London-based progressive metal collective Dawnwalker have just shared a new music video for the track ‘Pagan Plains’, which is taken from the band’s third studio album Human Ruins recently reissued by Room 312.
Watch the video here:
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Originally released in 2018, the album has been partly re-recorded, expertly remixed by No Studio‘s Joe Clayton and remastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege. The album is now available on vinyl for the first time in a deluxe 2xLP gate fold edition with expanded artwork, and represents a fully realized version of the original. ‘Human Ruins’ charts a journey across an ancient landscape over the course of a calendar year. It’s a journey through the seasons, guided by flora, fauna and the phases of the moon. Set in a time of myth and magic, it blends lush soundscapes, joyful post-metal and searing black metal ballads into an epic journey across a forgotten world. Orders are still available at location.
To celebrate the release, Dawnwalker will head out on their first UK tour in a co-headliner with Edinburgh’s HEALTHYLIVING fresh from their recent live debut at Roadburn festival, and featuring members of Maud the Moth, Ashenspire and Falloch. With additional support from bands cherry-picked from the U.K.’s rich heavy music underground, each show promises to be a unique mix of heady and emotive post-metal. Check out the confirmed dates below:
07.12 – Le Pub, Newport 08.12 – Retro Bar, Manchester 09.12 – The Flying Duck, Glasgow 10.12 – The Black Heart, London
Pow! Sometimes an album will sit in your ‘to play’ pile – physical or virtual – and after a time you wonder if it’s perhaps too late, you’ve missed the moment. But time-panic is just another construct, and it’s never too late. The whole time-frame issue when it comes to music releases, books, anything, is just a question of commercialism. If an album’s not hit critical mass and peak streams on the week of release, it’s deemed a failure, sunk. PR campaigns are deemed failures and bands get ditched by labels, and it’s all symptomatic of our culture of instant gratification. So many of the most culturally significant bands didn’t find their stride until three or four albums in and likely wouldn’t have had the opportunity in the modern climate, which is all about the short term. Thankfully, outside of the mainstream, things are a little less pressured, and there’s an understanding, an acceptance, that things often have a slow diffusion, perhaps not least of all because there’s less scope for pre-release airplay and the like which lead to the release-week bang.
Songs of Abundance, Psalms of Grief came out in April, but then, in the scheme of things, it’s still very much a new release – and it’s a quite remarkable one, at that. It’s atmospheric and intense, combining elements of post-rock and post-metal with operatic vocals and it’s one of those albums that grips from the very start: opener ‘Until’ arrives in a flurry of energy and it’s bold and immense and so, so powerful. There are some big guitars and strong drumming and everything comes together with a density and power. But if the first impressions suggest another act in the vein of Chelsea Wolfe, the album as a whole showcases a quite different style.
As vocalist Amaya López-Carromero explains: “The magic of musical composition/songwriting for me lies in its capacity to create worlds outside of reality where both performers and listeners can explore and process things. A sort of microholiday from everyday life or an exciting meditative state, so I hope that we can share this experience with anyone who listens to the album.”
Songs of Abundance, Psalms of Grief very much conveys a sense of separation and detachment from the humdrum, and possesses an elemental quality that has the capacity to lift the listener elsewhere, in a world of its own. It’s also unexpectedly varied, and the chunky, rattling bass on ‘Dream Hive’ is only one factor – albeit a dominant one – in a layered, textured work. Galleries’ is a true epic: hypnotic, richly textured, it has simultaneously a soaring airiness and the earthy heft of Neurosis, and it’s a potent combination.
‘To the Fields’ reaches a blistering crescendo, during which Amaya’s vocals reach a new height of impact, sending shivers down the spine. Then, ‘To the Gallows’ rushes in on a wave of thunderous percussion before Amaya powers in with some high-impact vocals which border on the witchy. She’s an incredible vocalist, powerful and versatile, and her singing is imbued with a kind of pure spirituality.
‘Bloom’ is something of a contrast, manifesting as clean, wistful indie pop – at least to begin with, before it goes big and brooding, while ‘Ghost Limb’ is a glorious slow-burner which paves the way for ‘Obey’, which closes off the album in strong style, another emotionally-intense song with a gradual build and strong dynamics.
Songs of Abundance, Psalms of Grief is one of those albums that is an instant grab, but continues to yield more with each subsequent listen. And for its variety, there isn’t a song which sounds out of place, or weaker than its counterparts. It’s not solid, it’s stunning, from beginning to end.
Taken from their upcoming debut album, Songs of Abundance, Psalms of Grief, healthyliving now share a second track; the explosive near-mania of ‘Dream Hive’. A tripped out video was made with the help of Ana López Gómez. Vocalist Amaya comments on the track and the song;
“Dream Hive is one of the last songs we wrote for the album and one of the most colourful and energetic. We worked with our close friend Ana López Gómez who captured the energy of the song perfectly with a wild and wonderful video!
The song in itself is about toxic positivity inundating our lives and how it hinders personal growth and perpetuates power imbalances. It attempts to capture a false perception of euphoria.”
Aural Aggravation 