Brazil’s Labirinto have made quite a name for themselves in South America and beyond, their nine releases, two of which are full lengths, have earned them a reputation as one of the heavy hitters of the post rock genre. The four piece have now released third album ‘Gehenna’ – clocking in at an hour, this release is a collection of sprawling, instrumental soundscapes that can be likened to darker embodiments of the likes of Russian Circles and Pelican.
This would make for an intense and awe-inspiring experience to witness live, however, on record it can become a little overwhelming. The multi-layered components of ‘Alamut’ and ‘Q’yth-El’ ebb and flow, soar and crash like waves in a storm but when put together with the other tracks on this album the nuances become lost. Attempting to listen to ‘Gehenna’ all in one sitting is a gargantuan task and means that many of the songs will fail to register individually – the dynamics of each song are simply too similar, with an overall record length that’s more of a test of endurance.
Individually, each song is stunning – masterfully crafted and powerful. Put together, they fade into the background and become unnoticeable. This is great to dip in and out of and will no doubt be mind-blowing live, it just feels too labour intensive to sit back and listen to from start to finish. Wonderful in small doses, but a chore to consume all at once.
(6/10 Angela Davey)
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