Album Review: Beneath A Steel Sky – Cleave
Reviewed by Rob Barker
Beneath A Steel Sky are starting off 2025 with their first full release Cleave, a post-metal/heavy-post-rock LP, and their first full-length release following a few singles coming out that also appear on the album. I’d not heard BASS prior to release, so was intrigued to see what they’d offer me as a first-time listener. I’ll break down the tracks in a bit, but firstly I’d say that a big congratulations is in order to BASS for this release, in both it’s homage to the genre, and also it’s divergencies from it.
Cleave starts off with the beautifully titled The Sky Above The Port Was The Colour Of Television, Tuned To A Dead Channel. Noticeably gorgeous guitar tones greet the listener at the gate, and generally speaking they will guide us through the entire album as we go on, so it’s nice to be introduced to them right from the start. Actually, I daresay the tone and feel of the introduction to the album made me reminisce of Cloudkicker. Vocals are introduced, low and very heavy, the caught-on-the-wind- quietness of them adding to the atmosphere well. Vanguard takes the second slot, with a pleasantly jarring intro riff coming in straight away. Clean, almost Terreract-like vocals are introduced here, and work well, adding another dimension to the band and complimenting the heavy and tortured Old Man Gloom-esque raspiness of the other vocals nicely.
Everyone You’ve Ever Known showcases a top-tier drum beat with some tried-and-true post-rock tricks and chord progressions used to good effect. Quetzalcoatlus and The Infinite Silence That Follows The Absolute Truth show off eerie and minimalist repetition of dissonant guitar chords, building, building, building, into a huge, monolithic finale. Cyclical Dunt’s intro guitar, tone and pattern reminds me of A Perfect Circle and even some of the slower Jinjer tracks; whether BASS are influenced by these bands or not, the wider listening the musicians undertake is undeniably present. The Becoming finishes off with a painstaking end to the release, encouraging a second playthrough tor listeners.
Cleave showcases some classic post-metal worship, reminiscent of bands like Isis and Rosetta, but also not shying away from more recent bands of the genre such as Dvne and Pijn, and even on occasion calling to influences from areas (shock-horror) outside of the post-metal genre. A good first offering from this six-piece, give it a listen and look out for them playing a show nearby!
Reminds me of – Old Man Gloom; Pijn; Isis; Dvne
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