I shall get right to the point. There is space for many more brass instruments in metal. We have violins galore and keys by the score but not enough brass. Their naturally dramatic sound lends itself equally well to grave despair or bellicose triumph, which accounts for half of metal’s emotional tone. Happily, Sear Bliss understand this. That’s why they have a trombonist, and that’s why it’s so very easy to like their latest effort, Heavenly Down.
I realized I was in for a good time when just over a minute into opening track “Infinite Grey” the atmoblack riff gave way to a funeral trombone melody. It demonstrated that Sear Bliss understand how to deliver enjoyably melancholic music right. It also demonstrated a lean towards gothic melodeath — think Hanging Garden — that adds another accessibly mopey dimension to Sear Bliss’ atmoblack roots. Heavenly Down does occasionally wander into more straight black metal territory with tracks like “The Upper World” but most of the album is about that mix of gently downbeat sounds. Atmoblack tremolos and keys sweep us through the gloomy forests of the mind before Zoltán Pál’s trombone and the melodeath riffs bring catharsis. It’s a simple formula but boy does it work. Sear Bliss understand the need for tempo changes to stop the sound getting overly repetitive too, ranging from blackened assault to slow interlude. The band could stand to lose some of those quiet slow moments as they detract from Heavenly Down‘s drama but I’d rather have too many than too few and not enough dynamism.
Part of me wants to also criticize Sear Bliss for not pushing things further. Not pushing the melodeath influences more, not pushing melancholy into despair, not leaning on the guitars more. How can I do that though when Heavenly Down hits me so squarely in my unhappy place? Yes, there’s an air of sticking to a safe sound here but it’s a really good sound. Now I just need more metal bands to follow suit and lean into that brass section.
