Premier: Veilburner’s Noumenon
Last year I praised Veilburner’s incredible debut The Three Lightbearers. Today, like Chaotorynth in April, we bring you the full stream of their sophomore full-length, Noumenon.Like Sarpanitum’s Blessed Be My Brothers from earlier this year, Noumenon‘s primary concern is not utter brutality. An uncompromisingly bright album, its effervescent synths and heavily effected clean guitars give tracks like first single “Ever Relapsing Fever” a brilliant, almost garish shade, further augmented by vocalist Chrisom Infernium’s theatrical howls.
But those seeking something heavy shouldn’t dismay; multi-instrumentalist Mephisto Deleterio knows exactly when to throw in a brutal riff, like the Morbid Angel-by-way-of-Deathspell Omega stomp of “Astral Caskets, Abstract Flesh” or the crushing, sitar-infused (it works) “Scorched Earth Exorcism.”
Noumenon’s riff salad structures could be disorienting in the hands of a lesser band, but Veilburner know there’s more to dazzling listeners than just towering riffcraft, working their strange alchemy to craft memorable hooks inside each dizzying musical orgy, like the earworm guitar lines in “Grave Wax Cenotaph.”
Billed as the “2nd installment in a conceptual trilogy” (see my interview with the duo from last year for more details), Noumenon is a significant step up from The Three Lightbearers, refining and expanding upon their sound. To what new dimensions they’ll ascend on part three are difficult even to imagine, so great is Noumenon’s scope.
But enough from me; stream the album below and keep up with the band on Facebook.
