An Evening with Knives - Sense of Gravity

Angry Metal Guy

Post-metal is a subgenre with a lot of classics and little definition. Whether it’s the pioneers in Isis‘ shoegazey Oceanic and Neurosis‘ sludgy Through Silver in Blood or more recent fusions in Nero di Marte‘s groovy Derivae and Altar of Plagues‘ blackened Mammal, the core has remained an emphasis on patience and dynamics in spite of its influence variety. As such, it has remained one of my favorite styles. Unfortunately, for every classic, there are floods of mimics and Great-Value versions of your favorite post-metallers, from the cozy twinklers of post-black metal or those who love Panopticon too damn much and nothing else. To be discerning, a balance of hypnotism, charisma, and originality must be achieved. Our latest post-metal loving Dutch trio An Evening with Knives is hoping to take a stab at the scene with their second full-length, Sense of Gravity. They advertise their sound as “where the wall of sound falls down into a sea of tranquility” in a fusion of post-metal and stoner-doom. Does their intriguing premise succeed in a cut above the rest or will it just settle being another post-metal old knives‘ tale?

One of the first things you’ll notice from the staccato chugs of opener “Sacrifice” is An Evening with Knives‘ bass-heavy approach. While that’s not necessarily unique, it spearheads the sound with technical flashes and walls of distortion of stoner-doom proportions, adding haze and heft. While some post-metal acts rely on dark atmosphere (Amenra) or shoegazey sprawl (Mouth of the Architect), Sense of Gravity‘s sound feels suffocatingly bass-y and concise by contrast. Bassist Peter van Grunsven, drummer Ivo Jonkers, and guitarist/vocalist Marco Gelissen have fantastic chemistry in weaving crushing riffs, Baroness-esque vocals, heavy metal solos, and ambient passages. While songwriting is imperfect and bass is excessive, their modern interpretation adds flourish to a digestible album that does nothing new to the style, but remains a nice post-metal fling.

It’s clear how important the bass guitar is, as it leads the charge with dense and hazy tones. It’s a clobbering weapon, truly overwhelming in its groovy riffs in unison with dense guitar in “Levitate,” energetic chugs in “Endless Night,” and the emotional melodies of closer “Every Ordinary Day.” The guitar has time to shine, thanks to the use of solos scattered throughout, climactic in tracks like “Escape,” “On Your Own,” and “Levitate,” hearkening in melody and whammy bar to an older heavy metal style. Vocals revolve around gruff shouts a la Baroness with uses of scattered screeches and clean singing across the tracks; these are often the most chaotic and hectic of the elements, which can infuse a sense of gravitas (“Endless Night” or “Every Ordinary Day”) or mania (“Sacrifice” or “Levitate”). Unpredictability often ends up being An Evening with Knives‘ best trick, such as the sudden rip-roaring guitar solos of “On Your Own” or the well-placed ambient passages of “Levitate” or “Turn the Page.”

What stops Sense of Gravity from soaring is that bass and vocals can dominate the mix, while songwriting betrays their focus on serenity. The first three tracks fly by with little distinction other than the guitar solos, since the vocals are largely the same and the riffs retain the same set of groove throughout. Vocals don’t follow a specific structure, and as such, the unpredictability leads to weariness instead of the intended charisma. Similarly, closers “Endless Night” and “Every Ordinary Day” end up being the darkest tracks here, nearly Amenra-esque, and highlights as a result, but their inconsistency to the relatively upbeat atmosphere of the first act is glaring. An Evening with Knives also struggles with the placement of some post-rock/ambient passages, as some are jarringly abrupt (“Sacrifice” and “Turn the Page”), feeling inorganic and rushed. And while the abruptness is often a benefit to the sound, too much becomes a novelty that wears off quickly, and it begins to feel forced.

Along with some sweet solos, these guys use stoner haze to keep their sophomore full-length among the ranks of post-metal solid enough to keep listeners engaged while avoiding Isis worship. They clearly want to incorporate more placid elements, but the dynamics just aren’t there, the mix is rather unforgiving, and the songwriting is tedious. While that’s forgivable, especially considering the brevity and density of the album, I left the record feeling ambivalent: ultimately, Sense of Gravity feels competent but unspectacular. It certainly has the originality in its heavy metal swagger and stoner doom infusion, but lacks the hypnotism of post-metal contenders, even if the band’s charisma is a work in progress.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Argonauta Records
Websites: aneveningwithknives.bandcamp.com | aneveningwithknives.com | facebook.com/aneveningwithknives
Releases Worldwide: March 6th, 2020

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