Review by Vinny for Solar Temple - Fertile Descent (2018)

Continuing my theme of picking records that are by artists/bands who I am already familiar with but do not immediately recognise their side-projects at first glance, I recently discovered Solar Temple via The North playlist. One CD purchase later and I find out that this is one of the guys from Fluisteraars, a reference that I can hear in the first bars of album opener ‘Those Who Dwell in the Spiral Dark’. Despite having just two tracks the album is over thirty-six-minutes long and there is just as much detail in those two tracks as if there was seven or eight to listen through as part of a “standard” offering.

I would probably best describe Fertile Descent as music for the void. Once you are accustomed to the fathomless expanse that you will plummet through for all eternity you will find respite in its more atmospheric moments. You will hear the influence of Drudkh at times whilst on other occasions you will be soothed by otherworldly choral crooning. In short, this record is full of surprises, yet it never truly goes off-piste. For as much as I would recommend putting some headphones on with this one to properly enjoy it, I cannot guarantee that you will be able to still follow all individual elements at first. This is a record that does reward with repeated listens and does take the listener beyond just black metal. It is both dark and uplifting at the same time in fact, a feat many albums in this realm fail to pull off.

If we wanted to get into genre pedantry, then we could describe Fertile Descent as post-black metal, although blackgaze would be a stretch too far. Solar Temple are certainly unafraid to stretch their legs, regardless of one’s opinion of exactly where that takes them too. There is nothing alienating about Fertile Descent yet at the same time there is no evidence of the duo that make up Solar Temple crying out for mainstream stage lights either. Instead, the album sounds like an honest committal to tape of what excites and motivates the artists. I won’t pretend to love all of it, but I can certainly relate to most of it, and that’s progress folks.