Casting visions of gods-embattled hallucinatory terrain upon the listener New York, New York-based post-black metal quartet YELLOW EYES return to depict woe-bringing hexation and celestially flung torpor via this biggest yet undertaking and seventh full-length album. Once again dancing three steps to the right and one hard pivot to the left ad infinitum their work on ‘Confusion Gate‘ deals in higher volumetric gusts of their uncertain signature where beauteous upsurge and ached-apart disassembly create a unique landscape given to melancholic surrealism. Their knack for side-swiping any too-typified stance with interruptive, variously melodious and/or dissociative breakthrough lives on, or, thrives beyond most past work in this case as they’ve given themselves enough room to stretch and seizure as needed.

Yellow Eyes formed by way of guitarist/vocalist Will Skarstad (Ustalost, ex-Sanguine Eagle) and guitarist Sam Skarstad circa 2010 with drummer Jon Chamberlin, who’d played on Will‘s melancholic atmoblack band Diminishing Light in the late 2000’s, rounding out the original lineup. That trio would continue in formation through 2015 or so exploring some light abstraction applied to atmospheric black metal voicing which was most often compared to early Wolves in the Throne Room and Weakling alongside perceived contemporaries in early days Krallice. While some might disagree I’d say their exploration remained tentative ’til their third LP (‘Sick With Bloom‘, 2015) brought all developments into wield alongside the addition of new drummer M. Rekevics of Ruin Lust, Vanum and such. Per my own experience it was the constant touting of ‘Immersion Trench Reverie‘ on “best of the year” lists back in 2017 that’d gotten me to pay attention to their blurry, erratic sluice of glowing yet tense tremolo-picked ramblings. All manner of context is potentially vital in your own exploration but this is where I’d say the current standards and practices for their work were set decidedly above-average.

In revisiting Yellow Eyes‘ early discography their anxious flow state is probably more interesting than the compositions themselves most of which rely upon non-directional looping, interruptive musing and post-rock styled statement to generate both beauteous and surreal tonality. References to Ved Buens Ende and Blut Aus Nord per their fifth LP (‘Rare Field Ceiling‘, 2019) took things in a different direction as their most foreboding and abstracted release ’til now celebrated a different comingling where both exuberance and dread created a more manic voice. It was probably my favorite release from the band though ‘Confusion Gate‘ may very well be more complete and cohesive in its expanse by comparison today.

In the same way Sam‘s Pelted Shell was psychic accompaniment to ‘Rare Field Ceiling‘ so does ‘Master’s Murmur‘ (2023) intend to haunt this new album today but in this case it persists as a combination of foreshadowing and mutated motif. If you’d paid any mind to their “industrial folk” side-quest you’ll find the introduction to 9+ minute opener “Brush the Frozen Horse” briefly evocative of those recordings before fleshing into a dramatic, ranting atmospheric black metal piece. Yellow Eyes‘ve inserted referential nods into numerous pieces within this hourlong LP though some are more glaring than others, something for the listener to puzzle through if the obsession kicks in hard enough. Otherwise the crossing of dual guitar threads is the main interest of the opener for my own taste as their collective resound bends in tone from the gloria of arrival to a needling through dread, setting a series of kinks along their introductory pathway. What’d made the band’s work curious back in the day still applies here in that sense.

Each of the first two pieces which kick off ‘Confusion Gate‘ begin ringing of explosive abundance, keyboard/synth assisted post-black grandeur which variously goes cross-eyed via use of ringing dissonant arpeggiation. This is a the core feature of “The Thought of Death”, a piece which is rooted in post-music’s non-statement which touts a vibrant set of bookends gripping a series of congestive escalations into anthemic cohesion. Cohesion is probably debatable here as the larger thread runs its course through what is even more of a fever dream than ‘Rare Field Ceiling‘ though I’d felt “I Fear the Master’s Hammer” makes sense running downstream from the first couple of songs mentioned, dealing in similar ratios of contrasting guitar textures in step between despair and anthemic highs. Yellow Eyes‘re not exactly creating chivalric medieval muse here but within the throes of this song in particular there are several immersive views to pour into on the way through. The surrounding works touch upon similar parts and pieces, building toward dramatic highs while intentionally stumbling here and there to keep things from becoming cloying rush.

The first couple of spins through ‘Confusion Gate‘ lived up to the album’s name funnily enough as the directorial hand of Yellow Eye‘s work is erratic, vexing as the mind goes on attempting to recognize structured expressivity within rambling and rushing prose delivered amidst tonal crossfire. I’d found no real lucidity in the experience prior to the third pass where I’d land within the title track/closer (“Confusion Gate”) and there the waves began to truly break within its middle third. It is probably the best representative song here in that its nearly ~ten minute ride develops to a point of wild transcendental high (re: ~6:24 minutes in esp.) before crushing under the weight of all that hits at once, at the end. The whole of the experience manifests in a similar way, building its own dramatic point to soar from before diving into collapse, tumbling apart before starting again. However you experience its hills, valleys and escarpments the whole of this record is a trip for sure but also not as darkly set as we’d found back in 2019 and I’d suggest folks who’ve a longer history with the band’s discography will likely appreciate how this finest hour accumulates. A high recommendation.

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