Lustre (SWE)
A Glimpse of Glory


4.0
excellent

Review

by bnelso55 USER (30 Reviews)
June 20th, 2011 | 18 replies


Release Date: 2010 | Tracklist

Review Summary: Mood music for the bLaKn'D soul!

One-man projects can have many ups and downs. A possible downside to a solo effort can be the lack of variety within the music itself. It can be beneficial to have other musicians around to act as a reference for the quality of the music. A lone artist may not have that little voice inside their head saying, “Hey man, that riff sucks.”

The positive side to flying solo is the outcome can be a focused and intensely personal album. It can result in an artist visualizing and producing a concept exactly the way it was intended to sound. A few great examples of such an outcome include Ainulindale’s The Lay of Leithian or A Collapse Of Faith by October Falls. Both of these albums exemplify the precise realization of a single artist’s inspiration, woven together by consistent, powerful themes. A Glimpse Of Glory is another fine example.

The album is all about atmosphere. The listener is immersed in it from the onset of the first track. 'This Mighty Sight' epic motif rides on a flurry of wind and snow. Layers of synth lift the listener to the peak of a snow-capped mountain. From here, the listener surveys a vast land and soundscape painted in dark purples and violent, fiery hues of orange and red. A solemn cymbal cuts through the thick wall of thundering guitar and towering keyboards, stinging like the icy wind behind it. Nachtzeit’s rasps first appear around the 5-minute mark, barely resembling vocals at all. His voice sounds more like a harsh interpretation of the wind. It’s shrill, but it’s buried and lyrics, if there are any, cannot be discerned.

The song takes a quieter turn around the 10 minute mark. The keyboards take on a marimba-like quality and presents a new, raindrop sort of melody. It’s soon backed by a swell of synths and a roar of distant guitar. The second half of the song does not quite reach the intense heights of the beginning, but instead allows the listener to descend closer to the frozen, yet colorful valleys previously witnessed at altitude.

Something worth noting is the amount of musical repetition may deter some listeners from enjoying this album. Lustre tend to explore a single, central melody of 3 to 4 chords or notes for 10 minutes or more. The variations mostly occur behind the melody. Guitars fade in and out along with the percussion and other supporting synths. This trait is characteristic of ambient music and ambient black metal, however, and shouldn't disturb fans of the genre.

Album highlight 'Lunar Light' boasts the most variation, starting quietly and breaking into a beautiful climax at around 3 minutes in. A cymbal smashes out a sort of blast beat rhythm while the sorrowful synths soar overhead. The glorious melody is later accented by "marimba” sounds and wolf howls before drifting away on the crackle of a fire.

Long, droning hums of gloomy keyboards supplemented by chirping bird make 'Amongst The Trees' the most lulling and relaxed moment on the album. Its warmer atmosphere overstays its welcome somewhat, but the track serves as a suitable repose, considering all the heavy material that preceded it.

Fans of traditional black metal may find Lustre’s music to be too mellow. The tapestrylike quality of the keyboards and guitar tend to be more uplifting than not. But for fans of epic fuzziness, black metal elements and nature, A Glimpse Of Glory may prove to be a perfect cool down album.



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user ratings (32)
3.8
excellent

Comments:Add a Comment 
bnelso55
June 20th 2011


1450 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Noticed the track listing was not.. listed. It should be there now.

ev0ken
June 20th 2011


586 Comments

Album Rating: 4.5

finally this got a review. i liked this very much. Good work.

bnelso55
June 20th 2011


1450 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Thanks! Definitely. I don't know if it's for everybody, but I think this album owns.

DarkNoctus
June 20th 2011


12357 Comments


i wondered when I'd see a Lustre review. I listened to their EP Serenity, it was great, I guess I should check this out. :]

Digging: Ataraxie - Le D??clin

MarkedFortune
June 21st 2011


100 Comments


Where can i find a hard copy????

Gnocchi
Staff Reviewer
June 21st 2011


18262 Comments


Noticed that i have been getting into the one-man projects the last couple of weeks, i'll give this a go! A pos on the review comes your way.

TheSpirit
Emeritus
June 21st 2011


30304 Comments


Good stuff, this band is pretty good.

bnelso55
June 21st 2011


1450 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

MarkedFortune--

Check out discogs.com. here is the link:

http://www.discogs.com/Lustre-A-GLimpse-Of-Glory/release/2612662



it's about $14-15. Totally worth it!

seedofnothing
December 22nd 2011


3422 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

m/







NationalMidnightStar
December 8th 2012


176 Comments


found lustre on accident but this rules so hard

Keyblade
September 14th 2013


30678 Comments


New album out this week

DarkNoctus
September 14th 2013


12357 Comments


it's awful

Keyblade
September 14th 2013


30678 Comments


Damn lol

PiedradeLuna
June 6th 2014


233 Comments


Good review. I liked how you described his voice as a harsh interpretation of the wind. That's spot on

Spado
December 29th 2015


489 Comments


What the hell is this band lol, literally Enya-tier with black metal vocals tacked on.

Relinquished
January 31st 2020


48973 Comments


A Glimpse of Bumped

dedex
Staff Reviewer
January 31st 2020


12829 Comments

Album Rating: 3.2 | Sound Off

Nice m/

Lunar Light was the track that made me realize I like bm. Good ol' days.

TheSpirit
Emeritus
January 31st 2020


30304 Comments


m/ m/ m/



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