The concept of making music instrumental is far from a novel concept in the world of rock and metal nowadays as we’ve legions upon legions of bands out there that dare to venture forth with no voice, and the amount of good examples is surprisingly high. While rock tends to make for better instrumental material, metal still has its moments of excellence, and it’s been some time since black metal brought instrumentalism to new places. With a familiar approach but no voice to guide our way, OTHRS simply lets us wander with their immensely tasteful debut.

It’s often that I say I sit down and just let something take me to where the album pleases. But it’s with just the first track alone that I could tell that I couldn’t approach “Broken Dialogue” the same as OTHRS delivers a familiar blend of post-black metal that’s as ethereal as it is filled with hooks, and it’s the masterful spacing out of all of that which allows this record to quickly take shape and become something to dive right on into. There are grand moments of  humble reflection inwards paired with the gradual explosion of power to make every track of “Broken Dialogue” a fascinating rollercoaster that brings such a foggy scenery like the cover art to life beautifully with an ominous presence that’s always backed up by quality material that’s always being delivered at the best times. I’ve come across plenty of bands that lose themselves occasionally in the atmosphere of it all and forget to add a satisfying punch to the mix that allows for a peek of powerful black metal to come in a momentarily astonish the listener, yet OTHRS refuses to fall for such a pitfall.

Each track offers something new as we explore the mountains wreathed in mist with nothing but this beautifully haunting music to light our way, and it’s the sort of thing that’s pretty hard to achieve in the end but OTHRS pulls it off with their immaculate debut. While one might be able to dismiss “Broken Dialogue” for another daunting slab of post-black metal, I can’t help but find it to be an immensely intriguing piece filled with plenty of excellence to sink my teeth into.

LISTEN to “Broken Dialogue” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE OTHRS on Facebook here.