The fall is near for Liminal Shroud.
Almost two years after their last release, Aidan Crossley (guitar/vocals, Vaaltovashe, Desolace), Rich Taylor (bass/vocals) and Drew Davidson (drums) offer us Visions of Collapse, their third album, on Willowtip Records.
A soft melodious dissonance awaits us with Nocturnal Phosphoresence, a mysterious first composition that first takes the time to charm us before joining a more aggressive rhythm where screams await us. The icy harmonics peacefully fly over the block of darkness, which slows down and becomes misty, making the vocal parts more plaintive before returning to rage to lead us into the slowness of Nucleonic Blight, which in turn transforms into a harmonious blend of fury and airy melodies. The catchy riffs speed up from time to time with waves of intoxicating violence, then slow down to a more haunting pace, leaving us to contemplate the leads, before finally flaring up again and making way for Resolve, which stuns us with a tortured sound plagued by haunting guitars. The screams make the mix particularly unhealthy, and the duet with the clear voice confirms the duality of the track, which at times becomes quite piercing before the oppressive finale, which only stops to let Malaspina develop her heady harmonics, complemented by the vocals’ quietness. There’s a more majestic dimension to this track, but it’s quite short and quickly gives way to The Carving Scythe, which floods us with its ocean of scathing notes that suffocate us without giving us time to breathe, but which also eventually give way to slowness and die in the distance.
This new plunge into Liminal Shroud‘s universe is yet another way of clearing the mind and letting the band fill it with darkness. Visions of Collapse is a harbinger of the furious melancholy that the band never hesitates to spread to fascinate us.
90/100