Review Summary: The fire has awakened the flood.
Falls of Rauros is an atmospheric/folk black metal band hailing from the icy seaside city of Portland, Maine. Renown for sweeping acoustics, slow-burning atmospheres heavily laden with euphoric tremolo picking and echoing shrieks, the pillars that "Falls of Rauros" have been building since their first record have come to a splendid fruition of all of the greatest elements present off the aforementioned previous albums. It's like watching the construction of a radiant Colosseum, a wonder so vibrant and beautiful that it lights up this often times dingy earth. "Falls of Rauros" have always been musically adept, however it is here that from the murkiest ire they raise their budding roots.
Cathartic. Eloquent. Monolithic. All of these feelings are sprawled across the length of a single song, "White Granite". The vocals howl anguished shrieks alongside rampant drumming, which quickly subsides into graceful acoustics, sounding so pure and untainted even when mere seconds later the storm is to roll in once again. It's this ability to manipulate composition to such perfection that makes "Vigilance Perennial" so incredible to listen to. The way that a guitar solo can emanate such immense glory off of "Arrow and Kiln" and somehow build into an even more emotionally riveting, rapid pulsating of snares and guitar riffs is astonishing. It's how every shy, peaceful piece of acoustic guitar work or somber synthesizers serves as but another pillar for the ultimate creation.
Every track is an epic composition serving as another step to a grand stairwell, an ultimate completion in a sense. Through the swirling maelstroms of tremolo picking off of "Impermanence Streakt Through the Marble", it feels like all of the calm, spacious tones beforehand were stepping stones to what may be the most spellbinding track off the entire album. Every track flows into each other so elegantly and seemingly organically as well, however, so that such a climax only seemed inevitable. Yet in some ways the immense elegance attained was still seemingly unpredictable.
The sheer beauty this album emanates is beyond my comprehension. Its ulterior motive is to instill your spirits with such a spiritual exuberance, and in this, it never relents. This is where I must, however, admit that this will not strike the same chord with everyone. Everyone has a different sound, a different subject, that brings them to this pinnacle of calmness. However for this particular reviewer, many a time will Vigilance Perennial play when life is crippling. I can only hope for you this is the same.
