The use of atmosphere has long been something that the many different worlds of doom metal have used to great effect, and it does seem to be the case that it’s becoming more and more prevalent as the years go on. In the right scenario, it can truly enhance and upgrade an experience into something else on an entirely different level that we may not have been able to possibly fathom beforehand. Combine that with real passion and a potent degree of songwriting, and you’ve got yourself a true experience the likes of which you’d be hard-pressed to find elsewhere in the very whole of the world of music. That’s all becoming increasingly hard to find, though, with the fleshing out of the very sound truly making more unique creations feel fewer and further between despite it feeling like the opposite should be happening. With what’s just their second offering, though, Ruit Hora makes a tremendous case for being one of those few acts to actually achieve that coveted status.

The very word “kainophobia” refers to the fear of the new and unknown. It’s the feeling of deep, instinctual anxiety that we all find ourselves experiencing when we are taken out of our comfort zones, out of our routines, and thrown into something that we cannot control, predict, or have any hope to have any grasp on immediately. That’s a very specific fear that is ingrained in the very soul of every human whether we’re all willing to admit it or not and to even hope to bring that into an aural form that actually works is something that only immensely capable bands are able to bring forth in a way that can be considered massive in its presence, and it’s with the eight tracks of their own take with “Kainophobia” that Ruit Hora manages just that. Laden with all sorts of heaviness and atmosphere that range from the deep usage of synths to riffs to an array of vocals that are all the very definition of striking, it’s with this offering that Ruit Hora not only cements itself as an act to be known and respected with all that it manages to elicit in the nearly 38-minute runtime that we have to truly surrender ourselves to this effort. Deeply immersive virtually right from the very start, there isn’t a single iota of this record that Ruit Hora doesn’t use it to maximum effect in order to do the very title of the album justice as you can really feel the themes come to life as we’re put in the position of being wretched into an uncertain future that we have no way of pinning down, easily predicting, or manipulating in any form without suffering those immediate consequences and uncertainties headfirst. On the other side of “Kainophobia”, though, for those who suffered through its pains and its struggles, comes the ease of settling back into a rhythm and a loop that we can find solace in. That is, of course, until we’re ripped from it once more to be thrown back into those terrible, familiar fires.

This is the sort of record that is absolutely something that you’d want to lose yourself in. Otherwise, the very themes and deepest aspects of the album are lost on the mind while the atmospheres and melodies all but tap on the very consciousness that we use in a pathetic attempt to comprehend all that is “Kainophobia”. Ruit Hora has been around for but a few years at this point, but it’s already that they’ve proven themselves to be a cut different from the rest with an aptitude that it quite the head turner, and I can only imagine that this is but the tip of the iceberg for what they’re truly capable of.

LISTEN to “Kainophobia” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Ruit Hora on Facebook here.