HARAKIRI FOR THE SKY · Harakiri For The Sky | BLACK LP

Black vinyl in gatefold cover with poster.

Background information about 'Harakiri For The Sky'

There are debut albums that arrive fully formed, and then there are debuts like Harakiri For The Sky's self-titled first strike — a record that doesn't so much introduce a band as it does detonate their entire emotional payload in one devastating blast. Released in 2012, this is where the Austrian duo of J.J. (vocals, lyrics) and M.S. (all instruments) first carved their name into the black metal landscape with bleeding hands and broken hearts.

From the opening moments of "Lungs Filled With Water," you know you're not in for a conventional black metal experience. The tremolo-picked melodies cascade like rainfall against windowpanes, but there's something deeply melodic, almost post-rock in their architecture. The production is raw enough to retain that underground bite, yet clear enough to let every layer of despair shine through. J.J.'s vocals are a masterclass in controlled agony — shrieks that feel less performative and more like someone reading their own eulogy aloud. The songwriting already displays the hallmarks that would define their later masterworks: those long, winding compositions that build from quiet introspection to cataclysmic crescendos, the seamless interplay between searing black metal fury and moments of almost fragile beauty.

"02:19 AM, Psychosis" hits like its title suggests — the sound of a mind unraveling in the dead of night, all jagged riffs and desperate howls. But it's on tracks like "From Yesterday to Ashes" and the gut-punching "Drown in My Nihilism" where the band's singular vision truly crystallizes. These aren't just songs; they're emotional autopsies, dissecting loss, depression, and existential dread with unflinching precision. The closing "Dancing on Debris" provides no easy resolution — instead, it leaves you standing in the wreckage, staring at what remains. This is the sound of two people pouring absolutely everything they had into a record, not knowing if anyone would ever hear it. We did. And nothing in post-black metal has been the same since.

For fans of:
Amesoeurs, Alcest, Ghost Bath, Deafheaven, Austere

Other Versions

DIGIPAK CD · 13,99 € BLACK LP · Sold out DIGIPAK CD · 14,99 € WHITE LP · Sold out

Track listing

A1. Lungs Filled With Water
A2. 02:19 AM, Psychosis
A3. From Yesterday to Ashes
B1. Drown in My Nihilism
B2. Dancing on Debris

Manufacturer: AOP Records, Auf den Steinen 15, 38723 Seesen, Germany, Contact: www.aoprecords.de