I spoke to my friend recently about the state of music being released this year and expressed some concern: I don’t actually love anything that has come out so far. Make no mistake, 2016 is a great year overall and everything has generally been really, really good. My reviews say enough. Yet I still haven’t found an album I’ve listened to and fallen for it. By this point last year, I had amassed enough albums that I had come to love, and it was apparent I’d have plenty to pick from at the end of the year. Almost all of my favorite bands have released albums this year, but aside from the Death Fortress album, I’ve been having more and more difficulty finding anything that I’ve truly loved.
Almost as if on command, I stumble upon Darkher. Self explanatory by the project’s name, Darkher is the project spawned from Jayn H. Wissenburg, in which she has composed a claustrophobically dark yet highly evocative and surreal blending of doom metal, neofolk, and other influences sprinkled about. “Hollow Veil” may seemingly sum up the album, but it’s the surprises like the subtle rock-oriented rhythms on “Wars” that help prolong this album’s unique take on the experimental, extreme music. The two-part “Buried” may serve as her testament to doom metal, but it’s immediately does the dynamic drop low on “Foregone” and captures a haunting atmosphere as it slowly builds upwards to new heights.
Possibly one of most unique aspects of Darkher is that the project answers the question of what Chelsea Wolfe would sound like playing metal-oriented music instead of music inspired by metal. While Ms. Wissenburg will no doubt be facing these comparisons, (They are entirely complementary, I assure you) her vocal mannerisms and dark, almost gothic undertone to music is where the comparisons stop. Experimenting with darker tones and bleeding in a doom metal influence that breaks free of conventions almost immediately, the debut album Realms is something unique unto itself and unlike anything being released this year.
Many bands aspire to be dark and end up trying too hard, but Darkher puts everyone to shame, arguably even black metal bands. This is a very natural, fresh project that may bear similarities in some aspects, but ultimately is something that demands your immediate attention.
You can purchase Realms and everything Darkher-related in their webstore. You can buy the album digitally on Bandcamp right now.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pXjIEiDDeQ[/youtube]