Harakiri For The Sky – Aokigahara

Releasedate: 2014; Label: Art of Propaganda
By: Basak Günel

Harakiri for the Sky is an Austrian black metal/post-rock band formed in 2011 by M.S. His idea was to perform black metal that’s rough and melodic at the same time. For the lyrical concept of the album, M.S. asked help from his friend J.J. and later, J.J. became the vocalist.

The band released their self-titled debut album via Art of Propaganda in 2012 and with the release of this album; the band was able to play some shows in countries like Austria, Germany and Italy.
The band’s second full-length album “Aokigahara”, which was recorded in 2013, contains guest vocals from other noteworthy black metal musicians, such Torsten (Agrypnie), Eklatanz (Heretoir), Seuche (Fäulnis), and Cristiano (Whiskey Ritual). The band will also play in some festivals and in venues in Europe throughout 2014.

The band’s lyrics are about depression and suicide and this is also clear in “Aokigahara”. There is a depressing vibe from the beginning; this can be heard in the guitar riffs, through the melancholic melodies and surely, through the ‚raw black metal‘ vocals. Especially, this dark mood is focused quite well in the e-guitars which set out the mood and the aggression and despair can be felt quite well in the ‘raw black metal’ vocals which reminded me of old-school pagan/black metal songs.
Musically, what I loved about this album is the diversity in the genres; the band’s genre “Post Black Metal” also tells it all. This band does not stick to a genre but there is diversity within songs despite the overall dark mood of the album. With each song, the listener will hear elements from black, death and even a bit of doom metal. This makes the record a lot more interesting for sure!

Personally, the first half of the album caught my attention a lot more; the melodies are more of an earcandy whereas in the second half of the album, I felt that the bliss somehow got lost and the album became ordinary. Generally the songs are also quite long; as a matter of fact, the shortest song in the album is the song “Mad World” (Tears for Fears cover) and this might make the listener wonder if the songs could have been shorter. If you want a taste of the album, I recommend the song “Homecoming Denied”; the melody of this song still lingers in my head!

Harakiri For The Sky definitely is stronger than ever with the 2nd full length album “Aokigahara”. Especially compared to their first album, there is a strong improvement and a different approach this time. Dark, depressive and raw.. Breathe in the darkness with “Aokigahara”.

Line-up :
M.S. – all instruments, songwriting (Bifröst, Karg (live))
J.J. – vocals, lyrical concept (Karg

Tracklist: 01. My Bones To The Sea 02. Jhator* 03. Homecoming Denied 04. 69 Dead Birds For Utoya** 05. Parting 06. Burning From Both Ends*** 07. Panoptycon**** 08. Nailgarden 09. Gallows (Give’ Em Rope) 10. Mad World ( bonus track for vinyl version)***** * Guest vocals by Seuche (Fäulnis) ** Guest vocals by Cristiano (Whiskey Ritual) *** Guest vocals by Torsten (Agrypnie) **** Guest Vocals by Eklatanz (Heretoir) ***** Cover song of Tears Of Fears

Links:
Harakiri For The Sky Facebook