The Pitch: After critical acclaim with their debut EP and follow-up split, Irish post-metal band Raum Kingdom serve up their first full length album, "a one hour sonic journey of redemption and hope." FFO: Tool, Wovoka, They Grieve
What I Like: Raum Kingdom is a band that holds a special place on this website. Along with Anopheli, I initially discovered their debut on Metal Storm's 2015 "Clandestine Cuts" nominee list; and partially credit the incredible quality and power of that release to my embrace of Bandcamp, and a stepping stone to the development of Metal Trenches. Furthermore, the track "Cross Reference" introduced me to Black Mirror for the first time, so great first times all around. The band followed this up with a stellar split with All We Expected, proving them as more than just a one-off, Name Your Price Bandcamp of the week band.
Fast forward a few years, and Raum Kingdom is finally putting out a full length release, at a full hour no less. Everything & Nothing carries with it all of the hallmarks that have postiviely defined past releases. The slithering, lurking post-metal guitars are laced with otherworldly effects; the haunting aesthetic further amplified by Dave Lee's very Maynard-like clean vocals. This darkly meditative side is then offset by eruptions of sludgy waves of distortion and harsh snarls more akin to Alaskan or Wovoka. These elements come together in perfect proportion on tracks like "Hidden Pain."
Critiques: Unfortunately, I do have some qualms with this album. It feels as if the leap from 30 minutes to an hour, with longer tracks as the norm, hasn't found the band on steady footing. Songs feel much more repetetive and aimless, whereas previous material has felt more profound in concentrated doses. I'm also puzzled by some of the choices regarding the vocals, with opening track "Summon" spent largely on lyricless warbling that doesn't serve as a great introduction. While there are certainly great moments in lengthier compositions like the 15 minute "Winter," it all just seems to go on and on and on without much in the way of progression. Hookier, shorter tracks like "Dig" work much better.
The Verdict: Raum Kingdom is a talented band that absolutely deserves more attention and limelight. While I prefer the debut EP over this most recent album, Everything & Nothing still showcases the band's strengths in various places and will hopefully serve as a learning experience towards stronger LP's in the future.
Flight's Fav's: Walk With Reality, Dig, Hidden Pain
- Review by FlightOfIcarus
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