When you spend enough time in the underground, you begin to realize that even though there are countries that are more active and reliable than others across the world when it comes to delivering quality metal like America, England, Germany, or anywhere in Scandinavia, just to name a handful, there is no limit or country’s borders that metal’s glory doesn’t spread to in some capacity. It was a few years ago that my eyes were opened to the Irish scene, and it has been ever since that the small country has been immensely promising from all angles. While it tends to be the doom metal side of Ireland’s underground that I find the most compelling, any one of us would do it a great disservice to insinuate that the excellence ends their. For their second album since their first seven years ago, Partholón has poised itself to become the beacon of post-metal Ireland didn’t know it needed.
I have no doubt in my mind that there are other post-metal acts throughout the Irish underground that I have yet to experience for one reason or another, I have little doubt with just listening to “The Ocean Pours In” that Partholón has got to be at the peak of the sound. It is with every given facet of their performance throughout these five tracks that Partholón puts forth a compelling display that holds nothing back in terms of intensity, power, or melody to make for a balanced but no less than eviscerating experience that is an absolute beast to lose yourself in. The very ebbing and flowing of “The Ocean Pours In” quickly morphs itself into an embodiment of enchanting rhythms that thrash you all the while seducing you deeper into its waters where you’re confronted with power undeniable as they crush you with their very presence while it’s with their sheer magnitude that you’re all but rooted in place, unable to escape even if you wanted to. Whereas the pandemic certainly pushed Partholón back in many ways including the very release for “The Ocean Pours In”, the sheer evolution that has occurred with this band is simply irrefutable. Their overwhelming dominance shows in every given facet of their truly thunderous performance such that their claim to the throne of Irish post-metal should be virtually uncontested for the only other act that could come even close would be Soothsayer who holds dominion a realm of their own. Even then, for all that “The Ocean Pours In” brings to the table, Partholón has brought an absolute behemoth into the fray that cannot be underestimated.
This is what it means to really come into your own within the depths of the underground. The Irish scene has been cultivating some truly interesting names over the years, and Partholón absolutely deserves to be named in the same breath as some of the island’s most captivating acts without exception. There is much to lose yourself in amongst the catharsis and intensity that “The Ocean Pours In” constantly brings to life, and it’s each example of such that demands to be given immense respect lest its waves take you out to the roiling sea, never to return.
LISTEN to Partholón on Bandcamp here.
LIKE Partholón on Facebook here.