Sol — Before We Disappear
The cover is a reproduction of a picture of the late 17th - early 18th century, which depicts a group of people (possibly family), dressed in authentic clothes of the time. The faces of all people are roughly painted in black ink. Over the heads of people with the same black ink, as if in a hurry, the name of the project and the name of the album are written. The cover is very atmospheric. Ideally visualized the idea contained in the title - complete depersonalization and oblivion of once-existing persons.
The album lasts just over forty minutes and consists of six tracks. Perhaps this is one of the most coherent and conceptual albums that I have reviewed before. Despite the fact that the compositions are different in their structure, and each of them could exist separately, the approach to writing and sound are the same on the whole album. Therefore, I will talk about my impressions in general.
In addition to Emil, nine invited musicians worked on this album, and each of them made a significant contribution to the sound. This album features an impressive number of instruments - vocals, guitars, bass, pipe organ, piano, synthesizers, glockenspiel, percussion, piano, cello, double bass, bass clarinet, viola, samples / tape-loops, FXs, manipulated sounds.
The compositions are mainly based on a simple repetitive melody, which is gradually saturated with the sounds of the incoming instruments, vocals and effects. It should be immediately noted that in the information for the album it was written that Sol style combines such genres as doom, dark ambient and neo-folk. To an extent this is correct, but it does n’t reflect the complete sound picture of the album. I will try & distil exactly what we have here, but one thing I can say is that this album has a very remote attitude towards the doom metal form. There is a rich and heavy guitar sound here, but it is used rather to give the sound an atmosphere and depth. There are both guitars and bass guitars here, but no drums, as such. There are rare percussion parts here, which are not for rhythm, but for focusing the listener's attention on some sound elements. In this regard, I can draw parallels with the album Aleph at Hallucinatory Mountain by Current 93- therefore the neo-folk comparison are relevant. I’ve heard a few bands that use heavy guitars in the absence of a more or less familiar rhythm section, but Sol does this in a most organically and efficiently manner.
So, the heavy and droning guitar sound is generously seasoned with lots of other instruments and effects that develop the melody line or support it. Sometimes, the compositions are built in the absence of guitars, the sound becomes lighter, but does not lose depth and saturation. The album has a very good sound balance and, despite the abundance of instrumental parts, it never turns into a sound mash. Although at times it’s difficult to isolate the sound of an individual instrument in the general sound stream.
Emil Brahe's vocals are present in every composition and are an integral part of the overall atmosphere. The vocal timbre is close to the traditional sludge vocals. However, sometimes we can hear a quiet and slightly horrendous whisper. In addition to Emil, there are three more vocalists on the album who participate in fragments in each track. We can hear clean singing male vocals, as well as a female soprano.
In terms of atmosphere, this album is one of the darkest and most frightening I have ever heard in some time. This is the atmosphere of the end, the transition to nothingness, to the void, where there is no continuation of existence. But by that, not less, along with the darkness, there is a share of sadness and romanticism.
In order to briefly describe the sound and atmosphere of the album, I turn to comparisons. So, as I said, here is the atmosphere of the apocalypse, inspired by Current 93. But there is also something hidden and primitive, as in the atmosphere and sound of Neurosis and their alter ego Tribes Of Neurot. Perhaps someone will find similarity with some works of Earth or even Sunn O))).
In the provided description of the album was also indicated the style of dark ambient. I can not say that it is. Rather, there is a very atmospheric industrial component, sometimes bordering on noise, and sometimes with a light touch of Gothic or Dungeon Synth.
So, Before We Disappear is one of the most impressive albums, created at the junction of a large number of extreme and experimental genres. Despite the abundance of mixed styles, the album is monolithic and original, both in terms of sound and in terms of atmosphere. After listening to this album, for a while I had a feeling of emptiness and fear. I am sure that Emil Brahe was counting on such emotions when creating this album.