(Andy Synn returns to nature with the new album from Returning, out 20 June)
Ah, “numinous”… referring to something that arouses or engenders a spiritual or religious experience… what a perfect name for the new album from Returning.
If you’re not familiar with the band, the duo’s previous album (2023’s Severance) introduced us to their moody, mesmeric blend of earthen Black Metal and ethereal ambience, resulting in a haunting, often hypnotic, sound situated somewhere between the visceral vibrancy of Wolves In The Throne Room and the shadowy shimmer of Treha Sektori, with a dash of the mournful melancholy of early Agalloch on the side.
And while I’m not suggesting that the duo have found god – if anything, the divinity they’re seeking to commune with is that of nature itself – there’s certainly a sense of religious awe, if not ecstasy, to their new album.
Comprising three lengthy, cinematic compositions, Numinous begins with the sound of rushing water, jingling bones, and shimmering synths – which are soon joined by some achingly emotional clean vocals and subtle, minimalist drum parts – and it’s not until almost five minutes into the track that anything remotely metallic (blackened, or otherwise) rears its head.
When it does, however, the song explodes into life in a heart-racing explosion of vibrancy and vitality, twinning and twining rough textured riffs and soaring melodic leads over an elemental cascade of rippling blastbeats and rolling kick drums – interspersed with moments of melancholy minimalism and acoustic introspection – that eventually builds towards a towering, cathartic crescendo.
It’s an excellent, not to mention eloquent, introduction (or reintroduction) to what the band are all about, with the subsequent strains of “Ancestral Shadow Portal/Endless Dance” serving to further enhance and expand the scope of the album with its focus on exploring the more ambient and atmospheric depths of the group’s sound, being somehow both warmer and darker (in spite of the total absence of metallic distortion or electric amplification) at the same time.
It’s the third and final song, “Offerings to the Great Circle”, which really elevates the album (and the band) to the necessary next level – though I’d argue it can only do so because of the groundwork laid by the previous two tracks – with its increased energy and urgency, as well as its willingness to juxtapose the quietest and loudest extremes of the band’s sound (and to dwell in them, especially the cooler and calmer moments, for longer) in an even more dynamic fashion, making it perhaps the most intense and immersive creation of Returning‘s career so far.
Sure, Numinous certainly won’t be for everyone – despite not being the most extreme album out there (though it certainly has its moments) it’s one which requires your full focus and absolute attention in order to properly appreciate everything it has to offer – but, at its best, it offers an experience which borders on the transformative (if not fully transcendent) for those willing to open themselves up to it.