Year Of No Light – "Consolamentum"

Year Of No Light have finished their new album! "Consolamentum" will be hitting your records store soon. I already had the chance to listen to it, and I concluded: It is an extraordinary record. You should definitely consider adding it to your collection.

The album starts with the dark opener "Objuration". It lets me descend deep into a dark cave. Only a tiny hint of light falls down to me through a crack. The piece has some surprising twists in store for us. All in all, it convinces with a fabulous mix of harshness, playfulness and precision. With its 12:47 minutes, "Objuration" is a substantial opener. I immediately want to hear more.

The second song on the record is called "Alétheia". After a delicate intro, it spirals up and up, just like "Objuration", pulling me further and further into the dark fantasy world of Year Of No Light. The piece forms the perfect bridge to the next big highlight on the album. The tension increases immeasurably. Guitar after guitar piles up to create a hard-hitting work of art.

Year Of No Light show what gloom is all about

"Interdit aux Vivants, aux Morts et aux Chiens" ("Forbidden to the Living, the Dead and the Dogs") – what is meant by this name can only be vaguely guessed. The piece starts off pensive and heavy and develops into an 11:11-minute whirl of the tides.

You need to watch the Oscar-worthy video for Réalgar. But even without pictures, the piece is so monumental that you won't forget it for a long time.

"Came" is the last of the five pieces and a worthy conclusion to such a brilliant album. The piece seems electric – statically charged in some way. The dragging rhythm has something hypnotic – drone sound at its best, floating heavily above everything. Now at the latest, the blood is boiling.

The complete Year Of No Light discography in a wooden box

This year the post-rock pioneers celebrate their 20th anniversary. To celebrate, Pelagic Records are not only releasing their new album "Consolamentum". There will also be a wooden box set including the band's complete discography with five studio albums, various split EPs and the collaboration with Belgian composer Dirk Serries from the "Live At Roadburn" Recordings series. In total, the set includes 12 vinyl records.

Year Of No Light have always been fascinated by the fall of humanity and redemption through the darkness. You can hear that wonderfully on the new album again. The title also has a deeper meaning: "Consolamentum" stands for the sacrament, the initiation ritual of the Cathartic Church, which had its heyday in Europe from the 12th to the 14th century. During the ceremony, eternal abstinence and immersion in the Holy Spirit were sworn.

What sounds mystical fits perfectly with the 21st-century opera composed by Year Of No Light. The band themselves describe it like this:

The band tells a story

"There is a thread that runs through all our albums. An exploration of the sensitive world that obeys a certain telos, first fantasised ("North") and reverberated ("Outworld"), then declaimed as a warning ("Tocsin"). The deeper we dig, the more the motifs to be revealed come to light. Yes, it's a bit gnostic. This album is conjured after the Tocsin; it's the epiphany of the Fall."

Year Of No Light have always placed great emphasis on the audio-visual part. You can see this in their legendary live shows and in their videos, of which there will certainly also be some for the songs on this record.

Behind their love for moving pictures lies the band members' personal interest in historical cinema. Among other things, this led to the production of an impressive soundtrack for C. T. Dreyer's 1932 film "Vampire" in 2013. The french band recorded another soundtrack for Jeans Rouch's film "Les Maîtres Fous", which they performed live at the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris.

"Consolamentum" stands for musical devotion

With "Consolamentum", Year Of No Light go one step further than with their previous albums. Whether the current world situation influenced the partly very gloomy, even oppressive parts may be a vague assumption. With the record's theme, the six musicians have definitely chosen one that seems like it was made for them. Year Of No Light say about it.

"For us, it's a question of musical dedication. We make music against modern times. We want intensity, trance, climaxe and threats - all embedded in a bipolar and melancholic ethos."

That's precisely what "Consolamentum" sounds like to me. I'll put the record in one of the front slots of my record shelf, so I can listen to it whenever I need to. Check it out! It's definitely worth it!

Year Of No Light will release their new album "Consolamentum" on June, 2nd 2021.

Year Of No Light - Réalgar (Roadburn Redux)

Year Of No Light have always placed great emphasis on the audio-visual part. You can see this in their legendary live shows and in their videos, of which there will certainly also be some for the songs on this record.

Behind their love for moving pictures lies the band members' personal interest in historical cinema. Among other things, this led to the production of an impressive soundtrack for C. T. Dreyer's 1932 film "Vampire" in 2013. The french band recorded another soundtrack for Jeans Rouch's film "Les Maîtres Fous", which they performed live at the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris.

"Consolamentum" stands for musical devotion

With "Consolamentum", Year Of No Light go one step further than with their previous albums. Whether the current world situation influenced the partly very gloomy, even oppressive parts may be a vague assumption. With the record's theme, the six musicians have definitely chosen one that seems like it was made for them. Year Of No Light say about it.

"For us, it's a question of musical dedication. We make music against modern times. We want intensity, trance, climaxe and threats - all embedded in a bipolar and melancholic ethos."

That's precisely what "Consolamentum" sounds like to me. I'll put the record in one of the front slots of my record shelf, so I can listen to it whenever I need to. Check it out! It's definitely worth it!

Year Of No Light will release their new album "Consolamentum" on June, 2nd 2021.

Year Of No Light - Réalgar (Roadburn Redux)

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Video: Roadburn Redux