Full Length Review: Gridfailure "When The Lights Go Out Vol. III" (Independent) by Corban Skipwith

Band: Gridfailure

Location: Valley Cottage, New York

Country: USA

Genre: Dark ambient, experimental

Full Length: When The Lights Go Out Vol. III

Format: Digital album

Label: Independent

Release date: October 31, 2021

Okay, whatever dumb idea I had to try review this album at 9:16pm at night I deeply regret, I let my ego get the better of me and now here I am scared out of my fucking mind reviewing quite possibly one of the scariest albums I’ve ever come across and it’s pitch black outside and everyone’s asleep, real fun this will be.

Boy, these guys are fucking insane. I’m listening to this ‘horror experience’ just holding to my seat with every new track, the way they combine all these different sounds and styles to create this ambient 9D terror soundtrack is unreal, they kind of give off a ‘Post Rock’ vibe sharing aesthic of bands like ‘GodSpeed You Black Emperor’ in now much realism (if that’s the right word) they put into their production, the eerie nature of the sounds and how intimate they feel in your ears is just a feeling I’ll never get used to, it’s like they personalized this record just based on my fears and mine alone because this thing gives me the fucking creeps left, right and center!!

Honestly, with every passing track I’m close to tapping out and turning this thing off because of the chills I’m getting again the intimacy of the tracks and how they all come together to form this living beast that always feels like it’s seconds away from devouring you whole.

As far as the sound goes, I hear so many influences from

-Post Rock

-Dark Ambient

-Noise

-Industrial

It’s truly a terrifying master craft of sounds for those who know how to use it and these guys really know (in a really disturbing fashion) how to incorporate all these various elements to create this soundtrack of terror.

Look, I’ll keep the outro brief, you want to feel paranoid, shit your pants, have a sleepless night and constantly watch your back until sunrise? Well this is the record for you, it’s as equally masterful as it is spine chilling so enter at your own risk!! –Corban Skipwith

Lineup:

(see Bandcamp link)

Track list:

1. The Thought Of What May Lie In This Yard…

2. Somnambulance Disorientation

3. The Watcher

4. It’s Still Out There

5. The Disappearing Floor

6. When Death Occurs Within One’s Own Dream

7. The Shape

8. Now It’s In Here

9. The Unthinkable

10. Ghostyards