Thera Roya - Stone & Skin (2017)
Brooklyn-based Thera Roya have been
busy. After several EPs and splits and near-constant shows in the
last couple years, this trio is ready to roar onto the scene
officially with their first full-length album, Stone & Skin.
As the name suggests, this is a work of dualities. Vocalist Ryan
Smith shifts between clean crooning and distant screams; guitars
delight with both glassy tremolo picking and more traditional chugs;
dreamy reverb meets trundling bass. Their offering of post-sludge
pays homage to some genre greats, but this effort is, in the end, all
their own.
The album opens with a slow, sinister
build-up leading ever higher and higher. The expectation is for the
world to end in a high-powered collision of sound, but Thera Roya
surprises with something more subdued and thoughtful. The rising
edge gives way not to a deafening climax, but instead rolling drums
leading to a haunting, catchy mid-tempo riff. The melody is inviting
while the production—open and spacious—keeps the listener
engaged at a distance. This reliance on riffs is the cornerstone of
Stone & Skin and something the guys never stray far from,
despite their self-ascribed 'post-' leanings. These aren't
highfalutin compositions with far-ranging meanderings down dark
alleyways, but rather straightforward sludge jams with occasional
forays into the conceptual space. These ambitions are never more
obvious than at the LP's middle track, "Hume & Ivey",
which opens with audio from a physics educational film, circa 1960,
called Frames of Reference. "You're used to seeing
things from a particular point of view, that is, from a particular
frame of reference," the titular Ivey intones. "Things
look different to us under different circumstances." While I
appreciate Thera Roya's commitment to a theme, I'm not sure the rest
of the track—a solid if unadventurous crunch of a song—ever quite
reaches those lofty aspirations. It's a satisfying listen
regardless.
The back half of the album settles into
something a little more subdued and instrumental: they've brought you
into the fold, now it's time to spread out and explore the depths.
This is where Stone & Skin really shines. The
instruments, which to this point had by and large occupied different
spaces, finally come together to produce a driving, meditative finish
that feels earned. Those who find themselves missing post-metal
giants Isis would do well to avail themselves of Thera Roya.
~ Chris
For Fans Of; Isis, Cult of Luna,
Rosetta, Neurosis, Pelican
~
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