Review Summary: Fairly typical post-metal, but well done. Listen to it loud
Earthrise is a band formed in 2010, hailing from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their music straddles the boundary between post-metal and sludge. Eras Lost is their debut album, released in 2012, and while not particularly unique, it is a solid release which should be of interest to fans of these genres.
The band cites Cult Of Luna, Neurosis, and The Ocean among their influences, and this fact is clearly demonstrated throughout Eras Lost. The album contains eleven songs, totaling around fifty-four minutes. By the standards of their genre, the song lengths are relatively short, with every track clocking in at between three and eight minutes. However, those familiar with post-metal and sludge are unlikely to be surprised by the songs here: they are dominated by heavy and lumbering riffs, with aggressive harsh vocals.
Eras Lost could be viewed as somewhat formulaic, since most of the songs do little to deviate from the common style of sludge-influenced post-metal. Nonetheless, within this style Earthrise does an excellent job. In addition, while certain tracks may not be particularly memorable, there are several outstanding songs.
“Titan”, the second track, is certainly one of the best on the album. It begins with a series of powerful riffs, than proceeds into a maelstrom of furious vocals over unrelenting musical heaviness. “Former Worlds” is another obvious highlight. The longest track on Eras Lost, it combines heaviness with effective progressive elements, including a long instrumental section, to create a superb song. Both these songs demonstrate the significant potential Earthrise possesses as a relatively new band.
While the album’s other tracks do not quite meet the standard set by “Titan” and “Former Worlds”, they are by no means bad. Every song here can be considered at least decent, and often great, post-metal/sludge. The only problem is that little clearly separates the songs from one another, which may make listening to the album in one sitting difficult. Occasional spoken word sections do provide breaks from the prevailing musical style, which is beneficial. In addition, the closing track “Frame Dragging” distinguishes itself with the inclusion of some clean vocals, but this experiment does not lead to one of the album’s better tracks.
Ultimately, Eras Lost is far from a groundbreaking album. For the most part, Earthrise chooses here to emulate the bands which dominate their chosen genres. However, they manage to create music of unusually-high quality, particularly for a first attempt. For fans of post-metal and sludge, this album comes strongly recommended.
