Gaerea is quite creative in bringing its sonic brand; their songs always have an emotional aspect, thus; they are not just any modern black metal band that tries to impress you with their monotonous singing and recycled melodies. Musically, “Coma” shows an interesting approach from these Portuguese musicians everything is brought to this album from the cathartic moments, sharp guitar riffs, and wailing rasps of the vocals bringing all the previous elements to blend them harmoniously with the ferocity.

The opening track, “The Poet’s Ballet” presents new elements from the clean vocals and the guitar strumming harmoniously integrated into the sonic cathedral of emotions. We get plenty of atmospheric hooks and abrasion from the blasting drums. This fine sophistication is meticulously woven across the album’s length, and Gaerea abundantly offers soothing guitar patterns and fervency increasingly purging the soul.

The riffs come in austere force in “Hope Shatters” inviting you in a maelstrom of howling rasps and the tremolos are masterfully layered to work in tandem with rapid percussion. Heavy guitar vibes are displayed most amusingly, emphasizing catchy guitar hooks filled with melancholy and straightforward black metal ferocity. Almost every song on the album blends spacious guitar landscapes, and you will be slowly allured by the atmosphere that fills your heart with grim emotions.

Gaerea’s musical method immensely dominates the composition, inviting you to the decaying worlds of decadence; the tremolo attacks come quite well, and the melody explodes. The sudden changes in tempo in songs like “Suspended” highlight the gloomy somberness and the whole experience of the guitars beautifully contrasting to the layered textures. A gorgeous chorale played as a dark theme fits well with the emotional experience, and this juxtaposition demonstrates the rich composition.

The technical guitar sections become slower and darker, “World Ablaze” is a short track. The abrasive tremolos and harsh black metal vocals reign supreme, and the slow drum beats keep the pace to transition rapidly. “Coma” kicks you in the face with a massive wall of sound combined with brutal riffs and the bass guitar sounds like a powerful juggernaut triggered by clinical drum fills. Gaerea infuses the slower sections to keep the melodies overflowing, the new album balances the abrasive side of the music in equal measure and there is a non-stop aggression from the fast distorted tremolo picking.

The slow guitar chords in the song “Wilted Flower” are beautifully fragmented and these slow atmospheric arias set the melodies in pieces, the soaring lead guitars stream like a blizzard, and the dark guitar chords sweep through the rapid percussive attacks.

The guitar patterns plunge you deep into the oceans of misery and darkness and at this point, we understand that Gaerea’s unique sound is beyond the modern acts of black metal, there are plenty of shimmering melodies and the clean vocal lines add something extra to the album.

The mixture of shoegaze elements and modern black metal allows the quintet to explore new sonic arias, Gaerea takes a step forward musically and creatively, therefore the guitars illustrate magnificent standards that were never achieved before. The guitar patterns in “Reborn” and “Shapeshifter” are appealing, they also bring a profound depth to the songwriting allowing the songs to flow magically without any flaws. The whole album is like a deeply emotional experience full of dynamics and textures; even the brutal sections have become catchier, Gaerea unveils its composition and musical faculties with remarkable quality.

The atmospheric crescendos in the mid-tempo sections happen to be the most appealing parts of the album the quintet explores some of their darkest individual psyches, thus; the final five songs are just mind-blowing and wonderful. There are more cathartic moments in songs like “Unknown” and the closing track “Kingdom of Thorns” which carves catchy effects and emotional rhythms out of a cacophony of moody interludes.

The sly combination of chorale textures, vibrant melodies, and tremolo-picking intensity adds passion. Gaerea’s unique songwriting and atmospheric brilliance transcend their previous studio works, and this is by far the culmination of these Portuguese.

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