To find yourself in the ethereal realms of black metal where the very themes of nature are just the starting point for what you’re getting yourself into is to find yourself amongst what has to be effortlessly some of the very best that the style has ever had to offer ever since it came into existence. Plenty have tried their hands at delivering material that is worthy of the sound and all of its grandeur, but few manage to rise above the challenge to deliver worthwhile material with every piece of qualifying excellence nothing short of astounding. For years now, Sickle of Dust has made itself known as a name to know should you want to hear some of the very best of what the style has to offer nowadays, and it’s now for its fourth full-length album that we witness the band top themselves yet again somehow with what has to be their most magnificent work to date.
Already, the landscape of epic black metal and all that it entails invites some of the very best talent that is out there in the entire world of black metal with it being every year that sees a select few albums from the sound coming around to be hailed as that year’s essential albums to experience, and Sickle of Dust is no stranger to such company. A cold but fascinatingly gripping sound is what they’ve always dealt with, and while their quality has never been anything to doubt for years now, it’s with all that was brought to the table for the five tracks of “Where the Sun Glare Danced” that we are able to witness the act come upon material that is somehow even greater than what has come before it. Virtually nothing feels like it’s changed with the very sound of Sickle of Dust, but it all feels so refined and tuned in with what the band has always been going for with the atmospheres feeling deeper, the black metal more potent, the folk elements more powerful, and the very construction of “Where the Sun Glare Danced” instantly raises it above the competition even further as it’s right from the beginning that you can tell this is an experience of another caliber altogether with the ending of the record feels like it comes all too soon. This is what it means to be true masters of your craft without exception, and it’s even though I don’t think any of us would be surprised that Sickle of Dust has managed to put together another standout release, that doesn’t detract from the true magnitude of this record in the slightest bit.
This has to be one of those albums that is immediately qualified to be in contention for being the album of its kind for the year. Without question, the very name of Sickle of Dust is enough to earn a spot on that list, but it is every given factor of this mastery from the cover art to any individual rhythm that adorns these forty minutes that all come together in exemplary fashion to make what certainly deserves the title of Masterpiece. There has never been a question as to the very quality and power of Sickle of Dust, but it has got to be with everything that is “Where the Sun Glare Danced” that we’re able to witness what it means to watch the masters at work in their natural element.
LISTEN to “Where the Sun Glare Danced” on Bandcamp here.
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