One of the things that has always fascinated me about metal to no end is how far it can be stretched in any different direction into several veins with their own particularities and tropes with even them having narrowing branches to really accommodate all types of musicians and their individual crafts. In the case for post-metal, people tend to associate it with a more atmospheric and ethereal approach, but all it takes is a little bit of imagination to really show what all the style can do with bands like Cult of Luna showing off that fact expertly whenever they put out new material. For years now, Third Island has been a rising name in the sound with it constantly evolving from one work to the next. This newest offering proves to be no different.

It’s an interesting thing to be able to draw a direct line through a band’s discography that shows their sonic evolution for all that it is with the results being more intriguing for those acts who actually go out of their way to try something different even if it is only a slight shift. For what Third Island has done in their progression, they’ve moved away from the more predominant atmospheric sound like what was seen on their last album, “Unspeakable”, four years ago with “Burning” seeing them maintain that trajectory a good bit with their four tracks that make up this EP a continuation of what was done in its predecessor as well as showing us what Third Island have learned in the time since. The result is a metamorphic listen that can seem all too simple on the surface, but it’s once you pull back the layers of “Burning” and its secrets do you begin to realize the dreamlike visages that are constantly writhing within every given aspect of Third Island’s sound. As capable of horrors as it is hope, these four tracks are fantastic to lose yourself in as Third Island expertly infuses every minute of the EP with an off-putting brand of hypnotic rhythms and aggression that you wouldn’t normally think would be able to be done in a format like this. Yet, like before, Third Island prevails where plenty of others wouldn’t have succeeded.

While there are moments through the piece that are a tad clunky and feel jumbled together, “Burning” is by no means a work that should be taken lightly. For all that’s gone into it and everything that Third Island has done up to now to lead into this EP, “Burning” has more than enough to offer should you simply give it the chance. Post-metal has never been lacking in talent as of late should you look for it in the right places, and it’s from within Ireland that I’ve now been impressed in just three days.

“Burning” releases on October 6th!

LISTEN to an advanced track from “Burning” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Third Island on Facebook here.