Falls of Rauros – Key to a Vanishing Future (Review)

Falls of Rauros are a black metal band from the US and this is their sixth album.

Here’s one I’ve been looking forward to, that’s for sure. Falls of Rauros’ last three albums, (2014’s Believe in No Coming Shore, 2017’s Vigilance Perennial, and 2019’s Patterns in Mythology), all showcased a band on a continual upward trajectory, with each album improving on what its predecessor offered. So, to say that Key to a Vanishing Future carried great expectations would be an understatement.

But wait, the Falls of Rauros that come to us in 2022 is a different beast, at least in places. The band’s folk-tinged atmospheric black metal is still a joy to hear, but it now displays some different colours. On Key to a Vanishing Future Falls of Rauros have incorporated a greater progressive feel into their sound, allowing them access to newer soundscapes in which to wander. This has added an extra dimension to the band’s already formidable repertoire.

These new songs have a greater breadth of light and shading and carry a wider range of sound textures. The style may still be heavily atmospheric and mood-based, and it may still have a firmly blackened core, but there is less darkness on display; an uplifting quality has found its way into the music, turning the band’s richly melodic execution into one that doesn’t neglect the light.

Intricate and emotive, the songs are well-crafted and immersive. The music carries an energy that’s invigorating as it pulls the listener into a world of post-black explorations of progressive potency. These songs, at least in places, are some of the most involved that the band have penned, and it’s deceptively easy to become totally absorbed in their progressive wanderings.

Falls of Rauros have very capably combined atmospheric, progressive, and post-black metal into a 44-minute experience that’s very hard to ignore. Of course, why would you want to? Instead, just let yourself fall into its blackened waters, as the wind howls across the waves and the heavens loom menacingly overhead.

Essential listening.