From Bandcamp, “Man was meant to replace God as the universal measure. The events of the 20th and 21st centuries, however, have brutalized the creature once known as Man beyond recognition. There is no going back. We are left with an erased image, a misnomer—a sacred animal wasting away in a profane world. Man is both insufficient and irreplaceable. “Man Under Erasure” is a musical exploration of this new, uncertain universe, where the last remnants of humanist hopes and dreams have been reduced to embers—barely legible carvings etched into eroding earth. Our trust in ourselves has been misplaced. Everything we ever knew will be erased. FEVERSEA is a post-metal band from Oslo, Norway drawing on influences from black metal, sludge metal and shoegaze. FEVERSEA’s music lies at the intersection where the ferocity of black metal meets with ritualistic and ethereal soundscapes.”

The album has eight songs, and the title track is first. Soothing but tense keyboards are present throughout the song, combined with some hushed vocals. “Murmur Within the Skull of God” is the first proper song, and it has a heavy, weighted, and sludgy sound. The clean vocals provide a contrast, and I get some sultry tones from them, but the harsh vocals are intense, and bring a layer of primal aggression to the song. “New Creatures Replace our Names” has darker tones, and tension hangs in the air like the morning fog. It never dissipates however, nor does it spread. The advent of harsh vocals makes it rise a bit though. “Decide” begins with gentler tones, but the storm still threatens on the horizon. Heavy, chugging riffs crawl at the bottom end, keeping the song rooted in the swamp.

“Invocation” is painted with a darker brush, and the weight of the guitars is matched by the rage in the vocals. The music also carries some solemn tones, proving that anger and despair can exist well within the same song. “Until it Goes Away” comes at you with straight aggression out of the gate, bulldozing everything in its path, and the harsh vocals rage with an unbridled fury. It finally lets up a little bit after the half way mark, but it ends in hate. “Kindred Spirit” closes the album, and those entering bass notes are thick, meaty, and satisfying. It’s a tightly wound ball, but sometimes the band lets is hair down to explore.

This was a fascinating album with a lot of layers that the listener can borrow into, and it takes more than one listen to be able to uncover them all. Sometimes, its mysteries are easily solved, while other times, you have to work for them. Take a walk off the path that is familiar to you and delve into “Man Under Erasure.” Its dark mysteries lie within the songs.