HARAKIRI FOR THE SKY
Scorched Earth
(AOP Records)
67:28min

HARAKIRI FOR THE SKY are an Austrian duo consisting of multi-instrumentalist Matthias Sollak and vocalist V. Wahntraum. “Scorched Earth” represents the eighth and newest album from the pair, released through AOP Records. Playing what is generally referred to as Post Black Metal, HARAKIRI FOR THE SKY utilize a rather conventional approach to songwriting, but still manage to excel at painting an emotionally stark and bleak audio portrait. With seven original songs and a cover song spanning well over an hour of material, there is a lot of to unpack here. ‘Heal Me’ opens with the bright twinkle of piano work and the swell of tremolo guitar. Clean guitars lay a foundation for crooning vocals for the opening verse. Things evolve quickly into blazing fast blast beats and doubled-up screamed vocals. Alternating between moderate and fast tempos until its termination, the song plays out with rich detail, thanks to multi-layered melodies courtesy of the joint pairing of piano and guitar. ‘Keep Me Longing’ has an early orchestral segment that blends flawlessly with the fast-paced guitar work and percussive blasting. A great deal of transitions follow, much like the opening track, and the song evolves into something more akin to modern emotive Hardcore or Metalcore. ‘Without You I’m Just A Sad Song’ continues to ride the modern Hardcore theme, presenting itself as a more consistent mid-tempo track. There is plenty of orchestration and keyboard work, including a bridge of lightning-fast piano arpeggios towards the middle of the song. ‘No Graves But The Sea’ and ‘With Autumn I’ll Surrender’ continue the compositional approach established by the previous tracks. Despite the generally bleak nature of the songs, there is a bit of an up-tempo feel to the guitar work and the general construction of the songs themselves. ‘Too Late For Goodbyes’ features guest female vocals that add a haunting pale over the song, hard charging percussive work, that alternates between furious double-bass work and blast beats, revitalizes the listener and brings the sonic themes back to the beginning of the album. The final track on “Scorched Earth” is a RADIOHEAD cover, ‘Street Spirit (Fade Out)’, which fits well sonically with the general concept of the album and is a nice ambient close to the almost non-stop anger, depression and frustration that permeates the entire album. There are a number of additional guest vocals across “Scorched Earth” including Tim Yatras (AUSTERE), Serena Cherry (NOCTULE), and Patrick Ginglseder (GROZA). Overall, HARAKIRI FOR THE SKY produced an overwhelming bleak record with great composition and songwriting. “Scorched Earth” clocks in at over an hour, so give yourself time for a proper listen to really soak up the songs. For more information on HARAKIRI FOR THE SKY, see www.facebook.com/harakiriforthesky and for more information on AOP Records, check out www.facebook.com/aoprecs

Andrew Krause

Andrew Krause

Related reviews / interviews:
HARAKIRI FOR THE SKY - Mære (Wendell Roth)
HARAKIRI FOR THE SKY - III: Trauma (Mirco Szymyslik)
HARAKIRI FOR THE SKY - Aokigahara (Julian “Nailgarden” Nunez)

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