Review / 200 Words Or Less
Drain the Sky
Haunted by Rivers

Level Plane (2008) Tohm

Drain the Sky – Haunted by Rivers cover artwork
Drain the Sky – Haunted by Rivers — Level Plane, 2008

"Haunted by Rivers" begins Drain the Sky's first release on Level Plane Records. Use of repetition, low vocal pitches, and no percussion make the song oppressive. However, the rest of Haunted by Rivers does not follow in the same fashion. "Sightless" increases tempo and dabbles in hardcore punk. I really like the juxtaposition between the first two tracks. Everything about the music is completely different, and much more pleasing. The eponymous track sets the mood for the rest of the album, but the remaining eight songs show Drain the Sky's truer nature. Slow and growing introductions lead to heavier and more powerful sections. The final song, "Rivers," is a revisiting of the first track, but with distortion, drums, and a quicker pace. Haunted by Rivers will easily be enjoyed by fans of Isis and Boris alike.

6.5 / 10Tohm • July 23, 2009

Drain the Sky – Haunted by Rivers cover artwork
Drain the Sky – Haunted by Rivers — Level Plane, 2008

Related news

Birushanah / Drain The Sky Tourdates

Posted in Tours on February 20, 2008

Recently-posted album reviews

Professor and the Madman

Dreamworld
FullerTone Records (2026)

ALBUM HIGHLIGHTS – “Brand New World”, “12 Strings and Tambourines”, “Adams Street”, “Temple of Madness” It’s rare to find these days. A band (or maybe supergroup, in this case) that defies all genre boundaries and just…creates. Alfie Agnew (Adolescents, D.I.) and Sean Elliott (D.I., Mind Over Four) are familiar names from Orange County’s early 80s hardcore and psych-punk scenes, but … Read more

Chat Pile

Who Loves The Sun
Flenser (2026)

If Chat Pile were a film, they would be a dark thriller. The kind that builds tension until the end and, once we reach the third act, still might not ever show the killer. It's plodding and intense and, while I just pulled out a genre reference, the best thing about the band is how much they defy conventional musical … Read more

Generacion Suicida

Hombre Nuevo
Vitriol (2026)

On the tail end of Autogramm’s 2018 tour of Mexico (what little I remember of that week now is a lot of pulque and not a lot of sleep) I visited the one punk record store in CDMX that I found via googling where to buy bootleg punk t-shirts. I’d already visited Venas Rotas Discos earlier on the trip and … Read more