Locust Leaves - A Subtler Kind of Light

We have all come across a handful of albums throughout our lives that have truly stunned us and left us with mouths agape. The first one for me was Manowar’s “Warriors of the World”, and throughout my years as a curious metal head, I’ve found plenty of other astounding pieces that have stuck through my life. Recently, I’ve been wondering where the next one would come along. Sticking to my personal favorite labels (Transcending Obscurity, Relapse, Xtreem, etc., etc.), I felt confident that I’d come across something that’d blow my mind yet again. This time it would be the very prolific I, Voidhanger Records that would be out the piece I’ve been searching for, and that piece turned out to be the debut full-length record from the mysterious Greek band known as Locust Leaves.

There’s no real word that can sum up Locust Leaves. This group is the sort of thing that draws inspiration from all over the place and then takes a true mastermind to bring all the gathered elements together cohesively. Yet that’s exactly what happens on the enigmatic four-track record of “A Subtler Kind of Light”. Brought together are bits and pieces from so many different styles that range from metal (of course), jazz with the funky rhythms that get pumped out, ambiance that always persists (particularly in the finale), and even a little bit of experimenting goes on within “A Subtler Kind of Light” to make it all the more bewildering. And Locust Leaves really went all out for their debut! Even though we only get four songs, those pieces are incredibly artistic, inspiring, and so wildly creative that it’s no less than f**king stunning.

All the different songs we get with “A Subtler Kind of Light” are unique in every single way, and to call each piece immensely different from the rest would be a grievous understatement. They have significantly different soundscapes and create widely different experiences that take you to entirely new worlds and realms that you never thought could be conjured up. It’s as if Locust Leaves took the idea of an abstract painting and transformed it into a musical image that is so tasteful and so unique that I can say with utter confidence that both Locust Leaves and “A Subtler Kind of Light” are both a one of a kind album and a band that stands in a class of their very own. Never before have I come across any group such as this, and I feel safe to say that nothing like this will come our way for a while. Maybe even years. Do not let something that like pass up! Should you not find this to be your kind of music, then so be it, but at least give this glorious piece the chance it deserves. Who knows? Maybe you’ll fuel what’s possibly the most creative band in the entire world of metal at the moment: Locust Leaves.

You can purchase and stream “A Subtler Kind of Light” on Bandcamp via I, Voidhanger Records here.

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