Ever are we marching forward whether we like it or not. There is always a time and a place to look back on where any particular sound has come from and offer reverence through perpetuation, the march of progress is not something that can simply be extinguished in the underground. Even then, there are those that plunge deeper than others in order to find such sights that we have seldom seen before if at all, and it can make for a truly one-of-a-kind listen should the right band construct something that can not only catch the ear but root us in place before such magnificence. Having made a splash with their debut, it’s now with their sophomore effort that Floating is ready to well and truly stand out even in a ground striving for greatness in progressive obscurity.

This is the kind of record that isn’t likely to click upon your first listen. A dense creation that is undeniably progressive death metal with more than a few hints of other genres like post-punk finding their way into the mix to ensure that this record is anything but one-dimensional, Floating quickly proves itself as a band that has got to be taken in moderation lest the whole of their new work, “Hesitating Lights”, be too much for one to handle in a single instance. Thick in its production, unyielding in its ferocity, and undeniably mysterious, this is an effort that feels like it was truly born out of the ether. Given its fluid form that never wants to settle in a corporeal form nor does it seems to adhere to any previously set rules that any genre has set, Floating makes this creation completely their own in every moment whether it’s in the riffs, mild dark psychedelia, or off-putting heaviness that feels like a match for the instruments yet still at odds with what’s constantly put forward. “Hesitating Lights” challenges you. It dares you to come within its massive, foreboding presence that offers no refuge from the sights within as it’s only the bravest and most committed souls that are able to find the bounties therein. Far more than a display of instrumentation and then slapping “progressive” on the package then calling it an album, it is throughout every moment of this record that Floating goes against the grain to offer real personality and true craftsmanship of a sort that we simply are not given often whatsoever. For all that’s dared here, “Hesitating Lights” accomplishes much.

It is far from uncommon anymore for a band to find themselves pushing the envelope in some form or another, but it’s a different event altogether to witness band do so in such a way that feels complete and unsullied in its artistic vision. What Floating has done here is destined to find a cult following for all that it sought to deliver. To become lost within “Hesitating Lights” is to witness truly amorphous death metal of a sort that many strive to accomplish, yet it is at every turn that Floating proves themselves to be in a category almost entirely their own.

“Hesitating Lights” releases on July 11th via Transcending Obscurity Records!

LISTEN to advanced tracks from “Hesitating Lights” on Bandcamp here.

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