Downfall Of Gaia

Downfall of Gaia is a prime example of the underground post-hardcore and post-crust scenes. Starting off in 2008, the band came into the prominence with their debut full-length, Epos, a record that introduced the potential of the band, the elements that would later bloom into making them what they are today. It is no coincidence that Metal Blade snatched them, releasing the excellent Suffocating the Swarm of Cranes and Aeon Unveils The Throne of Decay.

After some line-up changes, with founding members Dominik Goncalves dos Reis and Anton Lisovoj remaining, the band sets out on their fourth album. What is apparent even the very early listens to Atrophy is how much this band has progressed. It is not so much that their sound itself has undertaken vast changes, although the atmospheric sludge and post-black metal aspects are more prominent, while the crust outbreaks slightly sparser. It is that their understanding of setting up their progression and tones has improved, essentially shedding a slight mechanical approach present in their previous works. The music is more cohesive today, the tracks evolve more naturally, improving the story telling capacity of the melodic elements and the expansive drones.

It is through this improvement that the imagery of the band is allowed to truly flourish, able to transmit their vision more clearly. Each passage is able to have that effect, no matter if it is aggressive or heavy. Every outbreak, or minimalistic setting tells a part of a longer story, without losing the series of events. This is how the final part of “Brood” and its torturous progression are filled with emotion, the darkness finds a perfect disguise in the black metal rampage of “Woe,” while the post inclusions bring in the ethereal and ambient side to balance the mix.

What remains in the end is this sense of history that exists in the core of Downfall of Gaia. The band has been around for some time now, and you can sense all the characteristics and tendencies that make up who they are. The crust self is always at the centre, even with its sound tamed, you can still feel its presence. The atmospheric sludge leanings, at the same time providing a downtrodden but also towering approach with its majestic aura, is able to provide the melancholy necessary for the mix. And of course the black metal self, and its post extensions, rooting together the dissonance and melody, the source of the aggression, but also the epic quality of this work.

8.0 / 10 — Spyros Stasis