Bastions – Majestic Desolation (Recommendation)

I just love Post-Hardcore. It is such a great genre, the audio equivalent of a honest talk with a close friend. Those talks aren’t easy most of the time, but they hit home in a positive way and sort things out so that you can be better.

11 years after their first full-length record Hospital Corners, Bastions return to the scene with their second punch to the guts Majestic Desolation.

After the slightly distressing “Haar,” Bastions unleash one of the greatest “1,2 – Combos” this year, “A Broken Crown” and “Acres of Love“. While “A Broken Crown” is a straight-forward Post-Hardcore song, “Acres of Love” is more like a brooding, moody Defeater-kind of Hardcore track. When the finale kicks in, it’s hard not to imagine piles of people on top of each other trying to sing “FORGIVE YOURSELF!”.

“Coalfields” is a fast-paced lament to time lost in the process of living. Once again there is no better genre to write those kind of songs in. Instead of slowly crying your heart out, you just remove it from your breast, tear it to shreds and throw it at anyone who is willing or not fast enough to dodge it.

Majestic Desolation is a truly majestic sign of life by Bastions. This is Post-Hardcore how it should be: hearts on sleeves, fists clenched and ready to take on this world.