Falls of Rauros - Patterns in Mythology

Despite the Tolkien-derived name, I have never really been all that into Falls of Rauros. I’ve long found their brand of ambient black metal to be one of the least convincing representatives of the American scene’s indeed brimming catharsis. Yet Falls of Rauros have only ever briefly and inconsistently captured what so many of their contemporaries have been able to grasp, and unfortunately Patterns in Mythology isn’t really doing much to change up their compositional approach or their track record. While competent and experienced in the field, Falls of Rauros can’t seem to write effectively or convincingly intentionally, meandering through a series of inoffensive, yet seemingly indiscriminate musical sections that lack cohesiveness beyond their stylistic homogeneity. I don’t enjoy deriding this album by any means, but Falls of Rauros have been doing this for a long time now and it doesn’t seem like they have any sense of where they need to improve, if the desire to do so is there. Again, it’s definitely a serviceable slab of American ambient black metal, but by no means would I show this to the style’s detractors to change their minds, because I myself could hardly keep my gaze fixed on this project. Even though it’s not a marathon of an album, its 45 minutes go by like a tedious chore; when I mentioned it being serviceable, I mean very minimally serviceable: as in background ambient black metal at best. After trying a good 5 times to get into this album and find out what there could be to enjoy, and struggling to keep my attentive grip on it every time, I think I’ve given it its fair shot. And unfortunately we just don’t connect.
no second date/10

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