THEFALLS - Reflections////Void (Review)
It has been nine years since their debut album Break the Calm came out but Norway’s THEFALLS are back with their sophomore darling, Reflections////Void, due to be released on 22 September 2023.
Brace yourself for this one because their’s is metal made supreme.
Their recipe is a difficult one, though.
Expect no straight lines. Surprises behind every corner. Beautifully chaotic while chaotically beautiful.
If you do want to cook up something like THEFALLS, it would go something alone these lines: take a bunch of metal genres like mathcore, sludge and metalcore, add a sprinkle of tech death and a tiny pinch of black metal. Mix them up with ethereal post-metal soundscapes. Add a bit of jazzy, Opeth-esque interludes. Sauce it up with an interchanging of screams and spot-on clean vocals.
That’s THEFALLS for you.
They themselves mention bands like Converge, Ion Dissonance and Between The Buried and Me as inspiration. And it shows. Both in terms of sound and its technical prowess, Reflections///Void fits neatly in between any of these bands. However, it is equally clear that THEFALLS don’t let themselves be labelled very easily and carve their own path and sound.
The music of Reflections////Void speaks for itself, whether you want to genre-box it or not. It was presented to me as a four-track album. However, the press kit contained seven songs. Not sure if the final product will have seven individual songs or if some of them will be bundled together in single tracks with impressive runtimes.
The album opens with the duology “Patterns Emerge” and by the gods an entrance it is. It is absolutely relentless from beginning till the end. However, it gives ample chance for a bit of respite by slower and, at times, clean interludes. I particularly loved the black metal riffs towards the end of the first track because I did not expect to hear that on this album.
It is also the first time I was introduced to the clean vocals. Now, I have a love-hate relationship with clean vocals in extreme metal. I absolutely love it if it is executed well, the cleans are in tune, the colour of the vocals is pleasant to listen to, and the placement of the cleans within the song makes sense. More often than not, however, bands don’t meet my criteria and it puts me off immediately.
Not THEFALLS though!
Kristoffer’s cleans are warm and powerful and supplement the extremity of the music beautifully well.
The duology is followed by “Nadir”, making up three of the seven songs and clocking in at around 13 minutes in total. A triptych of sludgy tech-core, “Nadir” may be my favourite. It is technical as hell but it never goes beyond what is still listenable. The blend of screams and clean vocals, the time changes, the addition of clean electric guitar, the constantly evolving soundscapes, the sudden blast beats and breakdowns are all working very well together. Not to mention the two-minute jazzy interlude that gave me a perfectly timed breather, only to pull me back into the chaotic vortex where screams and cleans intertwine and the technical level is amped up to eleven.
The album is finished up by an eight-minute long “Seconds” and another seven-and-a-half minute “The Hardest Part Is Over”, the latter having been released previously as single. Both songs are solid and contain more delicious time changes I never saw coming. “The Hardest Part Is Over” in particularly is a masterclass in how to play technical, progressive metal that captivates from beginning till the end.
What I love about Reflections////Void is that it keeps me on my toes at all times. It is definitely not easy-listening. The boys know how to keep my attention by never doing anything for too long or, gods forbid, twice. Due to the length of the songs, they allowed themselves a lot of space to work with and they used every second of it.
Oh and did I mention the outstanding, crisp and well-balanced recording quality?…Now I did.
I have tried real hard to find something to criticise on this album. I really did. But my mother taught me to never lie. THEFALLS is good. Very good. THEFALLS needs to be noticed, as far as I am concerned, and I am convinced that, given time and effort, they will get the recognition they deserve.
If you happen to be in the area of Oslo on October 6, go and join their release party at Vaterland! If not, at least check them out on their socials and all major streaming platforms (links below).