The Sun’s Journey Through the Night – Worldless (Review)

This is the fourth album from UK black metallers The Sun’s Journey Through the Night.

Despite enjoying The Sun’s Journey Through the Night at this year’s Reaper Festival 2023 over the summer, I’m late to actually checking out their most recent recorded work. This has now been rectified. Does Worldless live up to the promise of the band’s live show?

I’m pleased to say that it does, and Worldless is a very satisfying record.

The Sun’s Journey Through the Night play modern ambient black metal. The aggression is sharp and venomous, while the layers of atmosphere are thick and dark. The contemporary production values allow the band’s crushing heaviness to fully manifest, yet doesn’t mask the delicate fragility that characterises the more reflective ambient aspects of the album.

The songs are expressive sheets of darkness that combine visceral hostility with mood-focused depth. The vocals consist of the sort of acidic screams that sound like they should be able to strip flesh to the bone. There’s a post-metal feel to the music in places, as the band unleash massive walls of distortion or gloomy introspective atmosphere. You can also hear a blackened hardcore influence – think bands like Celeste and Hexis – which simply adds to the music’s potent presence.

Powered by an emotive fury that’s near-tangible, yet restrained by a sense of experienced songcraft, Worldless balances visceral blackened aggression with hooks, substance, and dynamics.

The Sun’s Journey Through the Night have more than lived up to my hopes after catching their storming live show. Worldless is an immersive experience that absorbs the listener in a nightmare realm of darkness, and I can’t recommend it highly enough for fans of modern black metal.