Austrian post/progressive metal band Harakiri For The Sky drops their fourth album, Arson, one that should stand out as one the better heavy releases of early 2018.
The band Harakiri For The Sky is comprised of two full-time members, although when they tour they bring a bigger group. “JJ” works the vocals and “MS” (a former member of Bifrost) plays and writes all the music. While JJ is a fantastic metal vocalist, belting out a pained singing style, using an aggressive cadence on lyrics that prove he is unafraid of tearing out his soul, the instrumentation on Arson is so accomplished, with performances dynamic, and the songwriting full of unique top notch tweaks that it is amazing to think one man orchestrated all of it.
The stated goal of Harakiri For The Sky is to blend contrasting elements, melancholy and aggression, pain and pleasure. A lot of bands throw these kinds of statements out in the press material and it often comes across like a pale attempt at making sense of a whole lot of noise. One a spin through Arson shows that Harakiri For The Sky has an idea how to work their heady conceits into solid heavy music. Many of the songs here are long and spacious, adhering only loosely to sub-genre rules, giving MS room to roam to explore elements of 70’s metal, folk rock and post-rock. If at times Arson sounds like it borrow its influence from all over, that should feel intentional. The production is surprisingly clean and the transitions between tempos, or instrumental leads (such as acoustic guitars and shredding heavy metal solos) end up coming off seamlessly. For a metal record, Arson is as much about the effective execution negative space, a clearly played bridge, or a carefully orchestrated crescendo, as it is a flex of pure muscle.
Each of the songs on Arson feel like a uniquely progressive spin on black/death metal. The nine-minute “Fire, Walk With Me” opens with a piano line before thrusting into distorted guitars, staying in a fast, furious mode, bleeding into “Graves We Dug” with its massive guitar chords and percussion, which becomes frenzied and agonizing. These are the least dynamic tracks on the album. On “You Are The Scars” MS drops into a mid-tempo on the song’s ponderous middle, giving JJ thoughtful chords to sing over. “Tomb Omina” features spectacularly articulate guitars and some long jammy solos that hardly feel at home on a death/black metal record. Although “Stillborn” lumbers off of its long intro, it’s a massively appropriate backdrop to JJ’s forlorn lyrics. My favorite track on Arson ends up being the penultimate, “Voidgazer” which at over nine minutes demonstrates everything Harakiri For The Sky does well. The track opens up with a soaring guitar, supported by thunderous percussion, eventually dissolving into a harrowing folk guitar before it blows out into a dramatic finish. It feels tough while managing to hold up the albums’ dramatic tones, an exercise in both strength and negative space. While I think the addition of a second female vocalist on the album’s last track “Manifesto” doesn’t accomplish what it set out to, the album overall stands out from the crowd. Harakiri For The Sky builds on a core concept, but they don’t get lost in it. Further, they don’t bludgeon the listener with what their idea of that concept might sound like. This is a record to delve into over and over again.
