Release Date: June 10th 2022. Record Label: Spartan Records. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl
Horizon - Tracklisting
Organelle
Waves
Cal
Soft Openings
Drug School
How Everybody Dies
Dethenger
Bad Electricity
Sirens
Members
Ted Alvarez
Rob Smith
Travis Duennes
Review
Horizon is the debut full length album from Post-Rock/Psych/Stoner Rockers Museum Of Light and they bring a highly original projection of Post-Doom/Post-Stoner sounds that expands the Post-Rock platform. Taking musical cues and influences from bands as diverse as Pelican, Russian Circles, FLOOR and Torche, this band is a breath of fresh air even with these guys bringing a gloomy cinematic feeling to the album.
Opening song Organelle is an instrumental affair with a solitary vocal track putting the listener into a peaceful trance which the album uses as it's main theme of storytelling. The grooves are a mixture of Drone based textures with Doom Metal and Stoner Metal based heavy grooves having a Torche like effect especially when the Psychedelic Sludgy Riffs appear.
Second song Waves has some cool sweet natured vocals appearing before the mood of the song turns gloomy with bleak atmospherics allowing Museum Of Light to add brief elements of uplifting Ambient Post-Rock when merged with the Stoner-ish Post-Whatever sounds. The later stages of the song sees Museum Of Light play progressively heavy drone based guitars with long drawn out sound effects that move swiftly into the next song.
Third song Cal carries on the "FLOOR/TORCHE'' dynamic with DOOM-POP based vocals and DOOM based lyrics for a song that captures the LIGHT & DARK elements down to a fine art. Prog Rock sounds move further into the Stoner/Post-Rock backdrop with heavy Drone Rock rhythms bringing a different level of heaviness. The earlier solitary vocal track makes an appearance and it's best to listen to what's being said. As this moves the story of the album to the next few songs. Though, Museum Of Light impresses the most with the great music contained on this track .The instrumental work is sublime with Museum Of Light feeling they have more members in their ranks and not the power-trio formation that makes up this great band.
Fourth song Soft Openings is one of the heaviest tracks on the album with a more direct sound that weaves between the areas of Post-Rock, Post-Doom and Sludge Rock. This song did remind me of SOM in places but still allowing Museum Of Light to forge their own creative path. Powerful instrumental work that is both unforgiving and uplifting at the same time. Thunderous guitars at the end suddenly stop leaving you wanting more from one of the best songs on the album.
Things do take a darker and unexpected turn on songs such as Drug School and How Everybody Dies with Museum Of Light becoming more cerebral with their music and creative themes on the album especially with How Everybody Dies mainly thanks to the soundclip used on that song. Left myself feeling uncomfortable and made my job even harder when listening to the fantastic grooves written for that particular song.
The final three songs Dethenger, Bad Electricity and Sirens allows Museum Of Light the opportunity to drift further into the darker side of Post-Rock/Post-Stoner worlds they've created for this album. Haunting vocal melodies and soaring Psychedelic grooves come full circle towards the end of the album with a soundclip bringing you out of your trance.
Horizon is a wonderfully creative and highly original album that also manages to be quite unsettling in certain places. However, Museum Of Light have written fantastic sounds to accompany their intense dark vision but still never forgetting to include many moments 0f uplifting Psych Rock grooves that may have a twinge of YOB to them.
This is a potential Album Of The Year right here and the more folks from the Doom/Stoner Metal underground know about Museum Of Light, the better.
You need to add this album to your record collection NOW.
Amazing. End Of.
Words by Steve Howe
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