Rise To The Sky is the doom / death metal solo project by Chilean multi-instrumentalist Sergio González Catalán. Writer intense tragedy laden epics, he creates vast soundscapes for his sweeping swathes of atmospheric laments. Constantly writing, Catalán has produced another album full of plaintive gravitas – Rise To The Sky’s seventh full length since beginning to publish music in 2019.
Set for release just seven months after previous album, Every Day A Funeral, Two Years Of Grief sees the culmination of a series of releases (which began with 2021’s Per Aspera Ad Astra) dealing with grief directly linked to the death of Catalán’s father, the passing of time (while experiencing mistrust, uncertainty and misgivings) and the event that would bring some peace. “Two years after my father passed away, I was able to welcome my son to this world. Now I know that, through my blood, I have brought him home. This album tells that story.”
Beginning this story of the long journey to reconnection, Funeral For My Home begins the album with poignant solo piano before lush but sorrowful string synths take up the refrain. With the introduction of Catalán’s powerful doom-laden riffs and drums (all played by long term collaborator Emidio Alexandre Ramos), a redolent column of sorrow, preponderant across much of the album, builds ominously. Beginning the album with the continuing feelings of grief, Funeral For My Home, explores not only the internal void left by the passing of a loved one but the space left by the missing voice in the family home. All the hearts dreamed of us / All I had of joy now falls / I lost my home / Lost my home with you gone.
During the first half Two Years Of Grief is an album that is full of moments of desolation and despair and while ultimately there is fragments of hope beginning to coalesce towards the end of the album, the long passages of anguish reflect the seemingly agonising interminability of a soul beginning to heal. Catalán does not shy away from discussing the difficult journey he has been on, “From sunrise to sunset and on through the sleepless hours of the night, day after day I have been submerged, drowning in the dark waters of melancholy and despair, my way back to the light forgotten.”
While Becoming Flesh and Bone begins with absorbing, yearning guitar and develops into one of the heaviest tracks on the album (with some ferociously compelling drumming and technically superb guitar), it is a transitional track from a lyrical perspective. Lift my voice / Bring some joy / Make me whole / Not some ghost. The imminent expectation of a child being born is a moment might signal an obtainable yet distant beacon of hope. Lyrically and emotionally the album (and indeed the three preceding albums), has been an odyssey of purgation for Sergio but one that is not yet fully complete. “Yet, as I watch the last sanguine rays of light bleed into the distant horizon, on this day so like all the others and yet so different, I catch a glimpse of a new path – one that slowly turns away from the shadows.”
Beginning with a tender spoken word section (the only lyrics during the track), title track Two Years Of Grief, is a track of bewitching splendour featuring heart-rending and affecting vocalisations by Natalia Deprina. Bringing gentle relief from the almost overwhelming despondency of the album, it allows the album some much needed space to breathe. While within the first four tracks there are quieter elements, songs melding into one is always a danger in albums of this genre and the title track is perfectly placed to avoid this. However, the song displays the song writing ability that is so intrinsically linked to the overall feel of the piece and draws the listener in once again. Can’t Hide From The Pain continues with the lighter atmosphere but as the track proceeds the sombre instrumentation and vocals return illustrating that grief can take hold at any time. I don’t want to feel you / I just want to be with you / In my mind I see you / I wish you could see me too / In my heart I have you. Weaved into the track are moments of melody and clean vocals exhibiting the battle within when moments of light break through the darkness.
Bonus track My Light Dies aside, the album concludes with the fifteen-minute epic From My Blood I Bring You Home during which the song morphs and evolves through the different sections. It is a fitting end to the album and a tribute to Sergio’s father that he will live on through his grandson. Send your heart, your eyes, my home / I, I know your blood comes home / From my blood I’ll bring you home / Flesh and bones replace your stone. Producer Filippos Kolipanos ensures (as he does throughout the album) that every moment throughout the song shines through. As the conclusion of a four-album cycle, From My Blood I Bring You Home is a worthy piece - grandiose yet respectful.
Lyrically the album will resonate with many people and without a doubt, Catalán’s father would be proud of the commitment of his son in telling his story over the last two years of his life. Join him on the last part of his journey….
Two Years of Grief is released on 16th June 2023.
You can visit Rise To The Sky's bandcamp page here: https://risetothesky.bandcamp.com/
or Facebook page here: www.facebook.com/RisetotheSkyBand
Written 11th June 2023
Watch the video for Funeral For My Home below.