Album Review: Copse – MMXXIV (Church Road Records)

Copse, the genre-bending band that displays elements of black metal, shoegaze and post metal, will release ‘MMXXIV’ on August 30th, 2024, via Church Road Records. This new release combines the band’s first two EPs (‘Mara | Mondrem’ and ‘Old Belief |New Despair’) into one.

Copse are an awesome band, and individually, both EPs are standout releases. However, put them together and we have a release that is up there as one of the best things out this year. Sure, it’s not ‘new’ music, but it is music that never gets old.

A haunting and ambient start introduces Mara and strong emotional vibes are present immediately. The melody gets more intense, transitioning into a darker post style, before the track erupts with unbridled blackened fury. It’s basically blackgaze, but with a rawer edge, and fans of this style will love every second of it. It speaks volumes that its near-eight-minute runtime feels a quarter of that.

Creating music that you can sink into and lose yourself to, is all part of the Copse make up though, so it’s no surprise that Mondrem also delivers something remarkable. Fast and heavy from the start, Copse take some time to show just how dangerous they can sound, and while the intensity never drops, this is a track that gets thicker layers of post melody as it goes on. Very few tracks that are nearly ten-minutes long are this compelling.

Take a deep breath and drink in the gorgeous atmosphere of •. Especially as what follows with Old Belief is both profound and powerful. A near-perfect combination of ‘gaze’ beauty, harsh blackened heaviness, and the errant intensity of post metal. It might move at a frantic pace but it has layers of melody and atmosphere throughout that really grab the attention.

Then, finally, it’s New Despair, and what is arguably Copse’s magnum-opus. Not just because it’s over fourteen-minutes long, but because it is their most elaborate and enigmatic showcase. Harmonious, measured, experimental, and oozing feeling, it’s here that Copse introduce some newer elements (such as clean singing) but still ensure this track feels every bit them. Doing so via the medium of melodic depth, post intensity, and blackened vitriol.

If, by some chance, you’ve not listened to this band already then MMXXIV is a must. Five tracks of utter spell-binding brilliance.

Copse – MMXXIV Track Listing:

1. Mara
2. Mondrem
3. •
4. Old Belief
5. New Despair

Links

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