Style: atmospheric sludge (instrumental)
Review by: Dylan
Country: United Kingdom
Release date: 6 August, 2021
Even though I’m taking a sort of break from reviews, I couldn’t help but feel intrigued about Existence is Temporary, an EP which looked to infuse Sludgy riffs with a sense of dreaminess that I found instantly attractive. This release was created by Grace Hayhurst, who I had a chat or two with in the Progressive Metal discord server but had no idea she was up to something like this until she hit us with the promo release. I was immediately met with an ethereal landscape surrounded by tight musicianship that perfectly knew how to drive a song forward, and make it be instantly memorable with no lyrics (bar a spoken word interlude).
Its main style is really quite curious. While the riffs are certainly driven by heaviness/distortion, with a sense of chunkiness willing to take even the strongest men down, there’s a contrasting beauty to the songwriting with the atmosphere around it. It is like the world is falling down around you, yet you remain reflective about it as you watch it unfold before your eyes (made obvious on the spoken word interlude “Existence is Temporary” where the idea of the EPs concept is made clear). This “philosophical” air about the release is best felt on any section that includes a keyboard. This isn’t uncommon per-se in atmospheric releases as it is a rather frequently used resource for sections where it all quiets down, before the other instruments build themselves back up to destroy you. But in Existence is Temporary it is frequently used both in interludes and as the cherry on top of the already complex instrumentation to give it an edge in songwriting which is not only really unique, but very well accomplished too. The way it is used to drive songs forward gives me a Steven Wilson vibe immediately, but in a way where you feel an artist is wearing its influences whilst understanding what makes them good.
This beautiful recipe was dead-set on success the moment it all came together. It just makes sense, almost as if the songs are progressing naturally from what came before, until it reaches a natural, satisfactory conclusion. It’s a shame that it is one of the few releases out there that I feel are too short for their own good. The concepts it presents (even if delivered instrumentally) are just too deep for it to only last 25 minutes in my opinion, it could’ve gone on for another 15 minutes and I’m sure it would’ve kicked even more ass. But to be fair, every song in this EP seriously screams perfectionism, so it can’t have been easy to write even more of them. All in all, Existence is Temporary is not only a massive win for Grace Hayhurst, but also a phenomenal release to build a career out of.
Recommended tracks: Negative Incline, The Search for Purpose
Recommended for fans of: Steven Wilson, Mastodon, Toska
Final verdict: 8.75/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Twitter | last.fm
Label: Independent
Grace Hayhurst is:
– Grace Hayhurst (all instruments)
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