One of my favorite experiences with metal is how a band I enjoy vanishes from my radar screen, remains removed from my consciousness for years and then makes a roaring return with an album that transcends their previous achievements. It’s been six long years since Usnea released their previous album, the towering Portals into Futility, and Bathed in Light reveals that the absence has only hardened the band’s artistic resolve as calamitous global events and personal tragedies of the intervening time have whipped them into a creative frenzy.

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