Around the time that I started compiling album of the year lists and realizing that some music is much worse than other music, I discovered the power of the upcoming releases section on the Metal Archives. The Metal Archives, or Encyclopaedia Metallum, has since become one of my favorite tools in discovering music, especially in many obscure black metal bands from far away places.
I discovered Arson's release not through MA, but rather through Loudwire's release chart, which I occasionally visit. I abhor Loudwire and cringe nearly every time I visit the site, but their release list is undeniably useful. This blend of black metal and post-metal that Harakiri for the Sky produces is certainly popular in recent times, although this band relies much less on shoegaze and more on true post-metal influences than their counterparts. I have listened to Harakiri for the Sky on a few occasions before I discovered this album and really have always loved what I have heard. I obsessed over Aokigahara back in 2016, before III:Trauma was released, and I played that album on repeat for about two weeks nonstop. I never listened to III:Trauma when it was released, and haven't listened to Harakiri for the Sky since. I guess when you have access to so many bands through the Internet, you lose some along the way.
I obviously hadn't lost them forever, with good results. Arson instilled an excitement in me that I haven't experience when listening to an album in a long time (about 2 months, truthfully). Diving into the first track, "Fire, Walk with Me", this band shows clear development from Aokigahara, with a much more modern production sound and excellent mixing. Nothing feels off with the production, no one instrument stands out over another, and all of the instruments move as one sound. That should be expected, as all of the instruments are played by one person, known as M.S. The formula that is found throughout the album is emotional, crisp overdriven rhythm guitars accompanied by more clean lead melodies. This is found on nearly every song on the album, which is not necessarily a negative factor. This formula, along with the general atmosphere of the album, remind me a lot of Agalloch, a band I have yet to mention on this site but will certainly arise from time to time as a result of their massive influence on music of this type. Arson, much like Agalloch or Woods of Ypres, relies heavily on the emotional side of their music, in guitar tone, vocals, and overall tempo, but this unfortunately works against Harakiri for the Sky.
This album is monotonous. It drew me in so well, but I can't help but be disappointed with 75 minutes of the same sound. I think that the album has enough variance to keep you interested, but I can't say that I was nearly as blown away on "Stillborn" as I was on "The Graves We've Dug". The closing track, "Manifesto", does change the sound up with a clean intro and clean female vocals, and brings me back to the inventiveness of the start of the album. So, this album does have some filler tracks. There are many differences between songs, but the strongest track on the album is "Tomb Omnia", which could stand up to any of their past work.
The intro to "Stillborn" reminds a great deal of "Keeper of the Ledger" off of Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light. If you have not figured it out yet, Woods of Ypres is one of the most influential bands in terms of my musical growth, so this definitely hits me the wrong way. I don't think this was intentional, nor do I think that Harakiri for the Sky ripped off Woods, but the similarity is worth noting.
As stated before, the production on this album is great, but I think it is a little too well done, a little too clean. A more rough production suits this genre of music, and I'm not trying to be "kvlt" by saying that. A more rough production allows for this emotion to come through in a more extreme manner and not sound rounded off, but more like a raw expression. If this album had the production of Aokigahara, I would like it much better (apart from the fact that the songwriting is not nearly as strong). The vocals are produced well, as in they are not too clear to not have the sort of melancholy effect that is desired, but do stand out. They definitely drift more towards black metal-style vocals rather than the hardcore sounding screams of the Aokigahara days, but this is neither a plus or a minus for this album. The album has qualities in its production that also remind me of the past two Insomnium albums, and establish a similar atmosphere. I think that this is a good album by a great band, and if I had not heard any of their past material, I would be much more in love with this album. I feel bad for relying so heavily on comparisons to their previous work, but even if I had not heard of this band prior to this release, I would be comparing it to the work of others anyways.
This album would certainly hold on its own, with no comparisons, to be clear. I'm going to give it a solid 7.1/10. I think that upon further evaluation, this may change, but after listening to it twice, that's where I stand.
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