SEAR BLISS - Heavenly Down (LP)

Sear Bliss delivers their opus magnum after a 30 year long journey of epic darkness!
Welcome to a journey into space itself in which its divinity is formed by progressive
components and blackened chaos: Sear Bliss’s 'Heavenly Down'. Externally mighty and
internally
filling, Hungary’s metallic frontrunners once again apply their signature formula of conjoining
elegance and evil; two separate worlds that flawlessly connect into one special entity of
supreme distinction. A galactic quest in which Sear Bliss rewrites the rules of experimental
metal is found within 'Heavenly Down' and the trip is very exciting, believe us.
Though containing common Black Metal qualities, 'Heavenly Down' shows a neat shape of
Sear Bliss’s own originality mixed in with several usual endowments. As expected,
Sear Bliss preserves their blackened roots intact with epic tremolo picking sections, firing
blastbeats, and András Nagy’s graceful shrieks, yet the use of beautiful clean guitars and
majestic keyboards add to the already-mighty picture. But don’t fear for too much soft stuff,
because there are some massive head-banging riffs that just shred your eyeballs out of
their sockets. The harmony between two separate musical extremes is reached in precise
unison, and such a joyous tension is never broken from its state of wonder; this is how
Black Metal and empyrean moods are supposed to wed. During the voyage, Sear Bliss
keeps the ride interesting with the band’s hidden weapon that seems a bit odd at first, but
ends out working excellently: the trombone. Zoltán Pál‘s strange position in Sear Bliss is not
that of a clueless musician hitting symphonic notes, but rather an individual that can
intelligently wrap the trombone around the harsh guitars and ethereal surroundings
superbly. The thing is, however, that the trombone takes absolute control of Sear Bliss’s
music
whenever the master permits its freedom: you’ll be enjoying a cool riffing section, and then a
blast of brass just explodes like no other instrument. It’s truly a unique experience that
needs to be heard to be believed.
Overall, we dare to say 'Heavenly Down' is a fantastic album with countless incidents of
atypical independence and atmospheric delight. Everything is solid as a rock, and the
consistent display of cosmic instrumentation definitely make this record a highlight in Sear
Bliss’ discography. Those looking for something outside the musical norm will most
certainly appreciate 'Heavenly Down' and its metaphysical significance as a Black Metal
recording unlike most of the genre itself.