Gloson The Rift

Gloson Send Sludge Into Space On "Cerberus IV (Exodus)" (Lyric Video Premiere)


On their upcoming sophomore album The Rift, Swedish post-metal/atmospheric sludge experts Gloson experiment with heavy, oppressive atmospheres: their sludge is the sort constructed from titanic swells and crushing downfalls, only relying on ambience and glacial pacing to make sure each riff saps as much hope as possible from the listener. Their dour riffs lumber ahead at an unstoppably persuasive pace, always slightly askew but satisfying, as if they’re capturing a particular disharmony that the mind subconsciously craves. Interestingly, this sense of atmosphere is at its most overwhelming on a song conceptually situated in a place with no atmosphere: space. From the very start of countdown procedures, it typically takes about 72 hours to launch a rocket and get it into orbit, but “Cerberus IV (Exodus)” will get you into the uncaring void in just over ten minutes—watch the hypnotic lyric video for the track below.

Like any sensible craft, the track accelerates steadily, favoring constant development on its motifs rather than unexpected twists and turns. The vocals start when they’re damn well ready, and not a minute before—it’s interesting seeing a ‘lyric video’ for a song that pays this much attention to the non-lyrical parts, actually, but when the vocals arrive, their forceful and emotional delivery is unmistakably right on time. Practicing a “less is more” philosophy, “Cerberus IV (Exodus)” doesn’t overwhelm the listener with massive compositions or an overabundance of notes—while the song’s frankly jaw-dropping conclusion does add in some overdubbed synthesizers and choral vocals, they’re simple and detectable enough to make the entire combination sublimely coherent.

Though the rest of the album provides its own share of surprises and high-quality riffs, “Cerberus IV (Exodus)” shows the band pushing the envelope on their sound. It’s rare to hear non-guitars take significant lead lines in music like this, but here the synthesizers that adorn the second half of the track transform it into a cosmic experience. Additionally, the drum and guitar tones on “Cerberus IV (Exodus)” are more fractured and saturated than anywhere else on the album, as if we’re hearing the song as a transmission from a source that’s moving beyond its maximum communication range. The track concludes by distorting further into an ambiguous wall of sound, dissolving and leaving a sense that the band has elevated their atmospheric sludge to something else entirely.

The band comments:

“Cerberus IV (Exodus)” takes on a subject that unfortunately isn’t very uncommon nowadays. How humans and animals alike have to adjust and reform our way of living and move from one location to another just to survive. How our actions over centuries have devoured everything from entire species to great lakes and forests. How we’ve been forced to say goodbye to loved ones at the hand of greed, money and madness.

The Rift releases March 18th via Indie Recordings.