This is the debut album from UK black metal band Cairiss.
A decade after 2016’s EP Fall comes its long-awaited follow up Wilderness. Fall was a notably strong first release, one that excelled in its own right, but that also dripped in potential for the future. Sadly, nothing ever came of it. Until now. With 42 minutes of new material from Cairiss, and a refreshed lineup, can Wilderness satisfy the probably unfairly high expectations put upon it?
Yes, is the short answer. Wilderness has not disappointed at all.
The style is a post-black metal mix of atmospheric black metal and blackgaze. Wilderness presents the listener with a textured journey into Cairiss’ detailed and expressive world. Driven by harsh screams and gorgeous clean singing, this is music to lose yourself in.
Wilderness merges atmospheric black metal’s immersive depth with blackgaze’s delicate fragility, making for songs that benefit from the strengths of both. This is a record that offers both ethereal beauty and scathing dark aggression. Delivered sometimes together, sometimes apart, but always in a complementary fashion, these two halves shape the songs as the six tracks ebb and flow through their running time. Other lesser influences can be heard too, such as progressive guitar parts, or folk-tinged acoustic or delicate sections.
The music is deeply atmospheric, awash with emotive grace, and affecting. Wilderness benefits from songwriting designed to construct vast feeling-rich soundscapes. It’s a post-blackened exploration of build/release mechanics, atmospheric dynamics, and well-realised ambition. Cairiss have put together a collection of songs that have a strong vision of themselves, one that manifests exactly as their creators envisaged. At least, that is the impression given due to how accomplished Wilderness is.
A balance of alluring warmth and cold hostility is achieved across the record, with neither being in the ascendant for too long. It’s a compelling dreamscape of softly gorgeous substance, populated with serrated nightmares that scream and rend with violent cathartic venom. To add to this, there’s also a fine line walked between uplifting heavenly sounds and mournful melancholy, with Cairiss thankfully not straying too far in either direction. Whereas juggling these potentially contradictory aspects of the music could easily have got away from them, Cairiss get this right, and the character of Wilderness is well-judged. Everything across Wilderness works together for the holistic whole, and the album has a world of such enmeshed ideas to dive into, and every second is worth it.
What a shockingly good return. Due to the strength of Fall, there should have been no doubt, but Wilderness is a remarkable achievement regardless. It’s an exemplar of beautifully expressive introspection and rage, and it really should be experienced far and wide.
Essential listening for fans of bands such as Alcest, Deafheaven, Sylvaine, Wolves in the Throne Room, etc.
Wonderbox Metal 