Words: Steve Knapp

I often stumble across the opinion that the highest rewards are the least obtainable—the ones you have to work for. In music, accessibility can easily amount to a mere flash in the pan, throwing new groups to the shoulder so the next quick fix can speed right on by. The Black Atlas’ newest EP, Devils, is an album that rejects the extremes of both accessibility and obscurity. While it does make you work, Devils performs a bizarre bit of sonic husbandry to get the best of both worlds in order to pull you in and hook you for the rest of the ride.

It’s the kind of release that requires listeners to traverse lengthy intros into clouds of obscurity only to have the veil lift to reveal a familiar landscape they’re more than willing to call home. At one moment you’ll be bathed with atmospheric guitar swells indicative of doom or dark jazz and the next you’ll be greeted by a simple bass line and a voice reminiscent of the National that takes no time to warm up to. It’s back and forths like this that keep the EP in motion and will grab the interest of everyone from indie to metal fans.

As volume II of the Equinox EPs (Volume I being “The Other”), Devils dominates its predecessor in almost all ways. Sonically, it’s much lusher and more than fills the sonic space it sets out to occupy. It also takes a slight step back from metal more prevalent before; it’s still there, but this album lets so much more instrumentation bleed through to fill the gaps in a cohesively beautiful way.

The Black Atlas is a project to keep your ears open for moving into the future. It’s music that takes more than pushing play to get into, but once you’re in, it welcomes you with open arms and will help you along the rest of your musical journey.

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Score: 4.6/5

Website: https://theblackatlasmusic.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheBlackAtlas
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/theblackatlas