“Veil Lifter” is the latest full-length album by Post Death Soundtrack, an exceptional Canadian duo. It’s their fourth piece of work, serving as an adequate follow-up of “Music As Weaponry,” “The Unlearning Curve,” and “It Will Come Out Of Nowhere,” three excellent albums you should check out as soon as possible. Still, their latest release arrives with many innovations in writing, composing, arranging, and producing, acting as their best work so far. For those stumbling upon this outstanding band for the first time, Post Death Soundtrack combines many different but complementary music genres to depict such rich and luxurious sonic imagery. Perhaps grunge comes to mind first, but you’ll undoubtedly stumble upon some of the finest properties borrowed from sludge, stoner, post-rock, hard rock, metal, etc. They use all these additional elements as more than necessary enhancements, accentuations, decorations, nuances, and other details to uplift this comprehensive collection of songs on an entirely new level while simultaneously remaining loyal to the primary sonic direction. Therefore, these experimentations with many different but complementary styles resulted in a magnificent album worth repeating over and over again.
The album commences with “At The Edge Of It All,” a short overture that gradually introduces the listeners to the material with its multilayered vocal maneuvers. Right after the intro, the Post Death Soundtrack strikes hard with its relentless, heavy, powerful sound built upon impressive vocal, sonic, and rhythmic performance. The guitar interplay provides immense support for the vocals to shine upon. You’ll notice how downtuned, expertly assembled, generously distorted riffs strike from one side, while the other shines with catchy themes and leads. In the meantime, the rhythm section propels the mentioned orchestrations to new heights by delivering equally intricate low-ends and tastefully assembled rhythmic patterns. “The Die Is Cast” is such an exceptional song that showcases what Post Death Soundtrack are all about. However, the band goes even deeper into the experimentations and progression with “Killer Of The Doubt,” one of the standouts of this marvelous material. You’ll immediately hear how cleverly constructed, flawlessly executed vocal harmonies command attention and guide your listening apparatus on this epic sonic journey, while the intricate melodies, harmonies, and themes collide with a colossal slab of robust riffs. Like other instrumentations, the drums also shine here, with perfectly performed, well-accentuated, complex beats, breaks, fills, and other percussive acrobatics.
“Icy Underground” showcases their admiration towards sludge, doom, and psych sound with halt-time rhythmic sequences, otherwordly guitar works, and impressive vocal range that instantly grabs attention and refuses to let go long after the song ends. “Arjuna’s Hunting Head” leans more towards the late eighties and early nineties grunge and hard rock sound, with all those fuzzy riffs and soulful vocals perfectly pairing the tremendous power of the rhythm section. Still, these folks spice things up with many moments where their progressive side shines with such precision and finesse, adding a touch of more than necessary complexity to the song. Post Death Soundtrack delivers another dosage of sludgy grunge wall of sound with “Lowdown Animal,” another composition where the vocals sound absolutely stunning. The impressive balance between low, mid, and high notes emphasizes all the segments and instrumentations while the orchestrations offer tremendous support through epic riffs, vividly hearable, distorted basslines, and moderate rhythmic patterns. “Tide Turns Red” is another standout composition where a profoundly progressive theme propels the song to an entirely new level. You’ll also notice how the band implemented subtle ambient soundscapes for an extra dosage of complexity, but also as a contrast to all the energetic instrumentations. These experienced musicians broke all the rules and shapeshifted all the boundaries of several genres, so don’t be surprised if you stumble upon grunge, sludge, prog-rock, post-rock, and even some punk rock.
“Burrowing Down The Spine” serves as a perfect extension to the “Tide Turns Red,” but with a much calmer, grungier approach. The rhythm guitars shine with more catchy, hypnotic, memorable riffs, while the lead resonates with progressive themes, melodies, harmonies, and other sonic maneuvers. In the meantime, the bass guitar roars beneath all these layers, offering more than necessary heaviness, clarity, and depth, while binding all those orchestrations with drums. Like the remainder of the instrumentations, the drums contribute to this intricate atmosphere with another amalgam of beats, breaks, and fills, wisely assembled to satisfy even the pickiest listeners. “Pin Prick” is another standout of the album, with incredible screams and shouts, memorable riffs, rumbling low-ends, and in-your-face rhythmic sequences. The song continuously levitates beneath sludge, post-hardcore, and noise rock sound, showcasing the versatility of this band.
“Immovable” leans more avant-garde waters with its experimental, cinematic, ambient soundscapes achieved by stacking layers of distorted vocals, arpeggiated chord progressions, and some guitar effects like rotary, vibrato, or flanger. It’s a dark, slow, colossal song with a strong goth and doom rock presence. It is another track that demonstrates the versatility of these creative musicians. Post Death Soundtrack ends this epic sonic journey with “Hammer Come Down,” another sludge metal number, with vividly hearable grunge elements involved. The chorus sounds divine, with all those semi-distorted vocal acrobatics complementing tight riffs and excellent drumming. It’s nearly mindblowing how many segments these folks invest into their song. Each one of them arrives with a comprehensive collection of brilliant ideas and impressive instrumentations, proving that Post Death Soundtrack thoroughly planned everything while writing, composing, arranging, recording, and producing their latest album. They poured heart and soul into this material, resulting in a grunge/sludge masterpiece worth listening to repeatedly. The album is available on all streaming platforms. Don’t miss it!
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