[METAL TEMPLE] Iress – Solace

IRESS is a Heavy Alt quartet out of Los Angeles. I’m hesitant to call them Metal, though their latest release moves them to an adjacent space of maybe Doomglaze or Post-Metal. They formed in the way back of 2010 and have two LPs to their credit. On May 12, 2023 they’ll add an EP, “Solace,” to their discography. This will be their first recording with their new guitarist, Graham Walker, who joined the group in 2022. It also marks a notable shift in their sound away from the lighter Alt vibes and veering into the darker terrain of Doom while leaning more on Michelle Malley haunting, emotive vocals.

In the band’s words, the four-track EP “tells the story of the brutal reality of change: inevitable, painful and beautiful.” Lyrically, the tracks are as poetic as they are introspective, kneading the bruised muscles and tissues that still ache from the strain of wrestling with a doomed relationship. Musically, while there are a few moments of crushing distortion, this is in no way a down-tuned slog through the swamps of Heavy Doom. As Atmospheric Black Metal is to FWBM and SWBM, so this style of Ambient Doom is to its more visceral forerunners.

The EP opens with “Blush,” where Michelle lays out the crux of the matter: The slow dissolve of a love once and still dear. Like the wisps of fog that adorn the cover and like the love they celebrate and mourn, the four tracks are heavily ambient and atmospheric—articulating something that can be felt heavy on your skin, that leaves a residue of its fleeting presence, but in the end is insubstantial and gone. Though the four tracks clock out at a scant 16 minutes, their presence sticks with you significantly longer. If you tend to immerse yourself in your listening experiences, the album will leave you emotionally exhausted.

With only four tracks, it would be unfair to pick standout tracks, but I’ll do it anyway. I’ll go with “Ricochet” which begins with an ethereal acoustic intro before ratcheting up to some fairly serious riffs. In my estimation, it’s the heaviest track on the album though some may argue for “Blush.” In complete contrast with my first choice, I’ll go with “Soft” as my other favorite track. I guess the title gives it all away. Here the more visceral contusions of pain are subsiding, and we’re left to begin the healing process—though the echoes of the past never completely fade.

Altogether, “Solace” is an impressive album. The fact that the band opted for an EP as their third release is interesting. It could be a demon that needed to be exorcized, it could be an introduction to their new lineup, it could be an inflection point in their creative journey. Either way, I’ll be curious to see if they maintain their exploration of Doom. With their second LP, “Flaw,” there was a pivot to the heavier. With “Solace” we get more rooted there, though perhaps more in spirit than in sonic temperament. Whether they opt to venture deeper into the dark landscape of Metal or not, “Solace” is at least a fair offering at our saturnine temple.