Hailing from Fredericksburg, Virginia, Infant Island return with their fourth full-length, Obsidian Wreath, and continue to forge a sonically dramatic fusion of emotional hardcore and black metal.

Raw, impassioned vocals partner with tremolo-heavy guitars that segue seamlessly from the harshly metallic to passages of warmly contemplative beauty, while underpinned by a rhythm section that is equal parts utter fury and lithe subtlety.  This aural battery is further complemented by ambient programming, most notably on the noise infused Found Hand, and orchestral flourishes that are used sparingly but astutely to inject further emotional heft.

The band prove equally adept at sweeping from the muscular eruptions of ferocious opener Another Cycle, the blast beat fuelled Fulfilled, and the blistering Unrelenting to more expansive, at times, almost baroque explorations.  The anthemic gang vocals that bring Veil to a soaringly cathartic crescendo and the haunting, whispered vocal opening to Kindling, courtesy of Greet Death, are both passages of striking impact.

Lyrically, the band examine through often darkly allusive imagery our distorted socio-economic priorities on Fulfilled (‘How could you spare to inconvenience your comfort?’) and a sense of bleak inevitability regarding the world’s environmental fate on Kindling (‘Kindling our lonely fires, we nurture our frozen dreams’).  But this is not a tale of resigned defeat but rather one of fierce defiance on Unrelenting (‘Our burning embers raging against you’) and hope that all is not yet lost on Veil (‘All darkness, all blood, all cynics: for what? The world is enough’).