Album Review: Sundowning – In the Light of Defeat, I Cease to Exist

An introspective, gut-punching court is now in session, led by German post-metal lords Sundowning. In their first release since 2012’s Seizures of the World, this doom-laden four-piece drag us through an inner trial titled In the Light of Defeat, I Cease to Exist. Being a full-length consisting of only five tracks, its songs are individual, soul-searching marathons. “Exits Don’t Exist” opens the album and methodically sets its unhurried tone; the atmospheric riffs are given plenty of open space to breathe and sustain. The bridge has ’80s melancholic, synthwave written all over it, taking a brief rest from the metallic flogging. Vocalist/guitarist Christoph Wietzorek chooses to utilize his throaty, chant-like voice for most of “Exits Don’t ExistR...