Ok, imagine if Thou and Immortal Bird met, fucked, and had a baby. At the same time, Deafheaven and Wolves In The Throne Room met, fucked, and had a baby. And by some miracle those babies met and they fucked. The resulting baby would be Brooklyn’s Yellow Eyes. The product of baby fucking…
Pineapple Express jokes aside, Yellow Eyes belong in that elite level of black metal company. A common word in reviews covering this genre of music is “atmosphere”. I understand what the word means and I get what people are are saying when describing music using “atmosphere”. However, when it comes to Sick With Bloom, the atmosphere I was personally in while really hearing it for the first time is what I want to focus on.
I had listened to Yellow Eyes’ outstanding Sick With Bloom a handful of times. While driving. While working out. On computer speakers. It was badass. I didn’t really have an emotional connection with it yet but I knew it was special and needed to keep pulling back its layers. Then on 11/4/2015 I witnessed one of the best shows of 2015. Kowloon Walled City and Fight Amp played the local Bellingham, WA rock establishment known as The Shakedown. They went on to thoroughly thrash my mind in two completely different ways. The gritty noise rock from Fight Amp followed by the direct and emotionally punishing Kowloon Walled City left me wondering if there could have been a better musical evening. Sick With Bloom was my choice to walk home to.
I like the Eroding Winds/Gilead Media blurb on how part of Sick With Bloom was recorded:
“This is enhanced by the inclusion of numerous field recordings captured during the album’s production at an isolated cabin in the northern woods of Connecticut. You can feel the surrounding wilderness seeping through into the music. A sound elevated by the vibrations of ancient growth and echoes of nature’s power.”
That is spot on. In the title track you get that right away. There is a similar eerie orchestra of chirping that you can find on The Mars Volta’s “Miranda That Ghost Just Isn’t Holy Anymore” that leads you into the onslaught that is Sick With Bloom. Check out the title track below:
Between songs you get to catch your breath for a moment by getting lost in those field recordings. Other than that, it is a non-stop adrenaline rush of a listen. So, back to that epic night on 11/4/2015. It was pretty damn cold (especially since I was covered in sweat from the show). The wind was blowing at least 10-15 mph. The trees were swaying with the moon coming in and out of focus from behind them. My personal emotional connection with Sick With Bloom was born on that walk home. All of those factors (cold wind hitting my face, dodging crack heads on Samish Way, catching the moon behind the swaying trees) combined for the most perfect atmosphere. Not only did I see one of the best shows of 2015 that night, I discovered one of the best albums of 2015. It was as if Yellow Eyes scored that walk just for me.
I know they weren’t thinking of some random dude in Bellingham, WA but I am sure Yellow Eyes were thinking they wanted to affect people when creating Sick With Bloom. It is emotionally charged to the max and if you take the time to really take it all in I am betting you will relate to it in your own personal way.
Rating: 5/5
Pre-order a copy of Sick with Bloom limited to 400 black vinyl, 200 random color vinyl over here –> Yellow Eyes – Sick With Bloom