Let’s get this out of the way right off the bat. The best song off of Junius’ new EP Days of the Fallen Sun is “Battle In The Sky”. There is no arguing it. The combination of strings, chimes, heavy brooding bass, primally aggressive guitars, crisp sharp drumming, and distorted screaming just can’t be beat. Yesterday I listened to it on repeat for my entire 30 minute drive home and each time I picked out something new to love about the song. I hate to use this term, but epic truly is only way to sum it up.
So what about the rest of Days of the Fallen Sun? Wunderbar! Which is German for kicks-major-ass. I wish all heavy music had just a fraction of the deep dark and powerful nature of this EP, which is a combination of beautifully brutal songs and intricate almost ethereal interludes. There is a delicate art to building up Junius’ brand of brooding darkness punctuated by floating backup vocals without going full goth… you never want to go full goth unless you intend on never coming back.
If this is your first time hearing about Junius don’t feel bad. This album was my first introduction to them too, but I quickly got caught up and it was well worth the time spent. From listening through their back catalogue it’s pretty evident that Junius has been amazing from their first release. There is a strong line of growth from album to album and they just keep getting better. If Days of the Fallen Sun is any indication of what their next full length album is going to be, we’re all in for one hell of a ride.
This is such a tremendous EP from beginning to end that I haven’t been able to get sick of it yet. Aside from the new Against Me!, Burials,and the new Mogwai; Junius’ Days of the Fallen Sun has all I’ve been listening to lately and that’s one hell of a feat. Typically, albums that are this heavy, fatigue sets in rather quickly. However, with the way Junius constantly changes up the melodies and intertwines them inside the powerful metal like structure of the EP is amazing. With Days of the Fallen Sun, Junius build an engaging narrative that gets better with every listen.
Rating: 5/5