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Sludge/Post-Metal: Pillar of Light - Caldera (2024)

79 / 100
Pillar of Light crafts a bleak journey through loss, endurance, and despair, where even fleeting moments of beauty are rooted in sorrow. Unforgiving yet hard to forget.

Well, it's truly surprising that new bands are still being formed, especially in the sludge/post-metal scene, like this American five-piece band, Pillar of Light. Unfortunately, I can't really compare their sound to predecessors such as Amenra or Neurosis, but Aaron Whitfield's vocals still remind me of Rosetta on this debut album, Caldera.

As the band's name suggests, Pillar of Light places pale blue light and a colossal gate on the cover, giving off a similar aura to Bell Witch's Mirror Reaper. Despite looking brighter, it doesn't mean the songs serve you happier or lighter themes. Mariusz Lewandowski, the illustrator for both artworks, once again succeeds in leaving a trace of unparalleled horror, this time focusing more on exhaustion and bleakness. It’s truly a draining journey throughout seven songs, totaling 55 minutes.

On the second listen, the opener "Wolf to Man" finally tore through my heart with Aaron's somber scream—especially on the word 'Goodnight'—so I held off on discarding the album. The journey had just begun, and then "Leaving" introduced emotional gothic/doom melodies to express loss and the departure of a life, connecting smoothly to the next track, "Spared." On this track, endurance is tested by the thick breakdown plucks in its final moments—and if you get through it, you're rewarded with the post-rock acoustic interlude "Eden," accompanied by the sound of drizzle to calm and let you rest for a while.

I really appreciate the meaning behind this stage—that happiness resides in sorrowful moments, if you can survive them. And well, once you've passed that exam, the heavier parts begin. A spectacle of black metal drumming style stands out, but unfortunately only for a minute in the middle of the song, after despair starts to take over. Now, you begin to whine, searching for mercy in the name of death to end the misery on "Unseeing," which also brings back the sludgy breakdown riffs like those on "Spared."

Ah, finally, the end, "Certain End" the longest and most punishing track, torturing my head with its harsh yet blurry noise intro. So long and tormenting. I really wanted to end this album as soon as possible.

So, it's truly hard to cast Caldera by Pillar of Light aside, even though I thought "Eden" alone would have been enough. But the songs seem to be watching me closely, forcing me to fall and taste the realm of the caldera. Well-deserved, with "Spared" and "Unseeing" as the weakest candidates.

[The review also posted on Metal Archives.]

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