Fallout

How many times have you listened to a metal album, only to find yourself falling deeper in love after the first few minutes of listening to it? This is exactly what I have experienced with Slumber only full length ‘Fallout’. The album carries with it tons of harmonized atmosphere that can be found nowhere in nature. No kidding.

From the very opening song ‘Rapture’ (Futile, anyone?), we are greeted with majestic instrumentation that epitomizes all things ingenious and beautiful. The drums are warm, strong and resonant. What makes the entire album magical is the fact that the band’s performance seems to occupy every soundscape but at the same time, you can hear the ridiculously enchanting harmonized leads that make each song appears drifting effortlessly through time and space, defying the law of physics before finding its way straight to your psyche, where it stays for eternity.

The vocals are standard for bands playing in this style and genre. Although Katatonia is one of the oft-revered monikers within the circle, but with all due respect, Slumber crafted one of the greatest, most underrated records in the history of melodic doom metal. Why do I think this is so? What Katatonia and similar progenitors independently manufactured as the blueprint for the genre, Slumber takes it to a level higher than the rest with no peers almost. You might say that my love for ‘Fallout’ has somehow clouded my judgment. What else do you want me to say? The album contains some of the richest, grandiose melody in the realm where every other band seems to have saturated their sound, disconnecting any affinity with the roots from whence they grow, leaving behind any semblance of identity that defines the sound for what it is and what we have grown to love as well as appreciate.

The lyrics are also very well written. They are obviously blanketed with emotions, majority which are negative and withdrawn in nature; a perfect fit for music of this style.

So hard a surface, yet so easily broken,
Torn apart by truth and its sickening touch,
Words came out but were painfully spoken,
I never knew it would hurt so much

The above is an excerpt from ‘Where Nothing Was Left’. At first glance, it looks as if the band is just trying to daisy-chain some conceptually sensible words. But reading through it a few times will make you realize just how deep it truly goes inside your heart. The words are simplistic and jargon-free. This is not ‘hellfernal Judeoppressive decimation in sadisticunt whoreship’ type of nonsense. So honest are the words they touch your heart in places where even your soul cannot reach out to. The keyboards helped deliver those suffocating poems effectively, creating a sense of dying urgency with each note played. In between these soul-tearing melodies, the bass hold each piece together, like some sort of weight that brings the music deeper into its chasm of anguish. Fragile, so fragile it makes your heart crumble to dust in epiphany.

Additional female vocals are also present on this album. They are as haunting as ever, creating some kind of menacing backdrop for some of the tracks. While the female singing does not overpower the lead growler Bigonah, its inclusion enhances the atmosphere even further, thickening the already mournful outlook with pessimism. All the aforementioned traits helped contribute to the record’s praiseworthiness in the most wonderful way.

Unfortunately though, this is the only release from Slumber. The band has since broken up and reformed as Atoma, the music which I have yet to hear. Nevertheless, ‘Fallout’ is one of the few records that captures the essence of sorrowful melancholy. You just have to listen to it to be believed. For a person like me who quickly bonds with this album at first listen means there is something about it that goes beyond mere listening experience. Something that goes beyond scratching the surface, and ‘Fallout’ takes me further down into seemingly endless tunnel of infinity. Yes. This is a powerful record, one that worth every moment of your attention. Please buy this album quick and you will not be disappointed.