Anthesis (Napalm Records) is the second full album from Australia’s Suldusk, originally the one-women project of vocalist/guitarist Emily Highfield, but now expanded into a full-band lineup including a violinist and three guitarists, plus a bass player and drummer.
The word “anthesis” refers to the time preceding and during a flower’s period of being in bloom, and the music here does indeed seem to bloom forth from the speakers in an emotionally potent manner, especially in the intense full-on metal sections.
When Highfield harmonises with herself over the top of thickly layered metallic textures, the sound is akin to a more prog-metal version of Myrkur; at times the folky melodic vocal lines are gloriously moving. When she screams over double-kick and blastbeat sections, it is perhaps closer to a more “techy” Alcest or even Arch Enemy (especially when the groove riffs are dished out). These powerful speaker-shattering segments– as found on the uncompromisingly fierce “Verdalet”– feel cathartic, as though they are absolutely leaning into every deep emotional contour.
While containing those pure metal elements, Anthesis has a more restrained progressive dark folk side that probably takes up half of the running time. Dense layers of strings, acoustic/clean guitars and hand drums often wind their way through forlorn minor key sequences as heard in the sombre ebb and flow of “Crowns of Esper”, where Highfield takes a more understated vocal but no less emotive approach.
There are doom metal segments too (for example, the middle of “Leven”), where colossal down-tuned guitars meet with thunderous slow drums.
Anthesis is difficult to categorise singularly because of the way it shifts between its constituent sonic “light and shade” parts and even combines them on top of one another. Whilst it incorporates elements of blackgaze and dark folk, the technically precise sound and complex layering mean that the label of progressive metal perhaps fits best.
Some might find that this “proggy” precision and epicness of arrangement and production jars somewhat, especially in the quieter sections. Maybe some of the quasi-orchestral passages could even be said to be a little overblown. Listeners well-versed in prog rock, however, might welcome this approach as a solid and seamless bridging of the gap between the yin and yang elements here.
Either way, Anthesis, with its melancholy beauty and sometimes joyous otherworldliness, is a heartfelt and impactful statement that will stir the passions of listeners familiar with both the extreme metal scene and the metal-adjacent world of artists such as Anna von Hausswolff.
This record will surely be one that allows Suldusk to bloom even further into their own “anthesis”.
Buy the album here:
https://lnk.to/SULDUSK-Anthesis
7 / 10
DUNCAN EVANS