LP Review: "Remnant Light" by Vaiya

Remnant Light

In the grand scheme of life, what do you think the purpose of music is?

Of course it's to paint a picture, to convey an emotion, but what is the end game of a song, an album, or a career?

We listen to the blues when we feel sad in order to feel better. We listen to metal when we're angry and seek relief. We listen to techno or EDM when we want to dance.

This train of thought can continue, but you have the idea don't you?

In the end, music seeks to inspire. When it's all broken down and rooted out. I feel like all songs are there saying, "Hey, Nik. This bad day, it's not the end of your life. No matter what happens, we'll be here to push you forward."

The cover of this record is the most apt thing I have ever seen in my life.

In my notes, I wrote down the phrase "streaming metal" and that was followed by "over the rocks."

These songs feel like a mighty river that's pushing us into climes and parts unknown.

It's so welcoming.

The forlorn screams sound like not calls for help, but cries of defiance as if to say, there's nothing that can hold me down forever.

Like many albums that have been posted on these pages recently, Remnant Light features a very small tracklist.

There are three songs at thirteen minutes each. Precisely thirteen minutes long. Without fear of contradiction, we can say that this album has a running time of precisely thirty nine minutes.

It's certainly a progressive metal album.

Though the chords do press on, there are times when they give way into unexpectedly lurid melodies. It's easy to write long songs, but it's difficult to write good long songs. Vaiya certainly does not miss the mark here.

This three act journey through hell will stick with me. Instead of falling into the trap of droning black metal, Vaiya creates a masterpiece.

Release: 4/14/17
Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal
Label: Nordvis Produktion/Bindrune Recordings
Formats: LP/CD/Digital
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