Coming to us from the windy city, the Chicago post-metal act Taken by the Sun have finally released a full-length debut after staying quite after their 2013 EP release. Rooted heavily within stoner and doom metal, their debut album brings out an energetic and hardcore sound filled with bloodily harsh vocals.

Things start off a bit atmospheric, but that doesn't last long as the guitars, with a great fuzzy distortion, deliver a great punch. The opening track Scars is a rough song, but moments drift into more beauty at times, disbanding the harsh vocals a bit, to really pull out some feelings towards the song’s end. Fuse is an early song on the album that has some truly great melodies, as it may be the greatest gem found on this debut. Lots of variation makes this track one that is constantly engaging and leaves a powerful impact between its heavy moments and softer more delicate clean guitar patterns.

Taken by the Sun can really capture some beautiful moments especially with my personal favorite track Detached. The song is more atmospheric at its beginnings, draped in plenty of emotion, but the harshness of their guitars later deliver a heavy slosh of sound. These moments are balanced well, and done attractively making the disoriented fuzzy mess from the instruments take the time to expand towards a more lovely tone. Confessions of an Opium Eater is a good short example where Taken by the Sun thrive here, infusing soft drums, acoustic guitars, and uplifting vocals.

Taken by the Sun have dropped one solid debut album on us. Bands like this I can only see getting better and better in the future. The album can be a delightfully obscured mess, but reaches out to more atmospheric levels at times that make this ride definitely one worth taking.