HARAKIRI FOR THE SKY – Scorched Earth

Scorched worlds come to those who wait.

“The despairing musings of a fatalistic mind” could be a phrase used to describe any creation from the depressive side of black metal, but this characterization is particularly fitting for the post-black variant at the genre’s modern edge. Despite being a relatively new stylistic niche, labeling post-black metal as “modern” feels like a stark contrast, considering its raw, organic essence—not to mention its frequent lyrical critiques of modern society.

Since the early 2010s, Austrian-born two-man project Harakiri For The Sky has proven masters of this highly nuanced craft, marrying a varied mixture of melodic post-rock, grunge, hardcore, and atmospheric black metal influences into a songwriting template that shuns conventional notions of brevity and structure, yet manages to be highly accessible and melodically consonant by extreme metal standards.

Following a predictable rhythm in the studio of an LP release every 2 years, culminating in 5 highly involved sonic anthologies in under a decade, a break in output for about 4 years has elapsed before the unveiling of their 6th and most polished album in “Scorched Earth.” Very much a product of the time that it was conceived, this 67-minute epic excursion into the realm of auditory cynicism delves head-first into a world divided, moving further from a state of peace and toward one of brokenness.

Built off the prowess and innovative craftsmanship of multi-instrumentalist Mattias Sollak (known by his initials M.S.) and the mostly haggard and jagged shouts and shrieks of vocalist Michael Kogler (aka J.J.), it is a collection of extended compositions that effectively embody the isolation and tumult that typified the lockdown era of the early 2020s and the political chaos that has since arisen in its wake.

Like a flowing stream amid a landscape shrouded in mist that hits a larger body with an explosion of force, this album is a continual exercise in crescendo, where the beginning is often a serene atmospheric precursor to a coming storm. The opening chapter of this musical story, “Heal Me” enters with a soothing melodic piano drone and a gradual swelling of fuzz-steeped guitars that lands with a booming, down-tempo post-rock thud that eventually weaves its way into a blasting fury of raw fury.

In essence, this is black metal removed from its normally dank or frigid element and brought into an equally bleak yet warmer setting. Other entries like the massive 10-minute slough “Keep Me Longing” and “Too Late For Goodbyes” enter similarly chaotic territory, though the former dwells a bit more on its serene, piano-driven introduction and presents a more elaborate melodic refrain, while the latter dispenses with an atmospheric prelude and goes even harder into the blackened and blasting extreme while also feeling the most overtly sorrowful.

Continuing to adhere to a sound marked by heavy stylistic eclecticism, M.S.’s songwriting arsenal proves more and more intricate the closer to the center the album progresses. The extended anthem “Without You I’m Just A Sad Song” vacillates between being a lullaby and a hurricane of pure agony, and frequently blurs the lines between this project’s post-rock proclivities and a Gothenburg-inspired melodic death metal sound.

“No Graves But The Sea” often mimics the atmosphere of a lost ship adrift at the ocean’s center, and also presents Mattias’ technical chops at the guitar through a series of intricate rhythmic riffs and melodic motives. “With Autumn I Surrender” stirs the stylistic pot in an almost gothic direction while still maintaining a blackened post-metal vibe, and the punchy drive of “I Was Just Another Promise You Couldn’t Keep” finds the instrumentation leaning heavy into a modern hardcore sound with J.J. ushering in a correspondingly gritty yet occasionally clean cut vocal delivery.

Amid a highly consistent and expansive catalog, “Scorched Earth” is an album that both maintains and expands upon Harakiri For The Sky’s distinctive brand of depressive and stylistically rich post-black metal and is also an appropriate album to kick off the mid-point of the 2020s. It comes with a reinterpretation of Radiohead’s “Street Spirit (Fade Out)” as an addendum that further reveals a band bent on merging a melancholy outlook with just about every subgenre of rock under the sun, not to mention showcases Kogler’s voice in a very different light.

But even when putting aside the innovative nod to one of the biggest household names in 90s alternative rock, this is an album that effectively walks a line between the esoteric world of atmospheric black metal where extreme music becomes more of a mystical and meditative experience, and one that isn’t far removed from where rock radio was 30 years ago.

In a world that seems hell-bent on committing seppuku minus the element of honor, Harakiri For The Sky has managed to compose a fitting soundtrack.

Released By: AOP Records
Release Date: January 24th, 2025
Genre: Post-Black Metal

Musicians:

• Matthias “MS” Sollak / Guitars, bass, drums






• Michael “JJ” V. Wahntraum / Vocals

“Scorched Earth” Track-Listing:

1. Heal Me (Featuring Tim Yatras / Austere)






2. Keep Me Longing






3. Without You, I’m Just A Sad Song






4. No Graves But The Sea






5. With Autumn I’ll Surrender






6. I Was Just Another Promise You Couldn’t Keep






7. Too Late For Goodbyes (Featuring Serena Cherry / Svalbard)

Pre-order “Scorched Earth” HERE.

8.6

Excellent

Austrian post-black metal outfit and connoisseurs of bleakness Harakiri For The Sky unleash yet another drawn-out and impassioned opus that reflects the tumultuous era in which it was conceived, and recaps the project’s commitment to long, meditative musical chapters with undeniably infectious hooks

• Songwriting
  9

• Musicianship
  8.5

• Originality
  8.5

• Production
  8.5