GOLDEN LIGHT is an Atmospheric Black Metal project featuring Meghan Wood on vocals and E. Henderson on all instruments and sounds. On April 24, 2020 they release their debut album, "Sacred Colour of the Source of Light." Regardless of the British spelling of "color," the two hail from the American Midwest. This may also explain the cold, grey feel the music emanates. If you have ever survived a Chicago winter, you'll know what I mean.

The album comprises just four tracks, but except for the first they are all seven plus minutes, making this either a short full-length album or a long EP. As the album is Atmospheric and Black, the production values are decidedly lo-fi which also lends to the metallic, static vibe. The band has said some things about what they were after with this album which, to be frank, don't really help. Something about a procession of the damned and excluded and the accursed data that describes them. But then again, you don't expect much specificity when it comes to this subgenre of metal. Ambiguity is the name of the game.

Musically, there is little distinction between each track. Distorted tremolo, galloping flattened drums, harsh vocals, and an echoed overlay melody which sometimes comes across as a piano, sometimes a bell, sometimes strings. If there is a bass line, it's mixed out of existence. With that said, my favorite track is "Dawn of History" which relegates the guitars to the background (at least for the first five minutes), moves the synthesizers to the foreground, eliminates the vocals, and leaves the percussion right in the middle. The best part of the track comes at the five-minute mark when the drums are given free reign and the guitars are pulled back to the foreground. The drum work is spellbinding and the introduction of heavy, hazy riffs late in the track achieves an impressive effect.

Unfortunately, when I consider the music of "Sacred Colour of the Source of Light" and weigh it against the promise of that same title, it doesn't quite satisfy. I have heard Atmospheric Black Metal that scares the crap out me, takes me to mindscapes I have never been, or ties me up emotionally and spiritually, but not so here. "Sacred Colour of the Source of Light" is an interesting album. With only four tracks, it doesn't demand a huge time commitment, so the risk is low. If you are a fan of Atmospheric Black Metal, it is certainly worth a listen.