Until the Sky Dies: Forgotten Pact

This album has been available since November 2020 and so some of you may already be familiar with it. For those of you who aren’t, let me quickly mention that Until the Sky Dies is a duo from Arizona that likes to experiment with the form, structure, and sound of Doom Metal, Post Hardcore, Death Metal, and other, similar styles. But the key to understanding this band is knowing that nothing is ever exactly as it seems. This band loves to challenge listeners and they do so by blending in a variety of sounds that some listeners will appreciate while others will not. Much will depend on how much experimentation you expect and what you think it means. I know that probably sounds vague, but Until the Sky Dies see themselves as experimental and adventurous. The only problem is that it isn’t completely clear where things are going. You might think that’s the point and, if so, that’s great. You’ll be safely at home here. For others, though, the album will most likely feel uneven.

If you listen to this album, I suggest doing so randomly. That’s what I did, and I felt like I could appreciate more of the surprises here and there a little more, at least sometimes. The band lists Melvins, Swans, Bolt Thrower, Faith No More, and Devin Townsend as key points of reference, but it’s hard to say exactly what this band is drawing on from any of them. The band definitely has solid doom and sludge chops and their experimental side is sometimes interesting. But there’s definitely a consistent sense of things being at odds with themselves. The riffs are often terrific, but why are they made to fight with so much other stuff?

The album opens with “Chose to Die,� a track that opens with a familiar-sounding drum kick that quickly moves aside for a hard-driving guitar riff. It all works pretty well, but it eventually feels a little aimless more than purposeful. I had a similar reaction to “Destructive Voices,� another track with a nice drum opening, followed by some brutal guitars and pretty good vocals. The problem, though, is that the parts start to pull apart, particularly in the vocals. If you listen to about the halfway mark, you’ll hear the vocals start to seethe and hiss in ways that are more off-putting than interesting. Album closer “Experimental Vision� also twists the vocals about halfway through.

I was a little more interested in “Zeppelins are not made for Flying.� If you ignore the opening, you’ll get to a pretty solid riff that sputters and stutters like an old airplane trying to take flight. The song also crawls along in ways that show off just how sludgy this band can be.

“Dear Mother Not Forgotten� was another interesting track. It also moves along at mid-tempo and builds up an effective sense of expectation and direction. This was probably my favorite track because it had a little more legitimate melancholy come through with the electronics and noise.

Overall, this is a strange album. I thought the doomier side was terrific, but their experimental side was uneven at best.

Track Listing:
1. Chose to Die
2. Destructive Voices
3. Hope, Sorrow, Release
4. Never Wanting, Never Lost
5. I the Victor
6. Dear Mother Not Forgotten
7. Zeppelins were not made to Fly
8. Experimental Vision

Added: June 28th 2021
Reviewer: Carl Sederholm
Score:
Related Link: Bandcamp Page
Hits: 532
Language: english

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