Junius - Days of the Fallen Sun (2014)

Tracklist:

1. (Meditations)

2. The Time of Perfect Virtue

3. (Shamanic Rituals)

4. A Day Dark With Night

5. (The Purge)

6. Battle in the Sky

7. (Nothingness)

8. Forgiving the Cleansing Meteor

I came across Junius whilst listening to a post-rock genre radio on Last.fm a few years past. The first song I ever heard of them was 'Hiding Knives' off their first EP "Forcing Out the Silence" and it completely enthralled me. Since then I'm a huge fan of their constant beautifully atmospheric work. Both music and lyrics have such a fascinating surge to them that totally gets me. It's hard to describe, but let's just say Junius may be my all-time favorite band. Ever.

So no wonder I was quite thrilled as I heard a new EP was released on 18th February. And I wasn't disappointed.

"Days of the Fallen Sun" consists of four ambient tracks and four apocalyptic hymns that are mostly in the same (fantastic!) line as their older material but at the same time explore new avenues like screaming vocals and more hypnotic drum patterns. It is hard to analyse the EP track by track because the atmosphere builds up throughout the whole record (just like it's meant to be) and finds its epic climax in the closing track 'Forgiving the Cleansing Meteor' with one of the best outros I may have ever heard in my life - and, I have to add, this was by far the best song during their recent tour with Long Distance Calling and Wolves Like Us (if you get the chance to catch any of these live - do it! Brilliant live bands).

All in all, "Days of the Fallen Sun" is a perfect interlude to an upcoming album that will hopefully be released in the near future. See for yourself as the complete EP is free to stream on their bandcamp and make sure to pick up a physical copy of it, if you like it!

Recommended If You Like: Kyte, Khoma, Constants, *shels

United States, 2014

Atmospheric Post-Rock

Website || Listen

4.75/5.0