Autumnal Melancholy

Striborg. One man metal from Australia. A band who churned out release after release in a subconscious race with its patriotic contemporaries Drowning the Light, only to slow down the production line of music in recent years. After the infamous Noisey documentary on depressive black metal bands was released, many fans were treated to a glimpse of Sin Nanna’s private life, and were shocked to see that he is actually a living personification of his music. Indeed, he admits himself that the isolation he has brought upon himself, although a fuel for his music, has served as a window into depression. What, then, does this record uncover about the entity behind the music?

Autumnal Melancholy is one of Striborg’s better works, both in terms of production and songwriting. The album is built around 4 pillars: epic-length masterpieces that provide a haunting insight into depression, which are then garnished with a series of ambient interludes and introductions. The album opens with ‘The Scrying Mirror’, a very imposing ambient piece that sets the appropriate atmosphere required for the black metal aspect of the record to serve its full purpose. Odd feedback sounds and distortions resonate through the listener’s eardrums, showing not only that Russell Menzies has a strong command of ambient composition, but that he is also in touch with his own spirit and the world around him. The bass frequencies finally die, and we are plunged into a world of tortured, dissonant walls of guitar noise and depressive atmosphere. The opening riff to ‘The Void and Countless Sky’ is violently cold; the guitars are drenched in reverb and distorted to the maximum, leaving me personally with the feeling that I’ve just stepped into a freezing shower on an icy winter’s day. This is no negative – the emotions that are conjured are exactly as Menzies desired. The drums finally accompany the riffing with a crisp clarity, adding a perfect flow to the music. The bass is also incredibly audible, which further adds a droning feel to the song (and further songs later on), dragging the listener’s very soul into its low frequencies beneath the murky, black lake that is the guitars. These tones and qualities are held throughout the album, providing a consistent and enjoyable style of music. Though the guitars are distorted and create walls of noise, they are not thick and bass-heavy, a-la-Xasthur, but more tinny and distant, again creating this feeling of a sudden cold-shower shock and carving a much deeper feeling of depression than a thick, bass-heavy guitar tone could ever do.

It’s worth mentioning that unlike other black metal ‘epics’ that only become boring and monotonous with time, Menzies understands perfectly how long a riff should last and how to phrase music; because of this, the 10-minute length black metal pieces never become tedious to listen to.

The black metal tracks showcase brilliant musicianship and songwriting. Menzies proves himself to be a competent drummer, with blasts, fills and fast variations all present on various songs on the album. The bass does not simply follow the guitar riffs, but expands on the music with droning passages and interesting high end harmonization. The guitar work itself is varied throughout the songs, with some passages being focussed on tritonal structures (creating a harsh, angry atmosphere) and others being very minor-key based (creating a grim, depressive atmosphere). The vocals are dark and raspy; a very throat-based gargle that lies far in the distance and echo through the musical noise to finally land home in the listener’s ears.

The ambient passages are really outstanding. They’re extremely varied, but all rather lo-fi and basic, allowing a pleasant set of relaxing and easy-listening tracks as a ‘break’ between the harsh black metal. The synthesizer pads used on tracks 4 and 8 create a grand yet hopeless mood, as if there’s potential in life but it will not be achieved. The four ambient tracks are also very minimalistic, with only one or two synths used per track. Although many people may dismiss the lack of complex structure and progression in these tracks, I myself appreciate their simplistic nature as it presents a pleasant contrast from the progressive and deep black metal tracks, again showing that Menzies has a full command of his own music as a tool to manipulate the full spectrum of human emotions. The last track is rather experimental, more akin to noise music than ambient, and leaves the listener in a state of perplexed confusion as to how they should react to it. This is Sin Nanna’s final point to the listener – that his music has full control over them, and that he can manipulate them to his own bidding once they are within his world – the world of Striborg.

This is powerful, deep music.