Austere - The Stillness of Dissolution (2025)

This Aussie two-man band went away for over ten years and returned recently in 2021 and has dropped an album a year since 2023, making it one of the most productive in the scene. For the uninitiated, Austere was one of the originators of the Depressing Black Metal style back in the 2000’s and they continue to spew their bleakness with “The Stillness of Dissolution”. Evolving more into Atmospheric Black Metal territories, this release is engaging, catchy and yet very desolate in punishing, just what the doctor ordered for a cloudy and rainy day.

Opening with “Dissolved Exile”, the band showcases their technical chops with a very melodic and crafty piece filled with engaging guitar leads, melodic passages, and crafty drumming alongside a good dose of harsh vocals. One of the signature styles from all of Tim Yatras’ bands is the dramatic clean vocals, that gracefully add that extra level of bleakness to the very well composed and expertly layered core music. Immediately inciting the listening to headbang alongside the catchiness of the guitar work, “Rusted Veins” is one of the album’s stand-out tracks, just completely intoxicating.

Perfectly balancing melody and aggression, “Storm Within My Heart” is a track that combines the band’s dark and doomy edge, with blistering drumming and the heavier nature of traditional Black Metal. One very underappreciated strength of Austere is the incisive guitar riffing that Mitchell Keepin unleashes, track after track and particularly in the very dramatic “The Downfall” and the crushing Katatonia-esque closer “Time Awry”.

As a whole, “The Stillness of Dissolution” is another fine Austere album, full of bleakness, masterful songwriting, and tons of moody passages, creating a very thick and punishing vibe, while also oozing melancholy. The band’s comeback has been great for all their cult followers, as well as newer fans of the genre that never really witnessed this band’s brilliance before. Be sure to get yourself a copy of this release and catch the band in one of their rare live appearances, it is totally worth it to hear the music come together live.

Label: Prophecy Productions

Release: June 6th, 2025

Genre: Atmospheric/Depressive Black Metal

Country: Australia