The Haunting

I must be honest: I am greatly partial regarding this record. I absolutely think that such a record only happens once in a band's career. I mean an ultimate and timeless album which even transcends the band itself and starts its own distinct life. "The Haunting" is such an album!

If someone familiar with the band's works all of a sudden easy to realize that this record absolutely stands apart from the others. Only in this record you would find that melancholic, low register, beslowed doom approach, which makes this record totally unique.The tempo is very slow and the atmosphere is quite contemplative, you would hardly find real black-metal blastbeats here which you would find in other Sear Bliss works. This atmosphere is incomprehensible... somehow it totally transports the listener to an archaic, mystical realm. The very interesting fact is that the band itself confesses on their Facebook site that the record turned out this way due to a mistaken mastering. They imagined the sound absolutely different and they reckon the end-result strange, even to them. It is this fact which makes me absolutely speechless. This record really started its own life, even the band itself feels this way.

Well, this is what I call a lucky mistake! Basically what the band feels strange regarding the mastering is that the synth layers all too much came to the front due to the mastering . I am really convinced that this is the key to the record's unique sound. Because the synth parts are in the front, somehow the other parts had been pushed to the background. It may sound weird and mistaken, but actually it really works, at least for me. The only one problem with the sound is the drum-sound, this could have been more powerfull. Another interesting fact, though, is that much later the legendary Viktor "Max" Scheer remastered the record and the remastered version of "Tunnels of Vision" can be accessed and listened through YouTube (where are the rest and will they ever release the remastered version, I do not know...). Although I really like the remastered version (drum-sound cured, synth layer pushed back, etc.), but still prefer the original, "mistaken" sound. This original is very much atmospheric, introverted and mysterious. I just love the feel of it and it really soaks the listener into an inward, dreamlike realm. It is a nighttime listen, somehow it is best listened during night. Just try "Soulless" with headphones during night, the feel is undescribable. And the artwork goes perfectly with the music, because it captures the basic idea: a descent into the hidden, subconscious realms.

I wouldn't like to highlight tracks because the record is a complete whole, all the tracks have the same vibe but it doesn't mean that they are not recognizable, very much the opposite. All tracks are beautifully crafted, full of unforgettable melodies and atmospheres.

This record stands alone in the career of the band, if you like it and want more, probably you won't find it in other Sear Bliss records, although "The Pagan Winter / In the Shadow..." EP comes really close, I love that too. Anyhow, if someone asks me for the ultimate atmospheric metal album, then here it is: Sear Bliss - The Haunting (original version)

Two years have passed since the release of the utter amazing debut album “Phantoms” and the second CD of Sear Bliss has been unleashed by II Moons, titled “The Haunting”. I mentioned in my review of “Phantoms” how much I appreciated the debut, how well it’s been composed, how great is the unique style of the Hungarian band. So, obviously my expectations for the second album were huge… Of course today I know this CD since many years already, so I have a strong opinion regarding it for a long time now… and I’m afraid it’s not quite as positive as my view of the previous record. I don’t want to moan too much and I also don’t want to change my overall opinion about Sear Bliss – because they will always be an exceptional band for me, but probably “The Haunting” belongs to my least favourite records from them, sorry to say that! It’s almost a disappointment when compared to such an excellent “Phantoms”, which was near perfection in almost every aspect. “The Haunting” is obviously sort of continuation of the debut, but I simply don’t feel like this material is as strong and as well composed as I would hope.

So, what went wrong here? I said that “The Haunting” is a continuation of “Phantoms”, because it surely is. Sear Bliss maintain their style’s trademark aspects such as a combination of rough black metal with a lot of atmospheric parts and the great usage of brass section, which fills a lot of the album together with the keyboards. But maybe what went wrong here is that the album became slightly too soft and over melodic in its major parts, in my opinion. On one hand Sear Bliss still has quite few black metal parts, but they’re all played in slow tempos, with rather simple riffing and too often accompanied by the keyboards, which may underline the atmosphere, but at the same time remove the harshness and aggression. “Phantoms” for me was perfectly balanced when speaking of the combination of atmospheric music and rough (black) metal. On “The Haunting” that scale went dangerously too much in favour for the melody, softened sounds and atmosphere. The riffs may still sound quite heavy and maybe not so typically black metal anymore – and surely there are some strong guitar parts here and there - but mostly they’re just strangled by the ever present keyboards. Keyboards dominate here, they even overshadowed the brass section, which is rather unfortunate, taking for consideration how great work it has done on the debut. OK, not all keyboards here sound bad, sometimes it’s fine, but my tolerance has been tested here quite few times I am afraid.

But I guess the main problem here is that it simply is not as good material as the previous or some future records. There are obviously some nice moments, some good songs – but none of them is as good as such “Aeons of Desolation” or “1100 Years Ago” from the debut. And when listening to the whole “The Haunting” I just feel slightly bored, as it becomes too monotonous after a while, when each song is played in similarly slow tempos, with similar keyboard parts and similar sort of riffs. I can again remind you how perfectly balanced and varied “Phantoms” was. “The Haunting” is just not good; there are some fragments that I like… but the whole album is simply mediocre.

Ha, I bet now that my whole review sounds rather negative… But I don’t want to make you think bad about Sear Bliss. It’s still a great band and “The Hanting” is… hmm, let’s just say that I do enjoy this record occasionally haha, but when compared to some other materials of the Hungarians, it’s simply not their best. It is unharmful, easy to listen to music, which you can play as a background to some meaningless works. But that’s it… it is just something what comes in at one ear and out at the other. Sounds rough? Hehe! But maybe if it wasn’t all so slow and so damn over melodic, then it would be better?! Who knows. The excitement, which I have when I listen to “Phantoms” or “The Grand Destiny” is just not present here. There’s not even one song, which I would fully love. So… I give this album 60/100, although I know that some people rank it higher than I do.

Standout tracks: “Left In Dark”
Final rate: 60/100

The first thing I'd like to point out is that I've owned the first Sear Bliss album 'Phantoms' for a good 17 years, purchasing it upon it's initial release back in 1996. I've always liked the debut album very much with it's unique blend of black/death/doom with a bewitching touch of keyboards and a strong atmospheric sense. The use of horns (trombone and trumpet) gave the album a very special aura - melodies that if performed by a guitar would be good, but when performed by the horns are truly brought to life, conveying a completely different sound and feel (especially for metal). I've always loved the use of this instrument in metal, which you can find on all of the Sear Bliss LP's (as well as on the albums of the great Norwegian band Beyond Dawn).

Being that I enjoyed Phantoms, I'm not sure why I never checked out The Haunting until 3 weeks ago. I could have been enjoying this amazing record for years, but I am so glad I finally decided to check it out. I have listened to the LP at least 2 times a day over the last 3 weeks, and I've become familiar with every note, every melody, every lyric - the intricate inner workings and atmospheres that permeate the entire album. In that time, I've come to see that this as an absolutely stunning LP! I will likely have trouble putting my feelings for this haunting masterpiece into question, but I'll give it my best shot.

The album opens with the tone-setting epic Tunnels Of Vision. Heavy, staccato guitar chords alternate between the left and right speakers, giving way to a medium tempo beat and organs. The guitars are powerful but are fairly fuzzy, only containing a very slight black metal tone. The vocals enter over melodic and heavy palm muted chords - after a while, you'll realize they are the only 'true' black metal aspect on the record (although there a few other black metal elements here and there). About a minute and a half into the songs, the 'chorus' appears for the first time. A mystical fantasy tone from the keyboards evokes a melancholic, tuneful melody that carries this section. The keys are backed by heavy melodic chords and (strangely enough) a somewhat rocking/jazzy drumbeat. This combination might sound strange, but it works to great effect. The song is undeniably epic, powerful, and emotional up to this point, reaching into the depths of your soul. We are then treated to some of the aggressive metal that popped up in most songs on the debut LP, as the distorted riffs move from quarter notes to triplets backed by serpentine drum beats. The song basically repeats from here, and the content is so strong that the song could have gone on for far longer than its' 8:12 running time. Yes - it's that good!

Describing the record as a whole isn't necessarily easy, but the title of the review is close - It's an epic, mystical, and haunting journey into darkness. There a few records I am willing to give a 100 rating to, but this is a perfect record if I've ever heard one. When you hit the perfect balance of consistently excellent riffs and add the unique feature of the horns, the end result is the unnamed quality and atmosphere that great records seem to have. In Brief, this is a doom metal record with black metal vocals. However, we also have a fair amount of melodic death metal, some black metal, gothic metal, and ambient styles on display. The aggression is definitely toned down compared to Phantoms, but that is off little consequence. Most of the songs have one or two sections that are fast, but they meld perfectly into the mystical soundscapes. Much of the drumming is medium tempo-slow tempo doom style, but we also have many rocking and driving drum beats backed by thick (and often bluntly melodic) guitar chords. The keyboards sounds are perfect (and a bit dated but I find that charming somehow), moving between a gentle twinkle, to a gothic organ, to a choir/synth sound. The melodies are simple but absolutely beguiling. Gergely Szűcs, who plays the keyboard and the horns, is to be commended for a phenomenal performance - the keyboards and horns are integral to this record. The decisions made (where the horns would be used, the melodies chosen, which keyboard sounds to use for a given section) are perfect - they push this record over the top into greatness. The horns consistently add a forlorn melancholic tilt to the record with their simple melodies. The same can be said for the rest of the band - each and every performance is exactly what the record demanded.

In addition to 'Tunnels Of Vision' there are 3 other songs I would place into the category of 'perfect' on the record:
**Unholy Dance - opens with a solo guitar playing a somewhat rocking riff. It quickly develops into a medium tempo metal section, with an unforgettable and mystical keyboard melody (later joined by a busy horn melody). We're treated to more of the melancholic horn harmonies and a powerful blast beat later in the song. The memorable melodies in this song pop into my head randomly throughout the day at this point.
**Soulless - Another song driven by medium tempo beats, beautifully woven keyboard melodies full of melancholy, amazing horn sections (they are especially memorable on this song - truly 'haunting'), and a few more of the rock drum beats. There is a hint of gothic metal here as well and a rock guitar solo, with the vocals largely being (very effectively) whispered.
**Left In The Dark - opens with dual acoustic guitars before breaking into one of the albums' signature medium tempo metal riffs. The horns enter, playing a lilting tune that once again elevates the song and brings on a wave of melancholy. We're then treated to some epic chords with the mystical keyboard melodies taking the stage. Furious blast beats appear twice in the mid-section as the guitars play blazing 16th note harmonies. The song does a good job encapsulating the best qualities of the first 6 songs and is an excellent closer.
The other songs are excellent as well, with the driving 'Hell Within' containing a strange oriental keyboard solo and the guitar tapping/guitar solos and blast beats in 'Land Of Silence' also standing out.

Compared to the other records by the band, this album really does stand out (although the band constantly shifts their sound from LP to LP from what I've heard - I still need to listen to their last 3 albums). It has a special quality that I can best describe as mystical, magical, haunting, epic, and deeply soulful (not to mention memorable as hell). Overall, I was amazed to hear the difference between the band's first 3 albums. Although this record is distinctly different from Phantoms - not as aggressive, far more atmospheric, melancholic and epic - there is a certain continuity between the first two records - it sounds like the same band exploring different territory. The 3rd album 'Grand Destiny' was so different that it didn't seem much like the same band (much more pomp and a genuinely different style of riffing - nothing like the haunting). This disappointed me as I really missed the elements from the first 2 albums. Fortunately, the 4th LP Forsaken Destiny reintroduces some of the classic elements from the first 2 LP's (they way the horn melodies are played and many of the classic keyboard sounds), adding some new twists to their sound.

I'm out of superlatives to describe my regard for this incredible record (well, almost). An album title has rarely so well reflected the musical content, and the cover art perfectly captures the atmosphere of the music (the bird flying into the depth of a cavern, waterfalls flowing amongst it's depths). It's a beautiful piece of artwork, and you can trace the same artists' work across most of their album covers. The record somehow allows you to experience doom, melodic death, gothic, black, rock, ambient, and even occasionally jazzy influences into a seamless whole. Although there are some records that may be similar, I've never heard one that stands out quite like this - it is a crowning achievement of 90's underground metal. I can only recommend that you put this record on and give it your full attention. Allow the mysterious atmosphere and melancholic melodies into your soul...experience the haunting!

This is a totally fascinating and beautiful record. Sear Bliss is a band that I've never really explored- in the more formative time when I was first exploring underground black metal, I regularly heard of them but never really got around to listening. Frankly, even after listening to 'The Haunting' a few dozen times, I don't think I'm much closer to really knowing the band. According to others (and I'm in the dark here as it's the only album by the band I own), this disc is supposed to be a pretty big departure from their standard sound, with a greater melodic death edge along with doomier tempos. If this is the truth, I'm inclined to think of this album as a one-off stroke of genius: very few bands can come out with a release so far apart from the rest of the metal scene and yet so marvelously consonant within itself. This is an absolutely mesmerizing record, and one that I've listened to numerous times without ever getting tired with it.

The style at work here is a very delicate combination of melodic death and black metal along with an edge of gothic doom, but these seem like very blunt descriptors for music as delicate as this. Perhaps the best comparison is to a much less aggressive, more laid-back form of Nokturnal Mortum's 'Twilightfall' with its perplexing combination of genres. Still, there are certain elements which set this far apart from anything else- most apparently, how unaggressive it is despite its distinctly metallic feel. Even on the few occasions that blasts and tremolo riffs pop up, it never feels as though the band is expressing aggression or anger- just a heightened sense of emotion and introspective intensity. Hell, even the harsh, Abbathesque vocals are pushed into the background and delivered in more of a grumble than a shriek. This is not particularly headbanging or thrashing music- it's more something to hear high in your bedroom with the lights off. Nearly passive at times, this album revels in a patient, slow exploration of mystical atmospheres and refined melodic composition.

There's really a lot of melodic voices competing for space on this record; electric guitars, clean guitars, bass, synths, and even a winding, mournful trombone (always Sear Bliss' most distinct element), and the way they snake around each other, receding into the background sometimes and coming forward at other moments really defines the record's sound. The electric guitars, despite their burly tone, are one of the quieter voices in the production: the raw edges of distortion are smoothed off, letting them merge with the keyboards, which alternate between vast string/choral settings and oddly twinkling, electronic patches which actually remind me heavily of the sort of thing you'd hear in a j-pop track. Happily enough, the trombone isn't overbearing at all: there's plenty of moments where it's entirely absent, and when it does come in, the excellent production allows it to really fuse with the rest of the instruments despite how it naturally sticks out.

The music on this album is really heavily rock-based: blasts, double bass, and tremolo riffing are rarely used, and the songwriting tends to be cyclic, with fewer defined riffs and more repeating melodic fragments courtesy of the keys or trombone. However, wrenches are periodically thrown into this more traditional sense of songwriting by virtue of sudden, lurching tempo or rhythm changes, providing the sort of intensity that a metal album should have despite scaling back so many of the more abrasive elements. The production on this is really a wonder: just slightly bleary, but with a very rich, cool tone, smooth and befitting of the music's style. The sense you get from this release is definitely one of fantasy, but of what happens to the world after the 'happily ever after'. When Sear Bliss does fantasy, there's still trolls and elves (in sound, if not lyrics), but they're not really working magic as much as performing the daily chores and wondering what it was like when heroes still walked the earth. It's a fascinating feeling for a metal album that I wish happened more often.

While this may be a departure from the conventional sound of Sear Bliss, on its own it stands as a phenomenal album which truly displays the sheer variation and creativity possible within metal. It took some time for this to grow on me, but after repeated listens it shot up my list and eventually came to be perhaps one of the best metal albums I've ever heard. Massively recommended- you can't possibly go wrong with this one.

How many bands can really utilize a brass player to their advantage, let alone a band that has one as their full-time member? Well, Sear Bliss’ mix of doom, gloom, and magic is one of a kind that only gets better from here. I wasn’t too big on this album when I first heard it, mainly because I really needed to sit through it and absorb every second. I was getting into other black metal bands at the time, too, so my attention always steered into another direction like Darkthrone’s or Drudkh’s. The Haunting isn’t anything like the band’s later material, either, which is more up-beat and pompous as opposed to these early days where doom capitalized on their sound.

The Haunting is definitely a slow album; blackened doom metal is what I’d classify it, since the only black part stems from the vocals and some other small characteristics. Otherwise, it’s colossal riff after riff layered with poignant keys and a mysterious atmosphere. The cover backs up the sound well, going deeper and deeper under the earth as it uncovers that twisted, subterranean tone (props to Verwimp). The brass does all sorts of stuff related to adding tension, excitement, or breaks to the rupturing yet melodic riffs. It’s nothing like later on where the band will make it an integral part of the melody, but I’d say that this album would still be magnificent without their inclusion.

“Tunnels Of Vision” really start this album off on the right note, bringing in all the personality without turning into some snoozefest warranting the ”Genesis To Genocide” Syndrome. There are some experimental moments on the album, with one notable one in this first track that ditches the time signature and breaks out into some weird riff structure. It’s odd and I’m not sure what the band tried to accomplish with it, but the rest of the song engulfs it with the leads. The riffs themselves are varyingly simple, but carnivorous and very tuneful if you can see through the tone. It can sound repetitive to people who can’t decipher the notes, but it’s actually quite melodic without going into melodic death territory. Wish-washing cleans dance around and the riffs are like waves, repeatedly immersing themselves into the laidback mood.

The first half of the album is a little more straightforward, showing the heavier and more cleansed side of the band while the latter half consists of expressive, monolithic tracks with tons of atmosphere and energy. The outro to the last track is especially tantalizing and full of torment; so striking, yet so sad. This all ironically begins with the track (deceitfully) titled “Soulless;” you want an alluring, enticing dreamscape to get lost in, then that’s your song right there. There aren’t any growls in this song as opposed to the rest of the album, which has some pretty grotesque growling. I consider it a tamer version of Abbath’s Popeye style vocals, but it’s not exactly that either. There’s grumpiness straight from the throat involved, with Nagy gargling some wretched screams; not mutilated, yet heartbroken.

Bass prowls so low in the catacombs of bottomless ecosystems that it nearly overpowers the riffs. Nagy handles them primarily for rhythmic backing, but it’s the addition of them to the atmosphere that puts this high on the pedestal. This isn’t the time for grooves or jazzy sweeps – the atmosphere calls for rhythmic backing and he does just that. Drumming is also fanatical during the fast moments, but since the album is slow and crushing, it’ll more than likely keep a pace with the rhythm. The kit is cold and beefy, which makes sense since the atmosphere is rich but the environment is chilly. No sun around these parts, so there’s no need to finish anything before the day ends. It isn’t meandering, but stomping with a ton of drum bass and rocky snare.

I tend to take new Sear Bliss over the old stuff, but there’s a supernatural touch here that can’t be replicated. I thought this album was merely good when I first heard it, but now I’ve really been won over. The band was fantastic back then and continues to add their special brand of black metal these days without sounding the same. If you haven’t heard of these guys, shame on you, but if you have then go back and here them again!