In the modern digital age that we find ourselves in, it is all but effortless for bands to find themselves mixing styles and genres together intentionally and unintentionally to create efforts that can just as easily be fresh as they can be exceedingly stale. As such, it’s not terribly often that we’re granted a work that embodies one sound wholly and truly. Post metal is oftentimes combined with another strand of what metal has to offer in its vast spectrum with only an occasional name able to come around and prove that there’s still plenty to be add when it’s played straight and true. With their forthcoming work, Glacier is living proof of that.
When the genre is taking its time and being allowed to breathe in order to really show the listener what it can build to, there is nothing that can compare to properly executed post metal. The sort of slumbering beast that is nigh on imposing once its gets more but still more than capable of deep calm between its bouts of cavernous fury, only bands like Glacier are able to capture such grandeur in any meaningful detail. From top to bottom, “A Distant, Violent Shudder” is the work of post metal that we’ve been needing this year. There are always a few names swirling around in the darkness waiting to burst forth and show us what they’re made of with Glacier making it extremely clear in each of these five tracks that they are not to be taken lightly lest the unwitting find themselves crushed beneath the band’s immeasurable weight. Despite having laid dormant for five years, the immensity of Glacier is made apparent the moment you step into this instrumental beast. Driven by thunderous rhythms and captivating atmospheres that cut down to the very core of your soul, “A Distant, Violent Shudder” is as pummeling as it is alleviating. A powerful piece that is able to grind your bones into dust and be left in magnificent wonder all in the same moment, this is what it means to be post metal be given the justice that it deserves. Rarely do we see something like this come around even given the sheer density of what the underground has to offer, yet Glacier continues to stand undeniably tall as a name not to be underestimated.
Where the possibilities for a genre have been brought before potential talent, Glacier has clearly stepped up to the occasion. With this now being the band’s third full-length album, their power should not be in question for so much as a millisecond. Many have tried their hand at bringing together what’s needed to make post metal the absolute powerhouse that we can see on full display within every given moment of “A Distant, Violent Shudder”, but only the finest are able to come even close to the glory that’s to be had here.
“A Distant, Violent Shudder” releases on September 6th!
LISTEN to an advanced track from “A Distant, Violent Shudder” on Bandcamp here.
LIKE Glacier on Facebook here.
beautiful review, Great music.