Review Summary: Chill riffs to decompose to
In spite of its many devastatingly intense moments,
Absence feels organic, and, to an extent, calm. One With the Riverbed’s brand of blackened post metal is crushing to the desolate point where resisting seems entirely pointless: it ebbs and flows organically, and is fundamentally incapable of persistent mercy.
Yet,
Absence isn’t all sensory onslaught. The record is strung together by a pleasant ambience that lingers throughout, with more prevalent calm sections showing up when the atmosphere requires such enhancing. The massive ‘Sanctuary’ weaves a dreamy post rock section, demonic screams, and immense levels of restraint into an otherworldly climax. Underscored by a destructive clashing of instruments, this section is solely held together by one simple, highly memorable riff. Elsewhere, the fifteen-minute closer ‘Phantom Glance’ collapses in on itself for a significant portion of the song, with nothing but distant noises of a decayed wasteland cutting through the static, annihilated by all that came before. Thankfully, the album takes one final breath before apocalyptic violins denote an ending: one that feels all-encompassing, yet leaves a wide array of possibilities in the wake of its destruction.
Moreover, these final moments tie in perfectly with the record’s first seconds. ‘Thaw’ feels clearer, less damaged than the rest of
Absence, and like the fundamental track for the album to grow and branch out from. Its ominous drum patterns form a fragile backbone; its passionate yells contrast more harrowing growls in a beautifully dreary manner. The song feels dynamic and unpredictable without succumbing to haphazardness; its distressing nature keeping one paralyzed throughout. While the album suffers slightly from this opening cut being the best on the record, it really couldn’t have been placed elsewhere as every subsequent moment seems to find its rotten roots in this very track.
It’s a peaceful decay, though. Sit back, relax, disintegrate: you know the drill, and if you don’t, One With the Riverbed have no issue introducing it in all its beautifully bleak glory.
Absence is as chilly as it is unexpectedly and somewhat paradoxically
chill, and most importantly, its intensities and intricacies are bound to stick with you for a while.
