WE NEVER LEARNED TO LIVE

TheSleepwalk Transmissions HOLY ROAR

Panoramic post-metallers hone their craft on album number two

Four years on from their excellent post-metal debut, Silently, I Threw Them Skyward, these Brightonians return with a more focused follow-up. Leaning more on the sound of early 00s UK post-hardcore (Hell Is For Heroes, Million Dead yourcodenameis:milo),

The Sleepwalk Transmissions demands – and deserves

– to be listened to as a whole. Seán Mahon’s vocals oscillate between melodic cleans and throatshredding screams, turning on a dime in a captivating manner that evokes a feeling of constant forward motion. The band rustle up a smorgasbord of heavy-ringing chords and tremolo-picked guitar lines that create a wide, epic vista of sound. …Transmissions is a fantastic progression that retains enough elements of their original sound to not alienate their established fanbase.

FOR FANS OF: Hell is For Heroes, Cave In, Deftones remains “a band kind of guy”, despite going it alone at last. The Swede has contributed hugely to the broadening of Opeth’s sound since becoming an official member 14 years ago, and if you like what he brought to the table there then chances are you’ll appreciate this absorbing debut solo set. As well as handling most of the instruments and all of the vocals save for two duets with Promise And The Monster frontwoman Billie Lindahl, Wiburg is a skilled storyteller. Comprising just six songs spread over 40-odd minutes, from the sparse creepiness of Let The Water Take Me Home to its 10-minute sign-off number Fader, Head Without Eyes could be a soundtrack to a claustrophobic horror flick.

FOR FANS OF: Opeth, Van Der Graaf Generator, Swans