Much like my ongoing streak of glory with the likes of death-doom metal, it’s finally the scantly populated yet extremely enticing realm of post-doom that we’re starting to see more of. I’ve always felt that style, in particular, has so much potential for all that it can accomplish with not nearly enough bands going for it for reasons that I don’t want to know and don’t think I would understand for plenty are starting to come out of the woodwork to really show us what the darkly lit soundscape is really capable of. With their debut album, Ikarie really shows us just how gorgeous and all-consuming post-doom can be without reaching into a world of extremes.

There’s a fine line between falling into territory that can qualify as anything “post” or simply atmospheric, and while I’m not nearly qualified enough to sit here and try to preach the differences between the two, I am certain that it takes far more than a simple layer of atmosphere in order to achieve something like what Ikarie has constructed here for their very first effort. Just by looking at the very cover art for “Cuerpos en Sombra” you can see that anyone who dives into this work is in for something that’s downright introspective, dark, and the very kind of metal that never once relies on its heaviness for a performance at large, but, rather, uses it as an enhancer to really bring the evocative factor of the album to life with an immense effect. Every possible inch of this record is covered in exquisite darkness that is the very definition of enthralling but it never once forces itself upon you as it instead seeks to draw you in of your own volition where you choose you to be wrapped up in this thick blanket of nothingness where your emotions are laid bare and the very essence of Ikarie seeks to draw them out such that you surrender yourself fully to the experience that they’ve crafted with such care here. Very quickly, that concoction makes “Cuerpos en Sombra” far from the most bombastic work of post-doom that I’ve heard, but it’s easily one of the most potent.

Such an effort like this deserves to be seen as a worthwhile template for the more subtle approach to what this style has been long capable of, and it’s with the performance at large that makes Ikarie a name to be watched from here on all for what they’ve accomplished with “Cuerpos en Sombra” is far from anything to sneer at or look down upon for it achieves far more than what plenty of its contemporaries can bring to the table. To fall into “Cuerpos en Sombra” is to lose yourself in a scarcely detail yet exceedingly rich experience of raw, primal emotion that cannot be denied and I simply cannot wait to see what direction Ikarie will go in after bringing this to our ears with just their very first album.

LISTEN to “Cuerpos en Sombra” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Ikarie on Facebook here.