Harakiri For The Sky - Self-Titled

 Shattered beliefs and hearts in hands. 

(Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on February 1st 2021) 

Over the past few days I have been doing a run of Harakiri For The Sky's discography in preparation for the upcoming Mære, which I was originally planning to review. Sadly, news of its release date being pushed to February 19th changed that plan, which led me to their 2012 self-titled debut. While it's undeniably a Harakiri For The Sky album, it is a bit of an outlier in the grander scheme of their discography, thanks to some small details that set it apart from its brethren.

A melancholic acoustic guitar against the sounds of rain falling sets the tone for "Lungs Filled With Water" to come in with a slow riff, giving us an immediate example of what the band is about: moody and spacey soundscapes The band deftly weaves acoustic instruments with the rest of the music, creating a depressing atmosphere. One thing of note when it comes to this release is Jay's vocal performance. Instead of the mid-range shout that he uses on future releases, he opts for a more typical black metal scream. While it's not bad, and actually fits the music quite well, it definitely sticks out compared to his performances on the band's later output.
From that point forward, the band continues at a similar pace, with the tone and vibe of the release being consistent throughout, though each song does have its own standout moments. Sections like the layered vocals near the end of "02:19 AM, Psychosis", or the melodies at 2:25 of "Drown In My Nihilism", and moments like these make this album as hauntingly beautiful as it is, enhancing its emotional impact. The album is full of such little details that really help each song stand out, despite their similarities.

Which brings me to my next point, and my one gripe with this release: the songwriting. While every song has some cool moments in it, they all have a very similar structure, with most of them starting off with a moody acoustic guitar before going into a slow riff ("Drown In My Nihilism" bucks that trend by skipping the intro altogether, though the rhythms still feel a bit samey). This leads to the tracks running together to some extent, which knocks the enjoyment down a bit. The album is quite short, clocking in at 37 minutes with a mere 5 tracks, which helps alleviate the issue of the songs feeling overlong, as well as the sameness . If there’s one track that could be singled out for its monotony it’s “From Yesterday To Ashes”, as it’s static for most of its duration without any fluctuations in tempo.

The lyrics here aren't anything out of the ordinary if you've listened to the band already, with them dealing in heartbreak, loneliness, and self-destruction (very happy subjects I know). They’re competently written and the despaired vocals help further their impact, fitting this album perfectly. They’re definitely one of the things that grew on me as time went on, having gotten into the band through III: Trauma, where Jay sounded different to what he does here.
The production is also one of the things that makes this album so powerful. The guitars have an ethereal, somber tone to them, supported by the bass pulsating underneath, while the drums have a punchy sound, which really comes forward during the more hectic moments on offer (3:24 of "Dancing on Debris"). There's also the fact that the instruments have a touch of reverb applied to them, which is particularly noticeable on the cymbals, giving the music a dirge-like feel during the slower moments. The mixing is also quite good, with the instruments being well layered, occupying their own space and not fighting to be heard.
Harakiri For The Sky's debut is the work of a band who has a very clear vision of what they want to do, and for the most part succeed in it, with only a few faults detracting from the experience. It's still a very powerful album that I would wholeheartedly suggest to people looking to get into post-black metal, or people who are interested in the band. While their future releases have some differences compared to this one, it's still not an album one should overlook.
Highlights: Lungs Filled With Water, 02:19 AM, Psychosis, Dancing on Debris

Rating: 82%

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Batushka & Houle concert report, 28/09/2025

Image
Salted Wounds and Incense; or, a Black Metal escapade Besides getting to know a place like the back of your hand, I’m a firm believer that you’ve truly made yourself at home somewhere when you start participating in the area’s local artistic events, which, for a guy like me, tend to begin and end with attending concerts of artists passing through the area. It’s a great way of meeting people with similar interests as you, and as we all know, shared experiences foster connection between people, through reminiscing and simply “being in the moment”. It’s always been the little things that stuck with me at shows, and a city as small as Thessaloniki is proud to boast of a very tight-knit metal community, where everyone’s a regular at the same few places, and tends to show up in the same shows as you do. You get to see some people you’ve talked to in passing, and perhaps even share an awkward “Were you in [X] show? Wasn’t it cool?” moment. There’s a charm to such interactions that is hard t...
Read more

Sacred Serenity - Redefining Life

Image
Hit 'em with the brain destroyer. I haven’t gone digging in a while, but I generally take great pleasure in stumbling upon up-and-coming bands, preferably ones that could be defined as “hungry”. Musicians pour their hearts into their art, and then thrust it upon an unsuspecting public in hopes of being seen and appreciated by however small a group. It takes a lot of courage and drive to do that, and it’s such a quality that defines Sacred Serenity, and their debut, Redefining Life . This one-man progressive deathrash (!) project is helmed by the young (even younger at the time of this album’s release) Jonas Doehler, who somehow managed to put together something that one would expect from veterans of the style, all while juggling five more active bands at the time of writing. Talk about having a busy schedule. Clocking in at less than 25 minutes (without the instrumental version of the album), this is a release that operates on “shock and awe” tactics. Though there are moments of re...
Read more

Elder - Lore

Image
Albums I like a lot: Part II (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on August 21st 2021)  Stoner doom’s always been a hit or miss genre for me. On one hand, it has a vibe and energy that can scarcely be matched by other styles, on the other you can only hear so many bands rip off Sabbath riffs before you get bored. As a whole it’s a very single minded style that rarely goes beyond being heavy and “weed lmao”. And I say rarely because Elder exists. While their earliest work falls in that category (more specifically their self-titled), they’ve always had a unique flavour to them. Ever since Dead Roots Stirring they’ve added these subtle psychedelic and at times progressive touches that helped them stand out from the rest of the bands in the genre. Their third outing, Lore stands out for being the perfect marriage of psych and stoner doom, and has cemented itself as my favourite album in the genre, and by extension the band’s catalogue. From the very first few...
Read more