As you’d probably expect, Steve Von Till’s solo debut – originally released in 2000 – has many of the hallmarks of his main musical venture, Neurosis. The slow-burning nature of the songs, the ancient earthiness that permeates every inch of the rugged landscape he carves out with an ancient sagacity are all present and correct. It’s also something of a departure. Don’t come to ‘As the Crow Flies’ in search of bonecrushing percussion or guitars, or earth-shattering rage and anguish. The album finds Von Till in a remarkably gentle, reflective mood.
‘Stained Glass’ begins the album, and finds Von Till sparsely accompanied, his ragged, worn vocal chords growling a cracked warmth as he reflects on a thousand winters. Mournful strings lace their way through the gently picked guitar to forge a dark, evocative atmosphere. ‘Remember’ is almost dream-like, and precedes ‘Warning of a Storm’, which builds ominously but ultimately dissipates, its tension unresolved and unreleased. The lugubrious ‘Midheaven’ plods dolorously into the monumentally bleak closer, ‘Shadows in Stone’.
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The restraint renders the overall work all the more tense and menacing, and while it certainly doesn’t take the listener by force, its subtlety and brooding undercurrents bring their own rewards.
Steve Von Till Online
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