In the opener from LA post-metal trio Marriages, five bursts of down-tuned distortion growl from the undergrowth, then retreat, leaving their hot, predatory breath on your skin and the thrilling question only metal can pose: how heavy is this going to get?
Marriages is a new project for instrumental soundscapists Red Sparowes whose members over the years have hailed from influential metal acts Isis, Neurosis and Battle of Mice. Red Sparowes erect epic musical panoramas that devolve towards dire, inky apocalypse. While similar, Marriages is more dream than nightmare. No longer instrumental, the whispery moans of Emma Ruth Rundle seduce us into some of the most tender moments in post-anything since Sigur Ros.
[rating:4]
