As the more established metal bands start to shuffle off towards the great gig in the sky, it’s time for a new breed to step into the fray and realign the scene towards a modern aesthetic and that’s exactly where ALT BLK ERA come in. Since forming they’ve won the hearts and minds of the metal community (and beyond) with sets at Glastonbury and support slots with Lord Of The Lost, enchanting eyes and ears with their energetic performances and vivacious sound. It’s not an easy thing to carry over onto vinyl, but Rave Immortal does a grand job and is going to hit the top of playlists for many years to come.
Rave Immortal shows maturity beyond its years by making a kind of low key entrance with a haunting electronic motif and ghostly, waif-like vocals. However, ‘Straight To Heart’ soon inhabits ground that’ll characterise this album; heavy beats and emotive vocals which ensures that these songs will attack your head and heart simultaneously. There’s an earwormy nature to each of these ten tracks which will burrow themselves deep in your cranium…and they won’t be leaving anytime soon. It seems as if a great deal of effort has been expended on selecting just the right tone and timbre, meaning that these songs resonate with the listener on some deep, primordial level and cuts such as ‘Come Outside’ give the heartstrings a good, hard tug. That Rave Immortal makes such a deep connection with the listener is really no surprise as this is a deeply personal album on which vocalists Nyrobi and Chaya have bravely opened up their world and have produced a set of songs revolving around themes of abandonment and alienation, feelings to which most alternative folk can relate. If there’s overarching themes to this album then they are of confinement and claustrophobia; it’s symptomatic of the close relationship between Chaya and Nyrobi and the album’s magic lies in inviting us into their realm to experience some of that closeness.
If you’ve had the pleasure of catching ALT BLK ERA live (if not, you need to rectify this as soon as possible) then you’ll find one sister attired in black and the other in white. This is not only a reflection of their personalities, but a perfect summation of their sound; the loud held to quiet, the heavy juxtaposed with the soft. Like the yin and yang they slot together perfectly and that makes Rave Immortal the perfect album.
- Rave Immortal is released via Earache Records on 24th January 2025.
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Track List:
1. Straight To Heart
2. Come On Outside
3. Crashing Parties
4. My Drummer’s Girlfriend
5. Hunt You Down
6. Upstairs Neighbours
7. Come Fight Me For It
8. Run Rabbit
9. Catch Me If You Can
10. Rave Immortal
