(Black Metal) Sear Bliss - Eternal Recurrence - 2012, FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Quite a change - 85%
You really shouldn’t expect a normal Sear Bliss record, featuring the well known, qualitative mid-tempo black metal riffs accompanied by thick walls of keyboard respectively orchestral sound as you would be quite disappointed. This disappointment would be quite arbitrary, as the 37:37 (!) minutes of playing time are full of entertainment and never become really monotonous but wouldn’t please all tastes either. The record is quite complicated, experimental and difficult to access, but it’s worthy to listen to.
The opener The Eternal Quest is defined through clear, but still striking guitars, progressive drum beats and of course the blowers and therefore quite complex, catchy and well rounded. The only elements, that make clear you are listening to Sear Bliss are the vocals of Nagy and of course those blowers. The band shows, that they are walking on new paths, using new elements to define their style. The new elements reach from compact, rhythmic structures to really complex, slightly upsetting passages which are defined through the blowers with a huge jazz influence. The clear vocals might be the highlight of the track, as they are unexpected and well done.
Every song has it’s own flair which is accompanied by samples or keyboard sounds. The Ballad Of The Shipwrecked creates a really unsettling/oppressive atmosphere, while Great Cosmic Disorder tries to create an outer space atmosphere, one could know from bands like Alrakis. The arrangements are quite unexpected and tricky and really voluminous but still appealing enough to keep listening to the record. If you continue you will be rewarded with quite avantgardesque black metal. The record is quite interesting due to the stylistic change the band made, as they managed to combine some of their original flair and new elements and influences. Especially the blowers, which are merely used as an effect, and the clear vocals, which seem to be quite epic/choral, encourage you to keep listening to the record. There isn’t any clear song structure, as quite calm passages are following blast beats and fast riffs and vice versa. Although the songs are qiute complex, which emphasize those fast changes in tempo as much as the strange melodies, there is a huge atmosphere created. Because of the strange song structures they tend to become a bit petty as the melodies can be a bit blank so that only the blowers and/or the clear vocals can manage to grab some attention.
Conclusion:
Eternal Recurrence surely isn’t what the fans expected it to be, but it’s still a Sear Bliss record. Although they changed their style quite a bit, they managed to keep some key moments, so that you have culm to hold on to while exploring those new climes. The record is really worth listening to, as it’s full of variations and incredibly strange. The arrangements are voluminous and need some time to spark, but when they do, they are gigantic. The slight jazz influence perfects the record, so that you really should risk an ear or two.
Written for http://threnodies.com
- nilgoun, July 3rd, 2012

Csaba Csejtey Guitars
János Barbarics Guitars
András Nagy Vocals, Bass, Keyboards
Olivér Ziskó Drums
Balázs Bruszel Trumpets, Keyboards