Downfall of Gaia - Silhouettes of Disgust

Angry Metal Guy

Now into their fifteenth year, German four-piece Downfall of Gaia need little introduction, particularly for longer-standing readers of this venerable blog. We didn’t cover their first two records, Epos (2010) and Suffocating in the Swarm of Cranes (2012) but since then, Downfall of Gaia has had a very good run in the hands of the normally-highly-critical Mark Z., with each of their next three albums swanning off with a coveted 4.0. While I really liked both 2014’s Aeon Unveils the Thrones of Decay and 2016’s Atrophy, the pick of the bunch for me was their last outing, 2019’s Ethic of Radical Finitude, to which I did a significant injustice, only awarding it an honorable mention on my Year End List. Barely out of n00b school at the time, however, perhaps I can be forgiven this faux pas but, as Downfall of Gaia return with sixth record, Silhouettes of Disgust, and I assume reviewing duties, can the band make it 4.0 out of 4.0?

Downfall of Gaia’s sound has always been hard to classify, and the further they go into their career, this challenge only increases. Post-black metal is probably about as close as one can get to encapsulating what Downfall of Gaia does in a single genre tag. However, on Silhouettes of Disgust, all the other aspects to their sound are amplified, from the sludgy post-hardcore and progressive black metal through to the crust that was prominent on Epos (“Odium” and “Luftschloss,” for example) and which permeates particularly the back end of this new record. At the same time, the post-black harshness of Altar of Plagues (“While Bloodsprings Become Rivers”) and the lush, progressive atmospherics of Minsk (“The Whir of Flies” and “Bodies as Driftwood”) remain as beautifully bleak as ever.

Silhouettes of Disgust by Downfall of Gaia

In a sense, Silhouettes of Disgust feels almost like Downfall of Gaia completed an epic journey, growing and picking up influences and tricks along the way but ending up back where they began, rather like a certain quartet of hairy-footed halflings in a moderately well-known fantasy epic. Unlike that epic, Silhouettes of Disgust does not take lengthy and unnecessary excursions involving people called Tom. It’s tightly written. Urgent and abrasive in places (“Final Vows”), melancholic and contemplative in others (“Eyes to Burning Skies” and closer, “Optograms of Disgust”), no track is one dimensional, each fluidly transitioning between the different aspects of Downfall of Gaia’s sound. The vocals, handled by guitarists Dominik Goncalves dos Reis and Peter Wolff, and bassist Anton Lisovoj, shift from rasping, blackened screams to post-hardcore barks, reflecting the different shades of the music on Silhouettes of Disgust.

One of the (many) highlights of Ethic of Radical Finitude was the guitar work, particularly the leads on “As Our Bones Break to the Dance”. I am pleased to report that Silhouettes of Disgust is packed with just as many compelling leads. The one-two of “While Bloodsprings Become Rivers,” with its crusty d-beat middle section that sees drummer Michael Kadnar having some fun, and the pitch-black melancholy of “Bodies as Driftwood,” is as good as anything Downfall of Gaia has ever written. The pacing of the album is also excellent, allowing different moods to swirl in and out of focus, with no one aspect dominating. Sections of “Eyes to the Burning Skies” border on drone, for example, but this is judged to perfection and balanced by the introduction of distant, ethereal female clean vocals, which fade away only for possibly the harshest black metal on the record to slam into you, like an unexpected wave knocking the breath out of a swimmer. The production is excellent throughout. Silhouettes of Disgust sounds rich and full, with just a hint of reverb around the edges of the guitars, allowing Downfall of Gaia’s sudden transitions and more measured progressions to hit with the impact they should.

It took me a little while to warm up to Silhouettes of Disgust. After my first few listens, I knew it was a good record but I couldn’t quite decide what to make of it. I’ve had this on a few occasions before, feeling like maybe I’m just not quite good enough for the album. It was in trying to figure out where to place it in Downfall of Gaia’s catalog that Silhouettes of Disgust suddenly clicked for me. More than any other record in the band’s discography, this is the one that manages to blend most effectively all the disparate facets of Downfall of Gaia’s sound. Once I realized that, everything slotted into place and Silhouettes of Disgust revealed itself to be possibly the best album they’ve made. Is 4.0 from a 4.0 a site record? Potentially.

Rating: 4.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Metal Blade Records
Websites: downfallofgaia.bandcamp.com | downfallofgaia.com | facebook.com/downfallofgaia
Releases Worldwide: March 17th, 2023

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