Drifting through a lush garden of poisonous plants, the moon weaves in and out of smoky clouds, coating the path forward in shifting darkness and light.  While the allure of giving up and simply lying in the moss to be consumed by nature is tempting, resiliency can endure to move you along when ready.  Swiss duo E-L-R paints this picture and an emotional journey of grief, loss, heartache, delirium, obsessive love, and ultimately resiliency, survival, and transformation in their third album Atropa.  Named after a genus of flowering plant in the deadly nightshade family, Atropa exists in this garden where beauty meets death through a combination of doomgaze, post metal, black metal, and psych. 

Six tracks create an immersive environment with soaring vocals, hazy riffs, and hypnotic rhythms.  Feeling familiarly E-L-R and dripping in doom, “Oaken Reaper” opens the album with a gasp of life, marching guitar and bass, crashing drums, and projected vocals that call out into the ether.  “Archeress” has a reverberating strummed guitar melody with a steady bass beat. The melody expands and spoken word is heard with vocalization in the background.  The track continues to expand and grow, bursting with energy and furious drumming.  “Cobalt Wound” offers something different with haunting distant vocal wailing as quiet cymbal-focused drumming ensues with gently strummed bass and guitar.  This hazy, ambient opening continues before lyrics are heard.  A guitar solo enters as the track takes on a more psych feel.

“Solace Tracery” has an extended post metal instrumental opening with vocalization ringing in the background. Black metal is woven into this track reminiscent of Alcest. The song transitions into a quieter segment about halfway through with echoing guitar tones and gentle drumming.  Drummer D.B. provides vocals here, an unexpected but welcomed addition.  His grounded vocals are similar in style to Pallbearer’s Brett Campbell and are starkly different compared to the ethereal vocals of the duo.  “Saltwinds” is a solid doomgaze track and is the shortest on Atropa running just over five minutes, it is consistent throughout with small rises and falls.  It is a little forgettable among the rest of the outstanding pieces but still not one to be skipped or missed.

Atropa closes with “Echo Space,” and like nightshade itself, it slowly unfurls and flowers.  The longest on the album running over ten minutes, it takes its time and encompasses everything Atropa represents. It opens peacefully and ambiently.  Aptly named, echoing vocals ring out into wide open space.  Eventually a crescendoing mass of cymbals crashing and reverb takes over as things shift into a more metal outlet.  This may be the most powerful piece on the album with massive waves of sound cascading down onto listeners.  The peaceful ambience returns to close Atropa as the ringing tones slowly fade into darkness.

Created throughout a time of illness and transformation, the fervor and passion behind each note is clear. Founders I.R. (bass, vocals) and S.M. (guitar, vocals) welcomed drummer M.K. who contributed drums on “Oaken Reaper” before they unfortunately had to step away due to health issues.  Drummer D.B. stepped in to record for the remainder of the album, stylistically a seamless transition, but the impact and emotional departure of M.K. added to the overall feel of Atropa. Describing their sound as “something that drifts between weight and dissolution, beauty and poison,” each track grabs hold of listeners and does not let go.  The dreamy beautiful vocals rising above a swirling cacophony of doom is entrancing.  Atropa is richly decadent in sound and heart. The nightshade is beckoning, enter the garden and stay a while.

–Angela

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Atropa is available now through Prophecy Productions. For more information on E-L-R, visit their official website.