S sludge/doom band Pillar of Light are on the verge of putting out their ambitious debut full length which promises to be a standout album in the style. The alternating combination of deafeningly heavy music with deeply emotive melodies is terrific and then you have the tormented vocals from Aaron Whitfield which are simply outstanding. Everything Is Noise premiered one of their songs in their eloquently written feature AT THIS LINK. Excerpt –
“The prevailing riff and melody throughout the song is downtrodden, yet strong, capturing the band’s almost contradictory sonic embodiment of light and dark”
PRESS –
► “a wonderfully constructed, thoughtfully nuanced album that will more than reward listeners” – Hotel Hobbies (US)
https://www.hotelhobbies.com/post/album-review-pillar-of-lig…
► “downtrodden, yet strong, capturing the band’s almost contradictory sonic embodiment of light and dark” – Everything Is Noise (US)
https://everythingisnoise.net/premieres/pillar-of-light-make…
► “loaded with styles, twists and changes that make it a delight” – Necromance Magazine (Spain) 8.2/10
https://necromance.eu/pillar-of-light-usa-caldera/
► “A magnificently gloomy record” – The Killchain (UK)
https://thoseonceloyal.wordpress.com/2024/11/15/review-pilla…
► “rewards you with a sound that is both a punch in the gut and a spiritual experience” – Metal.de (Germany)
https://www.metal.de/reviews/pillar-of-light-caldera-555096/
► “a multi-faceted experience capable of producing awe-struck reactions” – No Clean Singing (US)
https://www.nocleansinging.com/2024/09/13/an-ncs-premiere-pi…
Pillar of Light‘s music is weighty and drenched in melancholy and amid all the pain and sorrow, they have found a way to project light and hope when all seems lost. It is the case with almost every single song on this profound album, where the songs toil and churn and build up for a divine epiphany of sorts to take place, culminating in a blinding, freeing, all-cleansing white-light catharsis. Without this ponderous struggle, the backbreaking sludge/doom drudgery, any of the uplifting parts would lose meaning. As in life, both darkness and light have their place and one wouldn’t be the same without the other. The raw emotions in the music and the underlying plaintive melodies are all too palpable, and the feeling is heightened in large part due to the burning intensity and desperation in the vocals. Pillar of Light have created an album that is poignant and more importantly relatable; it is soul-crushingly heavy, pinning down the mortal with the endless weight of struggle and torment and at the same time, invariably, ensuring that there’s enough humanity in it for one to see things through.
For fans of – Amenra, God’s Tower, Cult of Luna, Neurosis
Line up –
Aaron Whitfield – Vocals, Lyrics, Synths
Alex Kennedy – Guitars, Synths
Scott Christie – Guitars
James Obenour – Bass
Eric Scobie – Drums
Track listing –
1. Wolf To Man
2. Leaving
3. Spared
4. Eden
5. Infernal Gaze
6. Unseeing
7. Certain End
Release date – December 6th, 2024