Labels: self released
Review by: Kunal Nandi
After a fine demo, Glarus was abruptly disbanded by mastermind Sacha, who then wrote and performed the entirety of this album all by himself. That’s one way of doing it. Maybe the upheaval was worth it because this sounds great in every way, both sonically and musically.
Glarus (or Sacha rather) excels at a genre that usually leaves me stone cold, that being “post metal”. Neckbeards tripping over their pedal boards in an attempt to emulate Amen Ra, who were in turn emulating Cult Of Luna, who were in turn emulating Isis, who were in turn emulating Neurosis. It’s a bit of an inceptional genre that often mistakes noodling for intelligence when my short attention span demands some big riffs right now please.
So luckily Glarus do have some smart atmospherics and a good handle on dynamics but they don’t forget to make sure that heaviness is the name of the game, plus there’s plenty of gnarly, mid-paced 90’s hardcore chewiness in the riffing. Final track “All Of It, None Of It” is a hell of a way to finish things off, with a guitar line and soaring vocal interplay towards the end that genuinely makes it one of my favourite songs for a long time.
Not only is this absolutely deserving of your attention, it’s free to download too.