Album Review: Stillbeing – World Builder (Self Released)

Collectively drawing inspiration from post, extreme, progressive, and doom metal, Stillbeing will release their debut album ‘World Builder’ on July 7th, 2023.

Creating a foreboding sense of horror with Abandoning Mother, a dark and industrialised intro leads to a blast of monotonous heaviness that batters the mind over and over again like powerful waves. When it does shift tone, it just gets more extreme, as the vocals come with such guttural scorn. Over nearly eleven minutes, Stillbeing drag the listener on a journey that is as abrasive as it is harmonious, as progressive as it is groovy, and as chaotic as it is ordered.

Talk about knowing exactly what you’re doing and how to keep the listener fully engaged. It’s a stunning first track.

With only four tracks on offer, it’s no surprise that every single one is a gargantuan offering. Not just in length, but detail too. Delivering some of their strangest sounding melodies, heaviest sounding instrumentation (the drums), and mood-altering tempo switches is the tome, Future Earth. An outstanding experience that delivers impressive dark immersion.

Then there is Builder of Worlds – a track segmented into four story parts. Arguably the most impressive offering of the entire album. Simply because it flows like no other track. From the jarring effects at the start and building atmosphere in the background. To the extreme carnage that is then unleashed as Stillbeing dig into reserves of cavernous noise and intensity that put a lot of other extreme bands to shame. To moments of haunting melody, cinematic ambience, liberal oddities, post-led epic-ness, and so much more. It’s one of the most eclectic pieces of music you’ll hear all year and it is simply stunning.

How do you follow that? Can Stillbeing possibly hit that high again?

Well, not quite, but that’s not a knock on See It to the End. Which is another fantastic hit of enormous heavy sounds. Stillbeing reaching into their post-orientated bag of tracks first, before transforming the track slowly into something more disordered. Then it sends the mind to relaxing locales with some lovely melody. Before wrapping up in grandiose style.

What an album. Worth hearing for Builder of Worlds alone, but delivering an overall experience that is unforgettable. All this, with a debut.

Stillbeing – World Builder Track Listing:

1. Abandoning Mother
2. Future Earth
3. Builder of Worlds
I) The Nearest Outpost
II) A Lively Garden
III) The Great Upheaval
IV) New Knowledge
4. See It to the End

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