“Gaze upon the gloam as it drips: festering, forgotten.“
A 2023 release that greatly impacted me was Balladeers, Redefined, a compilation from Secret Voice. Its intent was to collect unreleased tracks from the DIY screamo scene, curated by label head Jeremy Bolm of Touché Amoré – Now That’s What I Call Screamo!, if you will. From the very first spin, my summer was sent spiralling into an emotive black hole, introducing me to an entire scene in one swoop. My new favourite bands became Boneflower and Record Setter, not to mention Senza, Crowning, Joliette, and Gillian Carter leaving deep impressions. And whilst they weren’t on the compilation, Dreamwell would go on to capture the year for DIY screamo with their second album; this is a genre finding widespread appeal despite its humble roots. Infant Island had the honour of closing Balladeers, Redefined with “Aurora”, a grim reward after 30 other intense songs.
Six months on, Obsidian Wreath is the new Infant Island record and immediately their strongest work. The sound defined by 2020’s Beneath is back in force: short and unusually structured songs, performed destructively in epic proportions. Obsidian Wreath is a more immediate record, peeling back perhaps one layer of incidental noise to make the twisty-turny songs more gripping, but they still burgeon with agony and malice. It’s particularly the guitars, produced so they can do it all at once, dual wielding crunch with string-like ambience riding the highs. The record is about the deep grief felt for the modern world, sapped by its crises: corporate, climate, clinical, and conflict. Despite a layperson’s understanding of the genre, screamo music is the perfect place to discuss these themes, as its mood is of both hope and tragedy, and it is performed with utmost urgency for an uncaring void.
Obsidian Wreath truly has no weak moments and so many memorable ones. First and foremost, the vocal performance must be hailed: the sheer physicality of Daniel Kost’s delivery is eternally gripping, occasionally backed by Alexander Rudenshiold who is busy on guitars. Sometimes the screams fail and a word becomes momentarily human, such as on “Crawling, Still”, offering a glimpse to the agony behind the performance. You’ll also hear this on “Unrelenting”, a single that appears late in the track list, a prime example of the layered, dreamlike, and destructive instrumentals of Infant Island. It also showcases the black metal influence that abounds on Obsidian Wreath. The record is front-loaded with short tracks like the extremely good opener “Another Cycle” and its companion track “Fulfilled”, plus “Crawling, Still” a few songs later. These tracks are often led by the drums, beat switching to keep you on your toes, wincing in pleasure. “Veil” starts much like these short songs, but uses its longer runtime to develop powerful chord sequences that crumble into fuzz. The gang vocals on this track feature some spicy contributions, including Undeath, King Yosef, For Your Health, Senza, Malevich, Mikau and .gif from god. A whole minute of the record’s runtime is dedicated to “Veil”’s stunning aftermath.
The beloved “Infant Island industrial noise excursions” return on Obsidian Wreath, notably on “Found Hand”. It’s a strongly visual moment: discordant noise, primed by drummer Austin O’Rourke, matches singer Daniel Kost as he fights the stage monitor with his own microphone. The rest of the band looks on in horror as the most unhinged sounds are spewed from his throat. It’s an important aspect of Infant Island that sets them apart, choosing to bring stage antics into the studio. Surprising additions comes from O’Rourke are the record’s instrumentation is significantly expanded: piano, cello, accordion, mandolin, and orchestral arrangements. You’ll hear these together with the band in the engrossing layering, as well as all the song transitions.
Obsidian Wreath is extremely dynamic throughout. “Amaranthine” picks up from the throes of “Veil”, starting subtly with a clean introduction, leading to a thoroughly unclean second half. The closing moments feature soaring guitars under epic strings, a sound that can be heard across the record when the band really needs to break your heart. In such moments, the mid range chaos is carefully handled, resulting in a much compelling soundscape than the typical “guitar plus orchestra” sound. If you must only dip into the record, “Amaranthine” is a great summary thanks to this extreme range. The following “With Shadow” exists in an interesting space, where graceful clean guitars sets the initial tone, yet the vocals couldn’t be more tortured. It shouldn’t work, but it really does.
A truer moment of respite is “Kindling”, opening to dejected whisper vocals from Harper Boyhtari and Logan Gaval of Greet Death. It maintains that tragic ballad-like tone throughout, even as things get screamy. “Kindling” is the perfect start to epic closer “Vestygian”, Infant Island’s longest track since “Further” from the debut – though comparing the two will show you how much Infant Island’s compositional talents have grown since 2018. At two and a half minutes the mood changes from intense anger to urgent panic over one of those riffs that could only be on a closer. The last indulgence of the record is the song’s second, slow climax, rising up from a false ending. It’s a last hurrah for the drums which turn otherwise magnificent chords into a heartbreaking finale.
Obsidian Wreath makes for a fantastic start to 2024 for scream-gaze music. Amicable comparisons will be made better Infant Island and Deafheaven like never before, in part because the black metal influence has never been stronger, but mostly because the production absolutely clinches that narrow channel between the heavy and the atmospheric. The recording and mix job from Matthew Michel certainly deserves a mention, and it would be hard to imagine an Infant Island release that goes back to their more rudimentary sound once again. Another reference point is Knoll and other unhinged-grindcore acts, as the songwriting Infant Island have worked up towards is that much more powerful and complex. My only hope is that more listeners agree, and we can get bands like Infant Island to the UK and Europe to spread their end time ballads even further.
9/10
Obsidian Wreath releases through Secret Voice on the 12th January and can be pre-ordered here.