Towers of Silence by A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers
Release date: May 8, 2026Label: Lay Bare Recordings
It is irresistible when a press release utters the words “for fans of Amenra”. Since the late 2000’s the Belgium pioneers have set the tone for emotive post-metal. Where A Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers varies from that is, well everywhere! Whilst debut Towers of Silence is heavily darkened by sludge and post-metal the other noted interest in the press release was Coltrain! In some incredible way the band delivers a dynamic and varied output which touches extremes whilst retaining its core sound.
The three tracks are quite radically different but within them the continuity is never lost. Going from opener ‘The Masscre of Flour’ to the jazz riddled ‘I Fuck People’ can be as jarring as the juxtaposition of the song names. The opener sinks into the closest of the Amenra comparisons but still feels far from the tonality of the post-metal Amenra is famous for. It is more into doom and sludge territory but it is also a bit raw and primitive in its anguished vocal delivery. ‘I Fuck People’ is just something else.
The open cracks wild saxophone which didn’t feature before and comes as a surprise and there is a free jazz riot to the opening moments. However, the drums and guitar still scratch away to bring the darkness to the sound before the vocals enter the fray again. ‘Towers of Silence’ again moves the grain as a world of Asian psychedelia warbles into sound. Its rhythmic, hypnotic and swirling, it is a tremendous nine minutes. This does hark back to the closing moments of the opener but fully fleshes out those sounds. It is a track which has a melody which engrains itself after a few listens.
Whilst the movements between songs is a wild ride thanks to the opening of ‘I Fuck People’, when in each of the three tracks the path stays focused. Looking at the three tracks together there are a few hints of cohesion in the ravaged vocal screams but the world around them revolves quite markedly. This is quite the experience and would be insane to see play out live. Variety is the spice of life and A Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers delivers it as never before.
