Downfall of Gaia – Atrophy (2016)

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Wasting no time and keeping up their momentum going, today we have Downfall of Gaia and their latest full-length opus “Atrophy”. Delivering over 40 minutes of brutally crafted Post-Black Metal with some Sludge and Crust influences, the band continues their musical journey with one of the most intelligent and yet extremely brutal releases of 2016.

Opening with the brutal “Brood”, the band quickly builds up a massive wall of sound with distorted guitars, a ponding bass guitar, and blistering drums. The vocals are as punishing as you can possibly imagine, adding to the overall demoralizing atmosphere of the track. In a bit more melodic tone, the opening riffing of “Woe” starts quite brutal and it slowly progresses into more Sludgy territories.

Drawing comparisons to bands like Sun Worship and Wiegedood, “Ephemerol I and II” showcase the full spectrum of the band’s music from atmospheric to all-out devastation. Our favorite track has to be the pummeling “Atrophy” and its magnificent opening riffs. Sounding like a traditional raw BM band, they manage to trick the listener for a bit with their crafty song writing skills, before opening the gates of hell.

Mastered and mixed by Jack Shirley, whom has mixed, produced, recorded, etc. Deafheaven’s last two albums, this release perfectly balances the ravaging walls of sound with the more intricate atmospheric passages. While we are not usually total sound nerds, this release sounds amazing in anything we have played it on.

Closing with the moody “Petrichor”, we can’t wait to hear this band live ravaging stages in North America. We can think of tons of outfits like Bosse-de-Nage, Abigail Williams, Deafheaven that would perfectly complement a tour package with Downfall of Gaia. Overall, “Atrophy” greatly improves over the band’s previous efforts and feels more focused in delivering devastating tracks with a few contrasting passages to completely blow away the listener.

Band: Downfall of Gaia Album: Atrophy

Label: Metal Blade Records

Release: November 11th, 2016

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Genre: Post-Black Metal

Country: Germany

Rating: 92/100
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