Whenever a band comes along and tags themselves as a “post” act, it always intrigues me because that typically means some atmosphere is gonna be involved, and that’s some shit I’m always ready for. Some bands are going to be better at it than others, naturally, but every time I come across an act that gets it right it is always tantalizing. I remember hearing Third Island’s debut not long after its release with knowing that plenty of improvements could be made, and it’s with their first full-length of “Omelas” that shows this group starting to really mature as a unit.

Mixing doom with post-metal can be very difficult as many people go for doom to experience at least some degree of crushing heaviness, and I’m no exception, but what Third Island does here is something that finds a solid middle ground where that heaviness is still there, but the band sacrifices a lot of it in order to bring out a sense of atmosphere. Luckily, the resulting sound of “Omelas” is found the right amounts for the special concoction that allows Third Island to really show us what they’re made of. With more than one set of vocals, tasteful musicianship that truly drives “Omelas”, and brilliant instrumentation that allows Third Island to have tons of flavor throughout these seven tracks which in turn undeniably shows the pure magic behind this act. It’s a glorious piece of music that really shows what it means to be both heavy and atmospheric at the same time without making it incredibly overpowering nor the kind of thing that requires your whole brain to engage in or demands attention. “Omelas” simply is. The second it gets going it will bring melody, riffage, atmosphere, crunch, and quality all in very tempered amounts that Third Island diligently slaved over in order to make sure that their debut full-length was untouchable, and so it is.

Many first full-length albums are all too often songs that are just thrown together and called an album because it’s easy. Not enough craft records that are really experiences where one song will flow into the next and end leaving you to feel like you really experienced something worth being a part of, and that’s the case with “Omelas” as Third Island shows their increasing finesse with music is pulling itself off and creating material that will surely leave many floored.

LISTEN to “Omelas” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Third Island on Facebook here.