Harakiri For The Sky are the Opposite of Harakiri for Your Ears

Noisey’s Kim Kelly premiered the new album by Harakiri for the Sky yesterday, and I’m real glad she did: it’s fantastic! Like her, I’ve heard the band’s name for years but never listened to their music, and while I’m bummed I’ve been missing out all this time that’s all the more reason to start diving deep into their catalogue.

Harakiri for the Sky verge into the melodeath realm, but with tortured, post-hardcore yelps in place of big choruses full of cleans. Their music is cinematic and dramatic, at once triumphant and melancholic; it reminds me of Agalloch and Insomnium’s earlier works. It’s expertly orchestrated, and it just hits that sweet spot that so few melodeath bands these days are able to.

III: Trauma is out July 22 via Art of Propaganda; order here.