Genre: Black metal
Origin: Australia
Released: 2009
Website: Austere
Label: Eisenwald Tonschmiede
Uploaded: 19.10.09

I’ve heard of Austere on several occasions, which comes as no surprise when the band members have been, or are still, involved with tons of other great Australian black metal acts. But I’m not sure if I’ve actually heard any of their previous outputs, at least I don’t think I have. So it’s with an open mind I press play. And it’s with an open mind I feel despair as soon as the first gasping howl commence.
The intro is very atmospheric and To fade with the dusk starts off very powerful musically, but I just don’t get the appeal of the vocals. It’s those type of high-pitch howling reminiscent of Burzum, and I’ve just never understood what the deal was. To me it doesn’t add any desperation and it doesn’t feel very emotional. It doesn’t add to the overall feel of the music. It sounds like a very feminine guy who just stumped his toe. I can’t help it; I just don’t care for such vocals. Unfortunately this is pretty much the only type of vocals you’ll hear on the album, with one exception.
So undoubtedly I find This dreadful emptiness much more appealing than the remainder of the album, as the vocals are tweaked a bit here. It’s harsher, and it sounds as someone’s torturing the hell out of this guy; like he’s actually screaming in agony and desperation. It goes quite well with the slow melancholy of the melodic riffing, which is the kind of coldness you’d expect from top-notch musicians. The drumming is very powerful and has a magnificent beat and tempo, somewhat akin to a lot of doom metal. But suddenly it all comes to a halt, and we get served a few seconds of ominous ambience just before the music picks up again. But it definitely doesn’t pick up where it left off, as it pushes the desperation to new heights with the faster tempo. Oh, how marvelous the vocals fit now. This is how I like it; fast, powerful drumming, desperate, aggressive screaming and agonized, melodic riffing; a perfect combination. And as the music slows down again (after a few very ominous seconds of ambience) the keyboard adds a fairly subtle melody, which just enhances the atmosphere. They even serve us some nice clean vocals, which works fantastic with the music.
So why can’t all tracks be like that… Well, they certainly keep the same unpredictable recipe of suddenly putting everything on halt to throw in some very fitting ambience. And as it only lasts for a few seconds it becomes Austere’s version of breakdowns. It’s brilliantly used. The drumming is very powerful throughout the record and the riffing remains within the same cold melody. But as I said I just don’t get the howling vocals, I feel the album loses a huge load of its effect due to it. No matter the marvelous song-writing, bone-chilling clean vocals and wicked production, I can’t help but to cringe.

Tracklist:
01. Down
02. To fade with the dusk
03. This dreadful emptiness
04. To lay like old ashes
05. Just for a moment…
06. Coma II