HEMELBESTORMER

One major problem with successful subgenres is that after an initial flush of creativity, the law of diminishing artistic returns inevitably kicks in. Post-metal has long since left its imperial phase behind and now constitutes an established mindset, rather than any particular musical code. Sounding a bit like NEUROSIS or ISIS probably helps, but the point remains: post-metal in 2025 can be wildly original or utterly formulaic, with little in between. Belgium's HEMELBESTORMER have increasingly represented one potential compromise, where customary elements like visceral black metal, cinematic post-rock and swoon-inducing shoegaze are used for more effective means than merely ticking a box or three. Three albums into their career and still airily mysterious, they harness post-metal's unearthly power to navigate the cosmos, aggressively evoking the vastness of the unknown with deadpan sincerity. "The Radiant Veil" is a concept piece of sorts, with each song bearing the ancient Etruscan name of a celestial body in our solar system, from the Sun ("Usil"),to Saturn ("Satre"). Both an embracing of arcane wisdom and a psychedelic joyride through dark, astral depths, HEMELBESTORMER's fourth voyage is a blizzard of atmosphere, imagery and symbolism. Fortunately, it also rocks like a bastard and briskly fulfils the metal component of this whole deal.

They drop their most devastating card first. "Usil" is a hazy but destructive tribute to the ball of flame around which we all revolve, and it lives up to the task, unfolding over 10 minutes like a slow-motion volcanic eruption. The expected quiet / loud dynamic is in full effect, of course, but HEMELBESTORMER follow the riffs where they lead, whether that is into watery, gothic vistas or moments of burly, strident rock power. Rather than conforming to some rigid, grid-like structure, everything seems to happen instinctively, and melodies rise from the melee out of necessity, briefly illuminating the rugged churn below. Meanwhile, a thick strain of blackened fury drives the riffs forward, echoing the windswept iciness of the frozen north as it sweeps over the astronomer's encampment. The sun looms, immutable. HEMELBESTORMER bask in its heat, fully immersed in its flaming enormity. As opening tracks go, "Usil" is really quite something.

Thereafter, the Belgians veer off on several riveting tangents. "Turms" features a sonorous cameo from CASPIAN frontman Philip Jamieson, as the so-called doom-gaze elements of the HEMELBESTORMER sound are dragged to the surface, with creepy guitar lines and a pervasive fug of dark distortion. Closer in spirit to INSOMNIUM than ISIS, this is widescreen post-metal with its heart on its sleeve, syrupy synths bubbling away in the murky background like a half-heard reminder of mankind's insignificance. It ends with a huge crescendo and then an abrupt stop, leading into the beautifully morose and ethereal "Turan" with a masterful sense of natural flow. Again, synths envelop the song's austere pulse, which takes its sweet time to arrive at an unsettled, electronic conclusion. In contrast, "Tiur" is an unabashed epic with an amiable debt to PINK FLOYD and a simmering, space rock undertow that brings starry-eyed queasiness to a persistent avalanche of mournful riffs.

Similarly expansive, "Cel" is the album's towering centerpiece: a near-14-minute paean to the Earth itself, and one haunted by its unique horrors. The riffs are colossal, the atmosphere dense with detail. HEMELBESTORMER have always had grand ambitions, but "Cel" is where those genre-blending ambitions are overwhelmed by a more primitive desire to be heavy. The collision between those two approaches is where the magic happens, as giant, melodic doom riffs are jettisoned into deep space, to resonate portentously forever.

As it vanishes into the far reaches of fuck-knows-where, "The Radiant Veil" begins to calm itself. "Laran" is a thick, gooey, freeform drone symphony, with melancholy undercurrents; "Tinia" is a dramatic and emotional storm of simple melodies and shapeshifting sludge riffs; and the closing "Satre" whacks the progressive fader up, navigates through multiple changes of riff, mood and momentum, and methodically directs "The Radiant Veil" into the unknowable dark, with alien electro-squiggles and robot rhythms included as a cool bonus.

Assuming we haven't all lost the ability to suspend disbelief, albums like this are the perfect escape from reality. HEMELBESTORMER have conjured a fantastic, experiential post-metal extravaganza, drifting ever further away from the expected.