Laurasia Awaits Us- Apathy Remains Victorious

By Chris Dahlberg

Published on Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Doom remains a genre where it is very rare for two bands to sound exactly the same. While there are often influences that are easy to make out on a particular album, a lot of groups are able to add their own touches and create something that feels familiar yet has unique flourishes. This is exactly what Finland’s Laurasia Awaits Us has been able to accomplish on Apathy Remains Victorious. At the core of their sound is doom and post metal but there are plenty of other styles that make an appearance in order to help their material stand out. While there are some issues that pop up throughout the course of the album that could be improved upon, Laurasia Awaits Us still manages to impress.

The type of sound that the band has been able to create on Apathy Remains Victorious has a lot of different elements at play, and it gives the songs a different feel than you might expect. While there is the slower plodding tempo of doom and post metal and the emphasis on heavier tonality, the way that the group layers their dreary melodies reminds me more of depressive black metal. But Laurasia Awaits Us doesn’t simply mix harsher tonality with depressive melodies and call it a day either, as their songs are constantly shifting and the way that the melodies twist and turn gives listeners a lot to discover. On the opening track “Stillborn Motivation” the harsher sounds suddenly give way to extremely light and airy melodies halfway in that have a bit of a post punk feel to them, and there are numerous other moments throughout the album where there are sudden flourishes of these influences. However, one issue that pops up is the use of drum programming. There are some moments where the programming is integrated quite well, but other tracks it sticks out a bit too much and becomes a jarring element that takes away from some of the other instrumentals.

Vocalist Lauri Santeri Lohi utilizes a higher pitched shriek for much of Apathy Remains Victorious, and his pitch hovers somewhere between the tortured screams of depressive black metal and the slightly gruffer approach often utilized in post metal. I really like the combination of the melodic soundscapes and harsher vocals, as the two intertwine in a way that really enhances the overall sound and this makes the material instantly grab your attention. There were also some sections where Lohi switched over to clean singing, and this was another area that the group could use some additional work. While the singing isn’t terrible, it sounded a bit off to me and didn’t have the same level of energy that the harsher pitches were able to provide.

Laurasia Awaits Us has put together a diverse album that creates a dreary, oppressive atmosphere through a mix of harsh and light explorations. The moments where the melody loses its distortion and spreads across the soundscapes really stand out, and gives the album a different feel from the standard doom/post metal release. Some additional work would benefit the drum programming and clean singing and could help the group to reach their full potential, but for now they have already achieved a diverse and engaging sound.

http://www.domesticgenocide.com/
http://domesticgenocide.bandcamp.com/
http://laurasiaawaitsus.bandcamp.com/