When I was younger, I was told that there’s a saying that all Chileans, like salmons, will return to their place of origin and eventually die. Although odd, I found this saying to be somewhat endearing: salmons do a salmon run, where they swim back against the current to spawn, and then they die, restarting the salmon life cycle. To compare Chileans with salmons is quite the stretch, but this idea – someone reaching the end of their life and new life spawning – brings me to Chilean band Rise To The Sky’s seventh full-length, Two Years of Grief.
I have talked about Rise To The Sky before (context), having spent more time discussing their music rather than the album’s lyrical and thematic content. Since 2021’s Per Aspera Ad Astra, Rise To The Sky has been charting the progress of grief, as told through the lens of those who have been left behind. In a sense, Two Years of Grief is the culmination of the grieving process, as multi-instrumentalist Sergio González Catalán closes the chapter on his grief and moves on towards hope.
It’s hard to talk objectively about Two Years of Grief. While this piece started off as a review, it has since evolved into something that feels extremely personal to me, and it prompted me to, once again, make a callback to angst and loss (context). Listening to this album makes me want to take a step back and reflect on how it makes me feel, as opposed to talking about the music, its themes, and how it neatly presents itself as a sign of hope for the future. Throughout his mourning period, González Catalán has taken the time to show us how his father’s unexpected death drove him to take his grief and deconstruct it for us. He showed us how he has slowly put himself together, allowing himself to process everything, while also frenetically pushing to new heights with each release. Grief drove him to pour himself into his work, providing insight into his relationship with his father. Now, at the end of the grieving process, he is finally able to feel joy and a semblance of peace again. With death comes new life, and he knows that his father will continue to live on through his son.
I empathize with him – as I continue to get older, I am seeing my loved ones age, and it makes me think about what will happen when they are no longer here. It makes me think about the friends and family that remain in my life, and whether I can hang on to them as time continues to pass. It’s already difficult enough to think about how one will eventually outlive their parents, as death can be sudden and unexpected. However, it’s even harder to place yourself in the shoes of someone whose own parent or close relative has recently passed, especially when the deceased was someone you have vivid memories of. The anguish is real, but grief affects everyone differently, and all you can do, in that moment, is empathize and be there for them if they need you.
It also makes you think about your own mortality and whether you will also be remembered long after you are gone. Perhaps that’s why the salmon analogy has remained poignant in my mind: it brings up the idea that our loved ones will continue to live on through their descendants, even when we are just a memory.
We can only hope that the bonds we have forged – between friends, family, and other extended relatives – are strong enough so we can be remembered.
It’s comforting.
Even without this context, Two Years of Grief is a powerful record, a testament to Rise To The Sky’s impressive, creative output. While it continues with its atmospheric death-doom sound, it seems to drift into funeral doom territory, inching slowly towards its end. Despite its layers of palpable anguish, the tones are brighter, and the extensive use of strings and other orchestral elements indicate a sense of levity – it’s a literal (musical) silver lining. Acceptance will eventually come and we must move on, continuing with our lives. Death doesn’t stop for anyone and we must keep going. After all, despite everything, it’s what our parents and our relatives would have wanted: to continue onwards on this path we call life.
Hasta la proxima!
— Hera
Two Years of Grief is available now on Meuse Music Records/Tragedy Productions. For more information on Rise To The Sky, visit their Facebook page.
Nine Circles 