The Flashcards: Wounds of Recollection - You were a Garden of Empyrean Light (2019)

75/100

Genre: Post-black metal/rock

The first and final album from Wounds of Recollection for me to review that I sampled and actually ended up buying—partly due to the "name your price" factor, though I don't consider it the top of the top. In fact, after a few spins, there are only three tracks I can truly call okay. First is "Growing Always Older," which utilizes a post-rock style alongside a speech audio sample, and the title really hits home; then there's the simpler hidden track, "Next to Each Other". The post-black metal side of things? None of it really resonated with me, except for "Irrevocably," though I still can't quite explain why. Another thing to add is that the vibe, atmosphere, and overall execution of this album feel very similar to—or perhaps served as a direct reference for—their subsequent release, Nowhere Else Feels More Like Home (2020).

So, it's obviously a safe bet to recommend this band to fans of Sadness and Alcest. That's something I often repeat.

Tracklist:

1. Fog Over Appalachia

2. Violence in the River

3. Hemingway

4. Growing Always Older

5. Irrevocably

6. Next to Each Other (Hidden Track)

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