In their six years of existence, Vancouver’s Liminal Shroud have quickly become a bastion of intelligent, bombastic black metal. Their sophomore record All Virtues Ablaze was a solid progression forward – though admittedly, the cover artwork wasn’t my favorite, the music itself made that a minor point. The band’s now third release is an important moment for Liminal Shroud in terms of continuing their ascension in the black metal pantheon, or possibly standing still. Thus, we arrive at Visions of Collapse to see if the Canadian outfit can push themselves to the next echelon.
Deciding on a tense, steady build to opener “Nocturnal Phosphorescence” is a notable and ultimately wise choice, allowing the track to sneakily but steadily slide its grip onto the unwitting listener. Liminal Shroud administers the right dosage of melody to give their music flavor, and they’ve never used that tool to conjure a more gripping effect. As the song’s crescendo is reached near the end of the nine minute jaunt, the all-important payoff astutely hits the mark. “Nucleonic Blight” embraces a similar approach via differing sonic characteristics; whispers and dreary clean guitars meld with slow percussive beats, followed by vocal snarls and slick tremolos to kick the song into the next gear. Again, the balance of melody and grit meet in the middle, resulting in a thoughtfully abrasive piece that’s thematic to Visions of Collapse.
The lengthiest entry is the near 11 minute “Resolve” – an expansive song with post lushness and the moodiness of blackened doom. Stinging tremolos are consistently present, with Liminal Shroud never abandoning their base sound despite the utilization of contrasting elements, conclusively enhancing their output. Additionally present are a few passages of clean and harsh vocal tradeoffs, to which for some may be divisive, but ultimately work to provide additional texture. That journey is followed by a quick hitter in “Malaspina” that ups the pace and is a more direct salvo, though still very much in the style one would expect at this juncture.
The closing number comes in the form of “The Carving Scythe” to leave the listener with a dazzling maze of scintillating black metal containing multiples of the more aggressive segments of Visions of Collapse, while containing large swaths of atmosphere and depth. The entire album’s production is a key factor to consider, boasting a silky sound with the right level of abrasion. Those who prefer their black metal to be on the raw side of the spectrum may not be all for the sheen that Liminal Shroud exude, but their attention to the finite details of melancholy, darkness, and curiosity make their music wholly unique and immensely impactful. The cover art additionally fits the dynamism of the album and then some, provided by the prolific Misanthropic-Art, wrapping up an extremely tight package.
We posed the question of where Liminal Shroud may end up when these proceedings were all said and done. This scribe is of the firm belief that both a logical next step and a further evolution of Liminal Shroud’s eclectic black metal stylizations have been achieved with Visions of Collapse. Furthermore, we’re provided a tightened overall instrumental quality and song composition that’s always overflowing with intrigue and emotive nuance. Visions of Collapse is irrefutable evidence of Liminal Shroud’s ever increasing standing in the black metal universe.