Glasir has bestowed upon us in “Unborn” the first of hopefully many golden leaves to come. Check it out and revel in its commanding, devastating glory.

Il est parfois de petits disques qui font de très gros effets. Du haut de ses trois pièces, « Unborn », premier EP du trio texan Glasir, m’a ainsi retourné les tympans. Un petit disque réussi et ébouriffant à souhait. A écouter volume à fond.

The songs on Unborn display the band’s ability to create nuanced and textured tracks with incredible dynamic range. Can’t wait to hear this record on vinyl!

An EP consisiting of „only“ three Tracks with a running time of 23 minutes has easily made it‘s way into our Best Of lists

“Unborn” hits hard on both the ears and the heart, blending sincerity, musical expertise and intelligence.

There is literally nothing about this EP that I don’t like. The production is fantastic!

The wait will not have been in vain for listeners, particularly those post-rock fans who have been leaning more and more into doomgazing territories in recent years. In keeping with themes initially laid out in Unborn this is not a record for an impatient audience, but its rewards run deep. Those dedicated to this brand of music should be enthralled by the push-and-pull of slow-burning, foreboding menace and hard-fought, scarred beauty waiting to be found within the dark passageways of their painstakingly rendered compositions.

Glasir record music in hopes of arming people with energy rather than guns, enough to keep fighting the good fight in the face of overwhelming odds. Most fans will be eyeing that 11:38 track, “Black Seas of Eternity,” from the get-go. The track virtually pounces on the listener with layers of sludge and doom. The pulse is quickened, the senses stirred, as the music courses through the speakers like water through a broken dam. Again the band slows things down, but this time returns to its prior level of energy, giving the listener a sense of empowerment. The world can weigh us down; but music can build us up. The fact that Glasir is intentional about such an effect adds to our overall appreciation.

Du haut de ses six morceaux sans paroles, « New Dark Age » peint le sombre destin de l’humanité dans sa lutte pour sa survie, étirant le drame à la faveur de paysages sonores d’une intensité saisissante. Un disque noir et beau, à découvrir. Alors qu’il fait se côtoyer post-rock, post-metal, doom et drone dans un mélange des genres savoureux, Glasir réussit une fois de plus avec brio le grand écart entre résonances enchanteresses et déferlements de rage désespérés. Là où la basse, la guitare et la batterie se répondent puis se joignent en coeur dans la tonitruance de vibrations intenses et savoureuses. Superbe.

“New Dark Age” is the very definition of what it means to take the two different styles of post and create something that can only be considered as incredibly immersive and satisfying to the very end. Glasir really impresses with this new album, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see this record become a cult classic.

Informed by the apocalyptic urge that seems to lie buried somewhere in our collective unconscious, throughout New Dark Age, Glasir gives voice to our most desperate and destructive impulses with an equally unforgiving sound. Ferguson’s bass combines blackened tone with a mammoth heaviness, while Vanbebber’s drumming adds a visceral brutality thru his pounding kick drum and violent cymbal crashes. Buoyed by this rhythmic onslaught, McKibbin carves downward cycling guitar lines laced with anxiety and dread.  New Dark Age is a towering post-rock foray into the extremes of our apocalyptic future.

New Dark Age“ kommt komplett instrumental, die Bilder von einerseits erdrückender Schönheit, andererseits kompromissloser Zerstörung entstehen einmal mehr ohne inspirierende Worte bzw. Gesang vor dem inneren Auge. Wenn man sich denn darauf einlässt. Schon mit dem chaotisch anmutenden ‘Into The Sun’ werden die apokalyptischen Visionen von mittelalterlichen Malern wie Bruegel und Bosch zum Leben erweckt. Spätere ein wenig lichtere, ja hoffnungsvolle Momente, wie etwa im sanften ‘Dissolution’, schliddern geradewegs ins eigene Verderben. Und im bezeichnenden ‘Black Seas Of Eternity’ gleitet das Trio in metallische Refugien, wobei der Zwölfminüter im Rahmenteil auf einem einzigen Riff basiert. Wenn sich dann doch noch ein hoffnungsvoller Schimmer im endgültigen ‘Hurt Us Again’ breit macht, dann kann noch nicht alles zu spät sein.

No es sencillo encontrarse con proyectos que muestren un sonido firme, digno de disfrutar con el corazón en la mano. Aunque difícil no es imposible, y para muestra de ello tenemos al trío texano Glasir y su nueva placa titulada New Dark Age. Glasir compuso un disco muy completo en el que se desencadenan sonidos crudos y agresivos que aluden a nuestro próximo mañana, lleno de sombras que sólo por momentos se disipan con momentos fugaces de tranquilidad. Es el soundtrack perfecto para la nueva era oscura en la que nos estamos sumergiendo por voluntad propia.

A forceful instrumental record which emerges as gloomy as it is vigilant, dark and wide awake, at the same time bringing together the expected post-rock tunefulness with a heavier sound, in a similar manner to their previous breakthrough release, but with a fresher and more unrestrained approach, sounding livelier and more enthused than ever. A little short on twelve minutes, Black Seas of Eternity, is the LP’s centerpiece, and one of the heaviest post-rock numbers of the year, more of which the album has plenty to offer. In the course of three years, Glasir have managed to come up with two impressive firsts: an EP and an album, both of which include some of the finest post-rock we’ve heard in a while which stands on the heavier end of the genre’s spectrum.

E’ davvero difficile riuscire a rendere in maniera così compiuta l’idea concettuale che sta dietro ad un lavoro musicale senza proferire parola: i Glasir ci riescono splendidamente, aiutati da una chiarezza di intenti che rende paradossalmente lineare un sound tutt’altro che semplice, e da un artwork che restituisce i colori innaturali delle città moderne, in realtà ben diversi da quelli che il nostro occhio si ostina voler percepire.