This is the debut album from Italian black metal band Atlantic Ridge.
Brought to us by members of Bedsore and Thecodontion, Atlantic Ridge contains 41 minutes of atmospheric black metal, with added funeral doom and a touch of sludgy post-metal. Atlantic Ridge have crafted an engaging record of esoteric depth.
As a rough starting point, a mix of Altar of Plagues, Panopticon, The Ruins of Beverast, and Wolves in the Throne Room is not a bad way to think of Atlantic Ridge.
Atlantic Ridge is an underground release with a sound that is raw, but not without nuance. The band’s style is immense and immersive enough to transcend the underworld it spawned itself from, resulting in a record that rewards ongoing exploration. In other words, although it has its instant appeal, Atlantic Ridge works best over time, as the strong melodic leads and dark blackened structures become sketched out in ever more detail in the listener’s mental map of the album.
The music has an atmospheric focus, and concentrates on providing the listener with rich soundscapes to explore. Awash with melodic colour and detailing, the songs bring atmospheric black metal together with sombre doom metal, making for music that is ripe with emotive substance. The harsh vocals act largely as another instrument, providing violent punctuations to music that may be mood-focused, but still has plenty of aggression and hostility to dish out.
The first Atlantic Ridge record is an enjoyable one, with much to like. It has a few rough edges that need ironing out, but mostly these end up adding to the record’s character. As underground black metal releases go, this is better than most, especially if you like melody and doom with your black metal.
Highly recommended.
Wonderbox Metal 