the differing vocals, that makes the music stand out in such startling ways. “La Ascensión” is a prime example of this.
Kaleidoscopic in its construction and elaborate in its embellishments, the music swirls and tumbles, rings and rumbles, darts and dances, and creates sensations of mysterious intrigue, uneasy tension, encroaching menace, and celestial wonder. As the music changes, so do the vocals, veering from ravenous growls and inflamed howls to fervent singing.
The song begins to resemble a theatrical pageant in sound, in which the listeners sit and stare in rapt attention. The accompanying video makes the analogy even more apt, because the visuals are relentlessly fascinating. And although the musical motifs are multi-faceted, they also succeed in worming their way into the mind and continuing to play out even after the song ends.
The Laniakea Architecture will be released in the following formats: “Jewelcase CD edition limited to 200 copies worldwide; Die-hard edition strictly limited to 66 hand-numbered copies in in a luxury gigantic digifile (size: 19×19 cm) simulating a gatefold 7” EP including totally different artwork, 8 large plates (size: 14×14 cm) and digital download card; Collector’s edition strictly limited to 10 copies in a luxury natural poplar wooden box with sliding cover delicately engraved with exclusive goodies.”
The album is recommended for fans of such bands as Ved Buens Ende, Arcturus, Fleurety, Dødheimsgard, or Virus.
More info can be found via the links below, and we’re also including streams of those two previously released songs from the new album — “From the Scratch” and “The green“. The album as a whole includes nine songs, and it’s a truly wondrous, mind-altering trip from beginning to end.
PRE-ORDER:
https://aslightdies.bandcamp.com/album/the-laniakea-architecture-vol-ii
https://darkwoods.eu
AS LIGHT DIES:
http://www.aslightdies.com
http://www.facebook.com/aslightdies