This may sound a little relentlessly bleak for some, but there is enough melody on display here alongside the sheer quality of musicianship, that regardless of your opinions on the message, you could still lie back and let this album wash over you.
There was a man, he was begging and pleading, and uh, and praying I guess. He was Please God-ing all over the place. So, I told him he could have a half hour to pray to God, and if God could come down and change the circumstances; hed have that time. But God never showed up, and that was that. This is how were introduced to Breag Naofas self-titled debut album; the distorted voice of a killer mocking the non-existence of God in a victims last half hour of life. Its a cold opening to this four track long player, and it lays the groundwork for the oncoming storm well. Add in the Old Irish Gaelic band name, that simply translates to holy lie. The moment that heavy message is over, the even weightier music begins of epic opening track I (clocking in at 10 minutes and 50 seconds). The riffs are thick but equally atmospheric, treading the water line between challengingly heavy and hauntingly melodic. The drums are pounding, with cymbals crashing like waves. This is what would be described as post-metal, and its a bloody good example of it. This isnt for every music fan, but for those who like their rock and metal to sound like scores to the end of the world, or some great battle, theres a lot on offer in these four tracks. Each titled I through IV on a self-titled album, its clear the band are keeping the branding simple and letting the music convey the message and themselves. http://youtu.be/6bwKXLE_jPQ Hailing from Seattle and featuring members of Trial and Love Is Red, Breag Naofa are very much in the spirit of bands like Cult of Luna, Fall of Efrafa, Isis and a particular kinship to the relentlessly churning but equally melodic music of Pelican. This is an album to be absorbed, and each epic track comes in passages and waves. Rising and falling between slow, repetitive doom heavy riffs, sombre melodic passages and even full speed charging drum rhythms. Unpredictable and climactic. The lyrics take on a narrative style when they arrive in amidst the storm, based around the theme of disillusionment in religion and the negative effects that it has had on mankinds past, present and no doubt future. In equal measures of disgust and despair. Its a heavy topic that sits comfortably on an equally heavy album. This may sound a little relentlessly bleak for some, but there is enough melody on display here alongside the sheer quality of musicianship, that regardless of your opinions on the message, you could still lie back and let this album wash over you.