The DevilsHorns

Austin, Texas is not a place where you would expect to find a Symphonic Black Metal band, but Vesperian Sorrow are not a typical band of that genre. They are described as ‘exploring realms of the cosmos, sorrow, sadness, and darkness’ in their lyrics, unlike the typical satanic themes of traditional Black Metal.

Awaken the Greylight is the bands 1^st release since 2012’s ‘Stormwinds of Ages’, and it has been a long time coming. Yes, technically we did have an album in 2019, but that was a re-released version of ‘Regenesis Creation’, so it doesn’t really count. The good news is that the latest album is as grandiose as you would expect this 4 piece to release.

throughout the 10 tracks presented to the listener. It is also a very long listen.

Starting well with, ‘As the Pillars Were Raised’ with its marching drum-beat, angelic harmonies and gorgeous organ sitting cosily in the background, a deliberate grunt welcomes in the vocals and track proper. This good start is backed up by the 2^nd track, ‘Antediluvian – Proceeding The Unshaping’ with clean and dirty vocals featuring prominently. A spoken word section is underpinned with a classy riff that gets your notice.

The album then progresses with decent songs, a variety of ideas means that you don’t get overwhelmed by their bombastic nature. There are decent solos on offer as well, but slowly, Awaken the Greylight begins to peter out. The album begins to feel its 55 minute run time and is perhaps a track too long.

‘They Beheld the Chainbreaker’s Crowning Defiance’ is a prime example. Exemplary drumming, possibly the stand-out of the album, is let down by the rest of the song that is just a little bit ‘ok’. Perhaps because the earlier songs (this is track 7) are high quality, the drumming is not as noticeable. This is also the longest track on the album at nearly 7 minutes, so that could be another factor.

So the album, has a small stutter, but is brought back into focus with a strong closing track, ‘Awaken the Greylight’. The good news is that the album has enough highpoints to overcome the stutter. It may not kill the album completely, but the length is a turn-off and if it was a bit shorter, we could have a different review. However, it does deserve further listens.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/vesperian

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vesperiansorrowofficial/

Bandcamp: http://vesperiansorrow.bandcamp.com/