Recommendation: Minsk - The Ritual Fires Of Abandonment

[Demonspell]

Minsk - The Ritual Fires Of Abandonment (Relapse, 2007)

1. Embers
2. White Wings
3. Mescaline Sunrise
4. The Orphans Of Piety
5. Circle Of Ashes
6. Ceremony Ekstasis

Background: This Illinois-based quartet emerged as one of the more promising bands in the crowded "descendants of Neurosis" field with their debut Out From A Center..., earning a spot on Relapse's roster. Their just released sophomore outing, a gigantic improvement over the debut, finds them attempting a more distinct sound by emphasizing their interest in psych/prog rock and largely avoiding all out heaviness, although that band's influence is still fairly obvious, the album is occasionally reminiscent of the more experimental textures on The Eye of Every Storm. Half of the tracks here, including the two I've uploaded, are lengthy affairs that find them delving heavily into a psychedelic atmosphere and show an increasing mastery of the epic buildup, and expand their instrumentation a bit as well (when was the last time you heard a saxophone in a post-hardcore song?) Goes without saying that fans of bands like Isis need to hear this.


Official site
Myspace - contains one additional song & two from the debut

 

[IOfTheStorm]

Shit, why it says that i have to have a yousendit account?

 

[circus_brimstone]

Nice reco, Demon. I prefer "Out of a Center Which Is Neither Dead Nor Alive," but "Ritual" is good, too.

 

[Eminor]

I really like this one. My first impression was that it was slightly less impressive than Out of a Center... but over time, it's grown on me and I may eventually grow to like it even more. Excellent band.

 

[JayKeeley]

"Embers" is GREAT. Thing is, it's really long and drawn out so I can't really make judgement on one listen in the office, but for sure, it's going right on to my iPud for repeated listenings

Checking out the second sample now...

 

[boo berry]

this is way better than their first album

 

[Nate The Great]

This album rules.