We knew Mission To Sleep had a new one on the horizon, we were hoping that Junius’ impending opus might arrive, and we were aware that Pelican had something brewing. Completing our own personal Mount Rushmore of Post-Rawk/Metal awesome is SOM whose new effort seemingly came out of nowhere (Meaning we had heard no rumblings before the first single dropped) to complete this monument and make for a truly killer 2025.
The most concise, straight up Post-Heavy opus SOM has delivered to date with an urgency to it that perhaps echoes these tumultuous times, Let The Light In is as if the band looked at “Shape” off 2022’s The Shape Of Everything and anchored an entire album off of that… and we’re not complaining in the least! Each single that’s come as a preview (“Give Blood”, “Nightmares”, “Chemicals”, “Let The Light In”) has peeled back more layers and, for us at least, revealed why that previous statement kinda rings true.
“Don’t Look Back” is anthemic and everything that a SOM opener ought to be with iconic riffs, a steady stomp, and these heavenly vocals topping it all off while the title track which follows is a crunchy kind of cathartic ditty. One of those aforementioned previous singles, “Chemicals”, is a glistening slow burn with Will Benoit’s voice shining like a light from the heavens and leading the way into an exquisitely executed master pummeling in the instrumental department.
“The Place That I Belong” is the kind of song that, when people ask what SOM “sounds like”, would be the ultimate referral track as it goes toward interesting sonic places and intricate tempo shifts steadied by Justin Forrest’s precision percussion and the riff synchronicity from both Joel Munguia Reynolds and Mike Repasch-Nieves. Then there’s what might be the heaviest SOM song yet as “Give Blood” takes hold with this wall of bombast and a Cave In-esque Space Rawk layered in mixed with a bit of the unforgettable finale of “Youth // Decay” echoed in there as well.
“Nightmares” is large and in charge coming in all big, bad, and bodacious and featuring some rad riff interplay further in between Repasch-Nieves and Reynolds followed by “Under Streetlights” which is a haunting low end glazer as Benoit’s voice takes on an especially ethereal quality while wading through the sometimes crushing soundscape. Closing it all out is “The Light” which is as stunning as it is somber sounding with SOM conjuring these amazing aural worlds with their instruments and songwriting skills for a sweeping conclusion that’s all heady Heavy and heart.
Let The Light In arrives through Pelagic Records on March 14th and you can pre-order yours now in a variety of formats by heading here. For more from SOM, including upcoming live shows beyond the just finished run with Earthside, hit the socials by clicking here or here.