An Absolutely Engulfing New Post-Metal Single from Countervela
The latest release from Countervela puts together such a thick and atmospheric soundscape that you get a little swallowed up by it, because the whole first half of the song is incredibly dreamy, spacious, and drifting.
It's got guitars, but they're also these kinds of synth pads that give that airy feeling, breeding a bit of a filmic push and aesthetic, but also combining that with live drums that do add a little bit of an edgy overtone to things, but it's not over the top.
The guitars have some awesome effects on them, which at times feel almost like a reverse effect, which makes the song feel slightly haunting in a strange way.
You get sort of wrapped up in this gracefully performed space and you become immersed in the textures that are floating through the air.
The main guitar is performing a beautiful progression that is accompanied by long stretched vocals, distanced and layered into the music so that you have a full atmosphere to soak in as a whole.
And then, the explosion happens.
The song gets heavy, brilliant riffs and approaches. The soft, distant singing becomes loud, screaming, belting out, and done with this intensity that shows emotional backbone.
There are elements about this track that really showcase such intricate time signatures, elements of changing over from one progression to another, segways into almost theatrical and symphonic approaches, and it all comes together so brilliantly that it's almost overwhelming.
Most would consider this to be a heavy-handed post-rock or even post-metal type of track. It reels you in with the cinematic and outstretched, almost delicate sounds and tones. It starts bringing the progressions to life and doing so with depth.
When it reaches that certain climactic point, it bursts into an intensity that's much higher, and it's heavy, but very melodically coated. This song is all about arrangement, melody, and performance.
You can hear the band works together in terms of bringing that intensity to life. Letting it come in waves and then exhale back down when needed.
This was very boisterous and just sonically massive when it needed to be, but it also pulled you back into that dream at the same time.
The cool thing about this track is that it blends traditional Irish music with their heavy soundscape, even giving Irish and English blended language in terms of the lyrics, and it has such a gorgeous and graceful feel.
Again, this is a heavy track. It's got loads of outstanding guitar tone; there's plenty of drippy reverb effect that coats the cleaner parts so that you can hear those layers and dig deeper into that depth before it starts hitting hard. But even when it does start hitting harder, the riffs are melodically driving.
This was such a unique and cool blend of bringing this classic and traditional songwriting approach together with that post-rock and sort of post-metal intensity; it's all thriving and connective.
It brings a raw, emotive push with it that is a bit deepening and somehow feels existential.
The song is called "Least Expected Turns (Casadh Gan Choinne)", and I would absolutely suggest listening to this one with headphones on so you can really take it all in the way it was meant to be.
A lot is going on in this track, but it has a perfect slow burn that makes a lot of sense and delivers something incredibly memorable.
The track follows last year's "Roseblossom", which dips more into the Cinematic and progressive rock element, giving off a bit of a heavier tonality throughout the entire song while still keeping some of the vaster underbellies firmly intact.
If you dig this new track, I would check that one out as well as "Everything All".
All of these songs show how the band branches into other rock categories and creates something that feels intelligent.
So, dig into this stuff right now. Don't miss out on this unique breed of rock music from Countervela.
Countervela - 'Least Expected Turns' (Spotify link)
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