The Appleseed Cast - Illumination Ritual

With each and every record The Appleseed Cast shuffles their sound, even if just subtly sometimes. Since the emo infused End of The Ring Wars to the super lush Low Level Owls, to the swooping post rock of Sagarmatha, the band has continued to deliver great record after record, no matter what stylistic change they've decided to undertake.

Illumination Ritual isn't new ground for the Appleseed Cast but more of a reclaiming of things done well in the past and updated. The album's opener is a beautiful example of this. Adriatic to Black Sea starts off with a beautiful post-rock style riff that slowly builds, something the band has excelled at for their last couple of records. But the post-rock gives way to kick into a more classic emo rock sound. It's not the rawness of End of The Ring Wars, but that 90's emo tinge is there. The lushness that the band has given us isn't quite the same, but the beautifully delayed guitar tones still create nice layered melodies.

The intro to Cathedral Rings is a flashback to everything that was great about the 90's emo/indie/post punk scene. Mildly complex drums under a simple guitar riff. The chorus to the song actually explodes and all that is 90's emo goodness comes rushing back. 30 Degrees 3am has a beautiful post rock intro riff before busting into a nice rock grove. At times Illumination Ritual feels like a raw version of Two Conversations or Peregrine.

Illumination Ritual is a beautifully diverse record. At its heart, it's a rock record in the vein of the great 90's emo movement. But The Appleseed Cast does a great job at throwing in beautiful post rock riffs, and layers upon layers of sound that capture your attention and make Illumination Ritual an album to listen to over and over again, discovering something new each and every time through.

No band has ever been this successful growing and changing without ever losing themselves in the process. Another fantastic record from The Appleseed Cast.