Heavener

Oh boy, I don’t even know where to start with this absolute masterpiece. They took all the best parts of the last 3 albums and The Sun Sleeps EP and dialed it up to 11. The production is crisp and clean everywhere, all the layers give you something new to find with every listen. The ambience is so tastefully well-done. Everything sits balanced in the mix. Special shout out to Marcus who seriously leveled up on vocals. His cleans are angelic, absolutely insane. His versatility and range are unparalleled and he carries such emotion in his voice. Pair that with the incredible lyrical content and you get perfect storytelling. I think this album features more clean vocals than the 3 previous albums, yet it feels like their heaviest work yet. The guitar riffs and breakdowns, good grief! The technicality of the guitar riffs, the drumming, Marcus’ vocal runs and transitions between screams and singing, all of it comes together for a complex, beautiful story. I also noticed they played around with song structure and rhythm/pacing changes, which made songs super interesting. It's very complex and dense in a good way, sort of like an August Burns Red or a progressive metalcore album. It will take time to absorb everything here. This isn’t just an album, it’s an experience. Without a doubt the band's best work, and it's not even close. At this point, it's fair to push all other album releases to 2024 because no one is touching Heavener for AOTY. Every new year brings great albums from talented groups, but only once in a long while have I stopped and realized "this album is truly something special." I honestly think this will be one of the defining albums of metalcore for many years to come. I've seen people comparing it to the influence and impact that All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us; gotta say I think I agree with them. This isn't just one of the best metalcore albums this year, this is one of the best metalcore albums ever written, period. Favorite tracks: Elysium, False Meridian, Absence Persistent, Shade Astray, Without A Whisper (but really, all of them are my favorites). Absence Peristent is a phenomenal opener, that riff about a minute in is one of the catchiest parts of the whole album. Vocals get brutally low at the bridge. Perfectly sets the tone for what we can expect throughout the album. Shade Astray sounds much better with the updated mix on the final album. Perfect showcase of the band's capabilities, especially Marcus' improved vocals. Probably the most technically complex song on the album, especially with those verse guitar riffs and the chorus vocal melodies. Libertinine goes HARD, enough said. The start of one of the best three-song runs in recent memory. Apparently the final breakdown has a throwback/reference to an old Invent Animate song; I’ll let you figure out which one it is. The chorus of Without A Whisper is ethereal goodness, sent me straight to space in tears. I can't believe this man can sing like that. Beautiful, haunting lyrics. Probably the most accessible song on the album and a perfect choice for a single. False Meridian messed me up for 5 straight minutes; writing stuff this heavy should be illegal. No survivors if they play this live. I can totally see why the band said this is one of their favorite tracks. Reverie is a much-needed break between the (arguably) two heaviest tracks. Showcases a different side of the band without overstaying its welcome. Immolation Of Night is wild; again, no survivors in the pit lol. Lyrically one of my favorites and the music video paired really well. Possibly the heaviest song on the album/they've ever done. Purity Weeps has another monstrous, soaring chorus. The lyrics, especially the outro line "nothing keeps me alive as much as you," gave me chills. The intro to Void Surfacing is one of the filthiest things I've ever heard. This builds into yet another banger before ending with a simple, yet groovy breakdown/riff that you can’t help but headbang to. Emberglow sounds upbeat, yet so heavy. My mind doesn't really know what to do with it but it's such a fun vibe and so riffy. The riff in the second verse is absolutely nuts; my hands want to fall off even thinking about playing that live! It is perfectly set as the penultimate track. I've probably listened to Elysium a thousand times by now given that it was a single, but hearing it in the context of the whole album gave me chills again, just like the first time I heard it. Absolute monster of a chorus and hands down the best closing track I've heard in years. I still can't believe that outro breakdown, one of my favorite moments in all of metal music and literally made my jaw drop the first time I heard it. Lyrically and musically the perfect send-off to an incredible album. If I had to pick one favorite song from the album, it’s still Elysium.

Albums like this don’t come around often.

10/10

Zero skip tracks!

1 star has no idea what they’re talking about, this is the FARTHEST thing from boring. I’ll admit it took me a little bit to get used to Marcus replacing Ben since I absolutely loved the stuff with him (and of course Greyview turned out great), but then The Sun Sleeps came out and I was floored by both songs in the same way as the first time I heard Everchanger, and I couldn’t have been more excited for this album. Ever since Waves, they’ve been putting out some of the BEST music in the scene and will continue to do so for as long as they’re around because they’re incredibly talented. Well done once again, guys. Bring the comma back🙃

After listening to this album all the way through, I honestly am more than a little disappointed. I can’t see why so many people are so excited for this. The production is just too clean, there are so many layers but nothing seems to get lost at all. I could probably listen to this album thirty times and hear something completely different each time. I don’t want that clarity, I just want something incredibly simple that I don’t have to think about. They need to take a page from old school Norwegian black metal and make the production as muddled as possible, you know so it sounds like it was mixed in a garbage disposal. The guitar work is overpowering as it’s too complex and those insane riffs and breakdowns aplenty just remind me that I’ll never be able to play any of these songs which saddens me. The drum work is so clear, almost too clear, I want the China to be muddled in with the rest of the instrumentation and lost. The bass isn’t drowned out by everything else, you can actually hear it prominently in the mix. We need to knock that bassist down a few pegs, he needs to know his place. Meanwhile the vocals are so emotional, from the beautiful brutality of the screamed to the angelic cleans, it’s like he poured his heart and soul into them; dude must be emo or something, yawn. The lyrics are FAR too deep and meaningful for me, I much prefer the empty, cookie cutter songwriting of many (though unfortunately not all) contemporary country artists. Don’t get me started on the album artwork. Sure it’s “beautiful” and would make an amazing painting but it’s just too much. I just want a simple album cover with not much going on, maybe just a bunch of shirtless dudes acting hardcore; that’s the perfect album artwork right there. Songs I especially hated were Elysium, purity weeps, labyrinthine, and false meridian. So what if I got chills listening to them (and every other song on this record), they didn’t make me want to puke like a maroon five song would. That’s how you can tell real musical quality. Sure the terms “masterpiece” and “their best work yet”could be used to describe this album, but for those, like myself, who just want stale, generic, empty cookie cutter songs, this album is sure to be a pure disappointment through and through.

All the songs sound the same honestly. Has that newer north lane sounding boring style. This is nothing compared to ever changer or still world

This album is in the same the vein of ERRAs self titled record from 2021. The magnum opus of the band. This is the best record for IA yet. And I can’t wait to see what they do next. 11/10.

Brutal breakdowns. Ridiculous riffs. Amazing locals. Deep lyrics that have real emotion. Well done. 👏🏼 👏🏼👏🏼 10/10

This band just keeps getting better and better. Head and shoulders above the rest as AOTY at this point.