CAIRISS are a Post-Metal/Black Metal band from Southampton, UK. They released their first demo track 'Disgraced' in February 2014 and their first EP 'Fall' in June 2016. "Fall" contains three tracks, and a total running length of just over 30 minutes. "For The Lives He Stole" leads off the EP. Delicate guitar notes provide the entrance, echoing like chimes on the porch of a secluded cabin high in the mountains. A crushing guitar riff provides elements of Doom that threaten to crush you with their weight. Freyja's vocals are sweet and melancholy at first, and then demonic and hateful, turning on a dime. Hope and despair abound at the same time, like watching a colorful flower wilt under the impending cold of November. Stylistically it registers within the realm of Black Metal, but they really push the boundaries and go into territory that you have not heard before, making this a very unique offering. About six minutes in, the Post-Rock sound poked through the bleakness. Haunting melodies make it light and ethereal until the might and power return, and there is a noticeable sophistication to their songwriting.

"Disgraced" is the second track. Jovial acoustic guitars combine with soaring lead parts that give the song a regal quality. The punch from the wall of sound that often erects high in Black Metal is there, but it is porous in that air flows in and out, breathing beauty into the darkness. In this sense the sound is just so tender. But don't rest on your initial senses, because Freyja's screams could literally wake the dead, and create an army of man-eating undead stopping at nothing to feast on the flesh of the living. The title track, "Fall" concludes the listening experience. Once again you are greeted with a warm breeze, and whispers of pleasantries in your ears, as sunlight warms your skin. Here is where some of the Shoegaze style can be heard. The soft, quiet instrumentation seems to defy the passage of time, and fills your heavy heart with joy. The beauty of this track is that the listener can decide for themselves if it makes them feel warm or cold. How both opposites can exist at the same time is magical.

The architecture of Ethan's production is brilliant. When I think about how truly hard it is for an album to be both heavy and light at the same time, I am reminded of the mighty KATATONIA. Though they aren't really in the same sub-genre as this band, CAIRISS has captured that difficult but lovely feat on this EP. The album cover supports this notion as well. A tree blooms above ground, seemingly innocuous with pretty, delicate white leaves. But what lurks beneath the visible surface are twisted and gnarly roots drill through the ground. CAIRISS have created an EP that literally defines the modern sound of this once homogenous genre. In just a three track album, they have dreamed a landscape that touches so many different emotions that it makes you ache. Absolutely beautiful!