Harakiri For The Sky – III: Trauma album review

Progressive Austrians Harakiri For The Sky blaze a blackened trail with new album

Harakiri For The Sky album cover

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Much has been said of the Stateside contribution to extreme metal as of late, but one duo in mainland Europe are taking the post-black philosophy into even heavier, more expansive locations.

Trauma is dominated by cacophonous, relentless blastbeats crumbling wrists into dust, keeping the intensity at breaking point. It’s immersive, fierce but above all interesting.

Risks are taken and the primal energy surging through the record intertwines with the howling, wailing, yet accessible guitar lines and the snarls akin to a more pissed-off Johan Hegg. As extreme metal goes it’s more chinstroking than church-burning, but it’s an all-consuming beast. The galloping Thanatos conjures images of a corpsepainted Iron Maiden, while The Traces We Leave is an enrapturing experiment into progressive depths. Perfectly orchestrated extremity that’s not for the faint-hearted.

Luke Morton joined Metal Hammer as Online Editor in 2014, having previously worked as News Editor at popular (but now sadly defunct) alternative lifestyle magazine, Front. As well as helming the Metal Hammer website for the four years that followed, Luke also helped relaunch the Metal Hammer podcast in early 2018, producing, scripting and presenting the relaunched show during its early days. He also wrote regular features for the magazine, including a 2018 cover feature for his very favourite band in the world, Slipknot, discussing their turbulent 2008 album, All Hope Is Gone.