Review APOSTLE OF SOLITUDE ‘Until the Darkness Goes’

Apostle Of Solitude grew to an important player in the fields of epic doom over the last 17 years. Five longplayers have been published so far and the sixth one is ready to be unleashed in November.

November in the Northern hemisphere means autumn, darkness, and shades of grey. ‘Until the Darkness Goes’ is the prefect soundtrack for such a season, a musical companion in some months of tristesse.

‘Until the Darkness Goes’ is an album that was created and recorded under special circumstances. Of course, the pandemic effected the planned recording schedule but had a very personal impact too. One of the band members lost both parents which makes dark days even darker. Such in impactful moment in life as well as the circumstances of the pandemic in itself forces Apostle Of Solitude to adjust the time planning for recording the new album with a delay being the consequence.

Instead of looking at the delay as a loss of time, the band started to embed the impactful days of a pandemic into their newest delivery and made ‘’Until the Darkness Goes’ even stronger.

To pick a few songs to describe the album would not be fair to the other tracks. Each of these six songs that found a place on the tracklist is part of the bigger total, held together by a dark atmosphere and deep melancholy.

A slow tempo sets the tone and those who expect faster moments will certainly not find them. It’s rather the lamenting moments that make this album a ton weighty experience. Nothing is easy on ‘Until the Darkness Goes’. A leaden severity hangs above each of the ingeniously crafted tracks. Along with filigree solo parts, Apostle Of Solitude displays a somber atmosphere that fits right in these times. Some soul will not feel any different than what the guys are musically delivering here. Nevertheless, it should be noted that no shadow can be without light, and perhaps not every moment is suitable to indulge in the heaviness of this album.

Apostle Of Solitude release with their sixth album a very emotion-laden longplayer. Own experiences and fate in times of a pandemic had an impact on these six songs and with all the pain that was connected to it, it made ‘Until the Darkness Goes’ even stronger.