Review: 10,000 Years ‘III’
The Albatross finally returned to earth after narrowly escaping certain death in another dimension. A seemingly harmless mission gone horribly wrong. Surviving a crash landing on Earth and the scenery is unnervingly different. The Green King crossed into our dimension and it’s 10,000 years in the future! The crew of the Albatross now have to figure out how to undo what’s been done! Traveling back through the rift to restore Earth to its original timeline seems like the only way. Will the crew survive? Will Earth go back to normal, and The Green King get sent back through the space-time continuum?? Find out on June 24th in a theatre near you!
Wait a minute… I got carried away and this story isn’t the conclusion of an epic trilogy of movies. It’s the conclusion of an epic trilogy of music! 10,000 Years are back with the sophomore LP but third in the series with III that finishes the sci-if story laid out in the previous LP II and the Self-Titled EP. Three labels; Interstellar Smoke Records, Death Valley Records, and Olde Magick Records will release the conclusion on June 24th 2022 and that can’t come soon enough.
Cult Axe’s powerful intro is what’s needed to send the Albatross back through the rift. The crew is gearing up to save the universe. Fast paced double kick drums and thunderous fills on the kit by Espen Karlson are the driving force behind the fuzz riffs of Erik Palm and booming bass of Alex Risberg. Risberg’s vocals which has been described by previous scribes on these hallowed pages as somewhere between Scott Kelly (Neurosis) and Tom Araya (Slayer), which is a strong statement but one I believe to be 100% accurate. The song launches listeners into the monumental conclusion we have all been waiting for. I know I have.
The phased fuzz opening of Megafauna sounds as if the speakers are tearing apart. I imagine this as the rift reopening as the Albatross is breaking through. The upbeat drums chime in and warp speed ahead as the lightning hands of Palm shred out another skillful riff. The intensity follows into Desert Of Madness, but the trio begin to slow things down from the original 170-ish BPM of Cult Axe to about 70 BPM. You can really feel the heaviness of the song. Palm also peppers some great solos throughout the song.
The Secret Of Water really switches up the vibe with a calmer approach. The echoing clean guitar ripples across the soothing bass like water after a stone is skipped across. The short instrumental gives the impression that the universe is fixed, and the protagonists have saved the day. But this merely serves as the calm before the storm because track five is titled The Green King Rises.
Fast paced double kick drums and thunderous fills on the kit by Espen Karlson are the driving force behind the fuzz riffs of Erik Palm and booming bass of Alex Risberg…
And risen he has. Explosive riffs, pummeling drums and harsh barking vocals let you know he’s back with a vengeance. Just like every great trilogy, there is the moment of excitement before the grand climax and this song is it. The armies have mobilized, the inevitable fight is moments away and the edge of your seat is where you find yourself. 10,000 Years have built up an outstanding story over the last two years and they bringing it to a close in the best way possible – ‘See the madness reborn, See the Green King Rise.’
The intensity remains throughout The Green King Rises and sets up for the climax of Il Cattivo (which means bad in Italian, thanks Google) as a short radio excerpt opens the song and BAM! In your face crushing stoner metal blasts you to the back of your chair where you were once on the edge of. [SPOILER ALERT] The final words of the song are screamed out with gut wrenching effort – ‘A final act, riding on flesh into the fray, death greats your warm.’ The music slows as the fight fades from The Green King.
The realization that the war has ended hasn’t fully sunk in as the Albatross needs to Escape From Earth (hence the song title) and go once again back through the rift to get back to Earth with the restored timeline. The track takes off as if the ship is speeding away from crumbling fortress. The driving riff is one of my favorites of Palm which is further elevated by Riseberg’s low end and Karlson’s fantastic drumming. The tense situation of escaping is captured perfectly in the music.
To Suns Beyond closes out the album, and the trilogy, in the most monumental way. First, the title is a nod to the closing track off the Self-Titled EP, From Suns Beyond. Second this instrumental is filled with emotion. The calmer beginning allows you to feel all is resolved but knowing the Albatross needs to travel through the rift again to return home is interesting. That’s how the problems began, and you’re left wondering if the crew attempted to travel through the rift. Did they end up in a new dimension? Did they decide to venture off in a new direction in an attempt to leave Earth restored? The lack of words allows your mind to wander as the music moves within you.
Standing ovation.
Label: Interstellar Smoke Records | Death Valley Records | Olde Magick Records
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram
Scribed by: Josh Schneider
