DARKHER — The Buried Storm (review)

Album · 2022 · Metal Related

3.5/5 · 2022-04-14
lukretion

DARKHER is the brainchild of Northern England singer/guitarist Jayn Maiven, and The Buried Storm is her second full-length album. Jayn sings and plays guitar and bass on the new album, which she also recorded, produced and mixed. A few helping hands accompanied her on the record. Christopher Smith plays drums and percussions and a trio of cello and violin provides some beautiful string arrangements. The music blends together the delicate songwriting of dark folk with the thick atmospheres of doom metal, and will appeal to fans of bands like Chelsea Wolfe, Aleah, early Anathema and Antimatter, to name a few.

A common theme throughout the 8 songs of this record is the juxtaposition of acoustic and electric instrumentation and the balancing of soft and heavy sounds, painting a picture that is both sweet and bitterly dark. Gently strummed acoustic guitars suddenly make space for heavily distorted guitar riffs and slowly pounding drums. Cellos and violins soar in the background creating a drone-like wall of sound that is both immersive and spellbinding. A subtle use of effects and samples further enhances the suggestive nature of the music. Jayn’s haunting vocals are a perfect complement for the evocative musical background. Her vocals range from ethereal, soprano-like wails to more earthly rock singing, providing a well-rounded, mesmerising performance. Jayn also deserves praise for her production work, which strikes a perfect balance between lo-fi grit and sonic clarity, greatly contributing the album’s warm ambience.

The Buried Storm is best experienced as a whole, in one sitting. Several songs bleed into one another, reprising musical themes and ideas and creating a continuum that enhances the ritualistic vision of the album, like when the eerie, out of phase effects that build up at the end of “Lowly Weep” dissolve into the acoustic serenity of “Unbound”, creating one of the most hypnotic moments of the album. The more rock-oriented “Where the Devil Waits” is a beautiful, folksy dirge and another highlight of the record. Meanwhile “Immortal” is probably my favourite track here. It develops along a simple, forlorn guitar pattern that is repeated throughout the song, bringing to mind the work of Duncan Patterson with Anathema and Antimatter. The closing track “Fear Not, My King” is another special one, with its dark and disturbing chord progression taking us to a suitably gloomy conclusion.

The whole album feels like a transcendental ritual, with Jayn as its high priestess. As you immerse yourself into its beautiful dark music, reality slowly starts disappearing and a haze sets in to replace it, accompanying you through what feels like a one-way journey to death’s doorstep. It’s dark and gloomy, but also breath-taking and unforgettable. It’s one of the most immersive records I listened to this year and it deserves your full attention – so go on and buy it, you won’t regret it.