It’s only on occasion that I find myself caught solely by an album’s cover art or even just the title. The art is what draws me in the vast majority of the time, especially when I’m browsing Bandcamp just glances at cover after cover, but it’s in this instance that I found myself caught by the very name of “Marine Snow”. Such a simple title but with almost endless possibilities as to what style it could belong to, and then the cover art made me very intrigued to what this band new to my mind has in store for the actual music. Without question in any way, Novarupta has created what’s one of the most captivating works of its kind that I’ve heard in far too long.

This is the very definition of an album that just got better and better by the minute as I discovered more about what I was getting myself into. From the initial discovery, hearing the single, seeing all the spectacular voices that adorn each of the five tracks, how undeniably gorgeous the style is overall, and how extraordinarily intoxicating all of it is. Novarupta has truly crafted something that is no less than utterly exemplary for what imagination, talent, and a true understanding of multiple styles can produce with “Marine Snow” bringing together post-metal and sludge in a package that is no less than devastating in every single way, and it’s truly a gift of an album that just keeps on giving! The vocal performances are just as stunning as they are eclectic as we’re given performances from all over the world of metal from bands including the likes of Besvärjelsen, A Storm of Light, ex-Ghost, Greenleaf, and Inter motherfucking Arma with every single one of them giving a new dynamic to the instrumentation that is nigh on perfect for everything that Novarupta brings to the table in any given instance. “Marine Snow” is adorned with one piece of absolute mastery after another with each track having something to call its own whether it’s an addicting riff that brings the post sound in a glorious display, a small but extremely effective pulse that adds yet another layer of excellence, expansive atmospheres that know how to fully drown the listener in what Novarupta is going for, and clear vision for what was desired at the end that gives off an air of undeniable genius that you cannot turn away from. It is beyond staggering to listen to even once, but it’s with every subsequent listen after that “Marine Snow” continues to grow in excellence and it’s after finally resurfacing from this work that you’ll fully come to appreciate the next level craftsmanship that you had just witnessed.

By far, no questions asked, no doubts whatsoever, this is an album that should be marked as one of the undeniable best that the vast world of post-metal has produced in years and I’ll be damned if I let this record go unsung in all of its beautiful craftsmanship. It’s the sort of record that every eclectic metal fan should go out of their way to listen to for how much it has to offer, and it is undoubtedly in contention as one of my favorites that 2020 has pumped out.

“Marine Snow” releases on November 13th!

LISTEN to the single, “Broken Blue Cascades”, on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Novarupta on Facebook here.