Originally written by Erik Thomas
Amid all the large name metal releases that saw the light of day on August 22nd, 2006, one that might slip under the radar is the sophomore effort from Ohio’s Mouth of the Architect, the last remnants of the excellent but short lived band Rune.
While Time and Withering was essentially the band’s demo wrapped up and released as an impressive full-length, The Ties That Blind shows a true development, depth and fleshing out of the band’s Neur-Isis-core (© Erik Thomas) in a way that should see the band swaying with the mutual respect and adulation garnered upon from the likes of Overmars, Rosetta, Pelican,Cult of Luna and such.
An expansive, beautifully structured and rendered album, the almost wholly instrumental The Ties That Blind is an effortless, yet introspective listen that ebbs and flows with a natural ambience and grace. Like watching a thunder storm roll by in the distance and witnessing the power and beauty of mother nature, the album sort of floats by with varying levels of rumbling heft and delicate hues.
While dissecting each track would do the album a severe injustice as The Ties That Blind should be experienced as a single lengthy, meditative listening experience, the superb layered throes of opener “Baobab” at the three-minute mark hint ever so slightly at Rune’s somber tones, while the grand scope and scale of the 15 minute and truly captivating “No One Wished To Settle Here”, will test your emotional fortitude. While I enjoyed the tense build and climax of mostly instrumental “Carry On”, I think that Gregory Lahm’s seldom used roars are an effective addition to the overall experience and could be used more, if hardly bringing anything new to the table.
There is a tiny downside with this album though (mainly for my ADD riddled brain); with those three immense tracks virtually sapping you of all energy and hope, the last three have somewhat of a struggle holding your attention despite their continued quality, and if like me, this type of music is pre-bed headphone music, the languid start and Godspeed You! Black Emperor pace of “Harbinger of Apparition” is where you will be lulled to sleep. Only to be rudely awakened by the raucous lurch of the surprisingly short “At Arms Length” (featuring guest vocals from Mastodon’s Brent Hind) . The aptly titled (in a good way) “Wake Me When It’s Over” closes the lushly produced affair with shimmering heft and more vocal angst than the rest of the album and ends The Ties That Blind with a nice climactic closure; something that was lacking on Time & Withering.
In all, The Ties That Blind is a magnificent effort and one that has certainly reduced my slight disappointment at Intronaut’s less evocative and more rigid Void (also released on August 22) and certainly elevates Mouth of the Architect to elite status within the genre.
