SHORT BUT SWEET: ATAVISTIA / HOLY BLADE / SOLNEGRE / TIDES OF ACCRETION

(Andy Synn recommends a quartet of short but sweet recent releases to check out)

We’ve featured a bunch of pretty big and/or up-and-coming bands this week – Spectral Wound, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Leprous – so maybe it’s time to shift focus back on some lesser-known names?

And since I also haven’t covered anywhere near enough EPs so far this year I was thinking… why not kill two metaphorical birds with one proverbial stone and write about a bunch of short-form releases that, perhaps, haven’t gotten enough attention?

ATAVISTIA – INANE DUCAM

Atavistia‘s third album, Cosmic Warfare, was one of the most pleasant surprises of last year for me (so much so that it almost made it into my Critical Top Ten of 2023, which you should all check out if you haven’t already).

So when I found out they already had a follow-up in the works – albeit, one which was only an EP – I made sure to check it out as soon as I could… and then, stupidly, ended up not writing about it.

Thankfully, however, I’ve now got a chance to atone for that egregious error and a chance to lavish praise on the band’s increasingly heavy, and increasingly blackened, approach on Inane Ducam, which picks up the baton from its shamelessly symphonic and outlandishly OTT predecessor and runs with it even further, beginning (after the EP’s short instrumental intro) with the pounding riffs, grandiose symphonics, and vicious, viscerally infectious vocals of the Dimmu Borgir-esque “Timeless Despair” and not letting up until the final fading notes of stunning seven minute closer “The Void”.

Even at just five tracks, totalling just over twenty-three minutes, Inane Ducam is the very definition of excess (Atavistia have clearly never heard the phrase “less is more”, and if they have then they clearly rejected the entire premise on the basis that it makes no sense) and finds the band hitting even harder, with an even darker edge (especially on the mid-EP pairing of “Dark Isolation” and “Unattained Creation”, where the group juxtapose their heavier guitar tone and more guttural vocals with some fantastically powerful clean and/or choral vocals).

So if all the recent turmoil in the Dimmu camp has you looking for a potential replacement (or you just want to add a cool chaser to your current Old Man’s Child binge) then keep an eye/ear on Atavistia, because they’ve got some big shoes to fill (but seem more than capable already).

HOLY BLADE – HOLY BLADE

Look, there’s no denying that Holy Blade owe a lot to the moodily melodic Goth-Punk of early AFI – which, as a huge fan of the latter band, is in fact one of the big selling points of this release – but the group also clearly added a hefty helping of Crust Punk influence and an extra dose of Hardcore bite to the mix when putting together their self-titled debut EP, so I’d definitely push back on anyone trying to dismiss them as derivative.

That being said, the gloomy glamour and (nec)romantic energy of songs like “Only the Dead” and “Two Graves” definitely gives off some major Black Sails… vibes, with the former’s inclusion of some subtle acoustic embellishments and attention-grabbing, multi-layered backing vocals (including some well-placed harmonies and gang-vocals, plus some classic “whoa-oh” moments) and the latter’s punchier, punkier, delivery picking up pretty much exactly where Havok and co. left off in the late 90s.

By the same token, fans of the likes of Ignite, Tragedy, and Death By Stereo should also fall pretty hard for the rapid-fire riffs, d-beat driven drums, and moody melodies of “Blood Marker”, with its compelling mix of brawny intensity and brooding introspection, and by the time the song “Holy Blade” (from the EP Holy Blade, by the band Holy Blade) hits its final crashing chord after four minutes of rugged, muscular riffage and righteously melodic hooks (including some extremely effective acoustic guitar work) there’s a very good chance at least some of you will have fallen head over heels for what the group have to offer.

Perhaps my only criticism is that sometimes – despite the impressive pedigree of their members – the band seem to lack the confidence to push things as far as they could, especially when it comes to the vocals of Alec Faber who, while undoubtedly one of the EP’s big stars, is clearly capable of delivering an even bigger and more bombastic performance even if he doesn’t quite manage to fulfil his full potential this time around.

But, ideally, that’s what their next release will be for… and hopefully we won’t have to wait too long to hear it!

SOLNEGRE – ANNIHILATION OF THE SELF

This one is another discovery from a few months back (and one which prompted me to go back and check out their 2023 debut album, The Spiral Labyrinth, which I, to my shame, totally overlooked when it was released).

While Annihilation of the Self features two “tracks” it really only comprises one actual “song” (with synthy opener “The Paradox” being more of an introductory piece which I, truth be told, can either take or leave), but what a song it is.

Clocking in at over twenty-one minutes, “Annihilation of the Self” is a veritable odyssey of expressive, expansive, atmosphere-heavy Death Doom rich in both metallic weight and melodic depth (including some smartly integrated synthscapes and lucidly-dreamlike lead guitar lines) that – in my experience, at least – captures and captivates your attention from sombre start to forlorn finale.

At times mournfully minimalist and melancholy, at others morbidly heavy (and not afraid to crank up the Death Metal influences), it’s a song of clever contrasts and smooth songwriting segues, capable of shifting seamlessly from epic highs (such as the soaring solo which comes in at the 10:06 mark) to tragic lows – unafraid to as it is to dwell in the shadows for as long as it needs – before climbing, one doom-laden step at a time, back into the light.

It’s the sort of song which, in spite of (or perhaps because of) its extravagant length, you’ll likely want to keep coming back to again and again, and which every spin seems to reveal something new you hadn’t noticed before.

TIDES OF ACCRETION – BETWEEN SOIL AND SOUL: THE PALE BLUE, PART ONE

Lastly, but by no means least, we have the most recent discovery on this list, cosmic Space-Doom duo Tides of Accretion and their concept-driven debut EP, Between Soil and Soul: The Pale Blue, Part One.

Made up of five tracks – an initial scene-setting atmospheric opener and four artful Death-Doom anthems – The Pale Blue, Part One provides an impressive, and intriguing, showcase for the pair’s scintillating songwriting skills, with the rumbling guitars and resonant keys, crystalline cleans and cathartic growls, of “Last Nemesis” providing an early insight into the band’s firm focus on storytelling and emotion over flashy performances or trendy gimmicks.

Most important of all, however, is the idea of flow and dynamic, with the glimmering gloom of “Distant Lights” – six minutes of radiant ambience and dense, doomy weight reminiscent of underground NCS favourites Omination – and the mesmerisingly melodic “Solace of the Stars” both showcasing the vital importance of the contrast between the most haunting (and haunted) and heaviest sides of the group’s sonic identity.

Culminating in fantastic final track “Principle of Uncertainty”, which features some of the best vocal work (both clean and harsh), as well as some absolutely brilliant melodic interplay between the synths and guitars, on the entire EP, The Pale Blue, Part One proves itself to be an undeniably impressive opening statement from a band which I, for one, hope we get to hear more from very soon!