Lightbearer and Northless are two bands that tend to resemble parallel curved lines. They share bits and pieces stylistically but never quite touch. Where Lightbearer create atmosphere and spice in some brutality within their artistic and literate story-songs, Northless avoid pretense by creating brutally lurching pieces. So when you bring these two bands together it may be hard to see how well they will actually work together.
On side one we have Lightbearer. We have a continuation of the Beyond the Infinite EP. “The Song” continues stylistically from whence they started, allowing both space and atmosphere to help dictate the feel of the song overall and how to best tell the story contained therein. The slow burner of a song starts with light, distorted noises, building quietly and allowing for the tension to grow. By the time the fourth minute creeps in the traditional instrumentation appears and builds a wall of noise resembling latter day Isis. The commanding vocals remain gruff and tense, allowing for none of the atmosphere built to go to waste. By minute 8 when the band begin to incorporate gang vocals it brings a sense of relief while remaining overwhelmingly heavy and almost claustrophobic. So by the time the melodic guitar line cuts in it acts as a temporary sense of calm. Midway through the song everything but light atmospheric noises and a distant vocal line drop out. Feeling almost watery and peaceful in the center of a storm. Slowly everything begins to creep back in, first with quiet melodic guitar figures, then a distant percussive rumble sneaks in. When minute 14 hits and everything comes back in at full force it makes for a truly forceful moment sounding more venomous and forceful than before. This lasts only for a moment before fading back below the surface. This back and forth interplay continues for the remainder of the song allowing each part to gain strength and then retract.
Northless appear on the second side offering 2 tracks of a more direct nature. The opener "Tears From Crime" rumbles along with all the rage and viciousness one could desire while still remaining fully in control of its own sludgy rumble. The song builds and then leaves melodic textures in the dust, allowing the listener something to glean towards with each returning movement before the song breaks down again. The second, and longer of the two songs, starts with a nasty little riff before allowing the spidery melodic lead line and pounding drums to come in. By the time the throaty vocal line comes in everything has built up just enough to make it feel necessary for everything to converge upon that opening line. When a slow motion breakdown comes in the second minute it feels heavier than anything trudging along like dinosaurs just came back and they're pissed. All of this gives way to the melodic structure built earlier allowing the slightest bit of something nearing relief.
What we get on this split is, put simply, two young bands who clearly know their strengths and manage to write songs that deftly fit within their chosen framework. When the song dictates a sense of atmosphere each band is more than capable of letting their collective foot off of the gas and letting the engine idle before revving back up again. This split is a good example in allowing two bands to show their growth before releasing new material, giving fans and newcomers alike an opportunity to witness their growth firsthand and become rightfully excited about what is coming next.
