Black Out The Sun is the first full-length release from Everything Goes Cold in five years and it goes to show that you should never rush art because this is indeed a phenomenal offering from the outfit. A unique blend of industrial, electronic and 8-bit video game tones, this band is a breath of fresh air in a music industry densely populated by bands all doing exactly the same thing.
Beginning with sparse electronic tones, the listener is gently eased into Black Out The Sun, with the intro track gaining more and more momentum as it leads into the first full track of the album, The Joke. Beginning where the introduction left off, you’d be mistaken if you thought that was the direction the album was taken, but then all hell breaks loose as the band thows chunky and noisy instrumentation at you, and that’s when you know that this is going to be an album you won’t be forgetting in a hurry.
There are earworms a-plenty on Black Out The Sun, with particular highlights being IAMERROR and Henchman Follows Hand, but a track that stands head and shoulders above the crowd is the wildly catchy When the Sky Rips in Two You Are Free. One of the more “8-bit-esque” tracks of the album, it’s a track you’ll remember for all the right reasons with melodies made for getting stuck in your head and a chorus simply begging to be sung along to – quite simply, it’s a powerful track you’ll keep wanting to revisit.
One minor nuance about the album is the vocals; at first, they do sound a little strange and out-of-place, but the more you listen to the album (something which is not a difficult task, due to the quality), the more they grow on you, so it’s worth giving it a few more spins before forming an opinion.
However, aside from that, Black Out The Sun is an excellent release and one you’ll keep wanting to come back to – Everything Goes Cold have really delivered with this one.
8/10
