This is the third album from Australian post-metal solo band Cave Sermon.
On Fragile Wings the artist behind Cave Sermon has created an interesting and enjoyable 4o minutes of music. It’s a hybrid style, combining death, black, sludge, progressive, and post-metal, resulting in an album that covers a lot of bases in a well-blended, immersive way.
The hybrid style of the music is quite difficult to pin down, as it really does mix the above styles into something quite special. I’ve heard Cave Sermon described as atmospheric death metal, post-metal, and more, and it’s all as good as anything I suppose. Regardless of what you call it, Fragile Wings is extremely good. Exceptionally so, actually. It’s drenched in feeling, and focuses on mood-based compositions that are as affecting as they are rewarding. The songs are layered with details, nuances, subtleties, and textures, making for an album that is a joy to get to know.
Even for music that’s atypical, there’s something distinctly unusual about Fragile Wings. Some music that this shares features with can be dark, suffocating, claustrophobic, oppressive, etc. Here though, although there is darkness and aggression, the music is brighter and more multi-hued than is the norm. It puts me in mind of strangely ethereal cross between dissonant/avant-garde death metal, blackgaze, and progressive/sludge/post-/whatever. If I were to throw some bands around, I suppose it would be a mix of acts such as Aeviterne, Alcest, Archivist, Cult of Luna, Deafheaven, Downfall of Gaia, and Inter Arma. Sort of.
Fragile Wings is focused on melancholic and sorrowful emotions and atmospheres, but goes about its work via a highly textured collection of tracks that refuse to be just any single thing. Each track is a world unto itself, and all of them are essential. The artist behind Cave Sermon has seriously impressed on this record. You will not want to miss out on this if you’re even vaguely partial to any of the above.
Wonderbox Metal 