It has been six years for Thy Light since they released new material. Now, with the release of No Morrow Shall Dawn, the duo have created an album that is both sorrowful and mesmerizingly beautiful.
No Morrow Shall Dawn opens with a three minute piano instrumental, “Suici.De.spair”. The track has a post-rock feel, setting the stage for the rest of the album. Getting lost in the soundscape of the piano is easy; it is as beautiful as it is full of sorrow… something so simple as a piano could elicit such emotional response. “Wanderer of Solitude” kicks in with the guitars and drumming. Here, the full scope of depression becomes realization; the listener is sucked from all their life and all these feelings of remorse and sorrow come rushing in, like waves crashing on the shore, each bigger than the last. The gloomy atmosphere wafts in and out of consciousness; a sound that gives the illusion of something mangled and broken, yet retains wholeness through the playing ability of Paolo Bruno.
The title track, “No Morrow Shall Dawn”, starts off with another piano interlude before sending the listener off into a wave of guitars and harsh vocals. In this void exists the realization of what depressive suicide black metal actually is; all the introverted feelings come rushing forward — Alex Witchfinder’s lyrics discuss themes of suicide and regret. The guitars chug along, accompanied by ritualistic drum patterns that give off an isolating feeling. The heaviness starts to seep through; true-to-form black metal wickedness. Towards the end of the track, uplifting tremolos wash over. There is a brighter palette being made; without some sort of pain there can never exist something truly beautiful. It is here that rays of hope shine through, sending the listener off in a warm haze that resonates deeply into the very core of the self.
“The Bridge”, the last song on the album, is airy yet heavy ten minute dirge, complete with crushing drumming and neatly tucked in the background keyboards. At the end of all things exists such a woefully depressing track, filled to the brim with the same kind of themes that make up this genre. It is easy to get lost in this sound; ambient qualities come to a head mixed in with throat-ripping vocals. The riff on this track is absolutely stunning, something completely haunting and chilling that grabs attention right away. There exists a symbiosis between black metal and these post-rock tones — a cathartic wall of sound ushers in the end to an album that is both dreary and uplifting. Thy Light's range is vast; they are able to write songs that are not only depressive in lyrical content and soundscape, but tracks that give a bigger emotional response rife with shoegazey qualities and the grittiness of what is commonly found in black metal.
No Morrow Shall Dawn is a bleak, atmosphere driven release. Layered guitars meet textured keyboards and drums, giving a full-bodied sound. In forty one minutes, Thy Light changes speeds multiple times, crafting something whole and unique rather than something that exists purely on one side of the spectrum. All of these elements exist together in perfect harmony, and the end result is an album that seamlessly blends black metal with ambient, post-rock fluidity. It is more melodic than their previous release, Suici.De.Pression, but No Morrow Shall Dawn is still a release that contains some of the best depressive black metal.
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