Album Review: Harakiri For The Sky – Arson (AOP Records)

The fourth album from Harakiri for the Sky, a unique mixture of melancholy and aggression, is called Arson & will be released on February 16th 2018 via AOP Records.

Founded in 2011 in Vienna, Austria, the aim of Harakiri for the Sky has always been to create a unique mixture of melancholy and aggression, madness and meaning, and wrapped in alternately manic/mellow songs that bridge black metal and atmospheric post-rock.

Arson will please both long time & new Harakiri for the Sky fans alike with its fantastic blend of post-rock & black metal. From the moment Fire, Walk With Me blasts out its huge riffs, melancholy melody, thumping drum beats & screeching vocals you know you’re in for a good time.

A shockingly strong start that continues into the soul trembling quality of The Graves We’ve Dug. A sublime showing off of how good keyboards can be alongside metal.

With tracks like You Are the Scars, Heroin Waltz & Tomb Omnia, Harakiri for the Sky prove themselves to be the masters of mellow & atmospheric metal/post-rock. They absolutely nail what it is to be creating introspective metal.

That’s not to say it’s lacking in the heavy department, far from it. The slow dream-like start to Stillborn is crushingly heavy before it ups the tempo into a wilder & more fast-paced style. Just when you think that’s all you’re getting it switches direction again dropping into a brief bit of rock melody before bringing back the heaviness. A stunning track.

With all tracks going over the eight minute mark, you’d expect your mind to start to wander but it just doesn’t happen. Anytime things seem like they might be droning on, Harakiri for the Sky quickly rectify that. The final track (excluding the bonus track) is a great example of this. Voidgazer doesn’t do much to begin with but just when you’re beginning to think that this might be a track that just isn’t the band at their best, they turn it on it’s head. Delivering memorable rhythm, riffs & melody.

An excellent 2018 bar-setting album for melodic post-rock/black metal.

Harakiri for the Sky – Arson Full Track Listing:

1. Fire, Walk With Me
2. The Graves We’ve Dug
3. You Are the Scars
4. Heroin Waltz
5. Tomb Omnia
6. Stillborn
7. Voidgazer
8. Manifesto (Bonus Track)

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You can order the album over on Bandcamp & stream their music on Spotify, Deezer & via Apple Music above & below. Find out more about Harakiri for the Sky on Facebook.