This is the sixth album from US doom/sludge band Rwake.
The Return of Magik contains 54 minutes of a progressive and atmospheric mix of sludge, doom, and post-metal. With three guitarists, two vocalists, and the select use of a range of instruments and ideas, Rwake have created an impressive record.
Although The Return of Magik fits within the doom/sludge/post-metal style, (as ill-defined as that might be), Rwake have a sound and a feel largely of their own. It’s ethereal, psychedelic, progressive, and surprisingly warm. The music is textured and detailed, with expressive emotion driving everything. The songwriting is instantly arresting, yet releases its true essence over time, showcasing a band that have crafted an immersive and involving album.
Powered by feeling, the music does what it needs to in the service of building and sustaining immense soundscapes. There’s heaviness and harshness, there’s lightness and beauty; frequently there is both, entwined in a captivating dance that almost seems to have no end. Each song offers the listener a journey, to explore and become entranced by. It’s borderline hypnotic, with a ritualistic aura that’s compelling. It’s like you’re being let into an obscure secret – not completely, but enough to tantalise.
As strange as it might sound, one of the biggest compliments I can give The Return of Magik is that it sounds like it should have come out decades ago. It’s like a lost classic from the 90s or 00s, and I feel like it could have rubbed shoulders back then with releases from bands like Neurosis, Isis, Minsk, Zatokrev, Kongh, Amenra, Mastodon, and others, all of which have got some damn good albums that The Return of Magik sits nicely next to. Of course, Rwake have their roots in this time, and also have their own sound, but still – this album is simply better than most that are playing this sort of thing these days.
Rwake’s new record is top tier. The Return of Magik is an album to get to know over time, and the rewards are great.
Essential listening.
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