Like a mighty beast rising out of the fiery pit of hell, Mouth of the Architect returns with increased vigor for its sophomore effort under Translation Loss Records. Embarking on a more epic journey than the band’s 2004 debut, Time and Withering, The Ties that Blind continues the increasingly popular trend of combining spacey, exhaustive compositions with ambient, atmospheric metal and dark, aggressive, emotive vocals pioneered by bands like Neurosis and ISIS. Although this trend has been critically examined as a fusion of sludge/doom metal and the experimental world of post-rock, Mouth of the Architect does not appear to be annoyed by the large growth of new bands embracing this genre over the past few years and instead aims to perfect it. In the past, bands have found themselves either on the metal side of the fence (Rosetta, Angel Eyes, Cult of Luna), or the post-rock side (One Starving Day, Red Sparowes). Seemingly, the goal is to hit the middle ground and bring forth the perfect blend of these two starkly different (yet so perfectly complementary) styles of music. MotA seeks to create the perfect blend of these two styles, and on The Ties that Blind, it can say that it is the first band to accomplish this task.

Whether it be due to the band’s friendship with the underground’s hottest acts (Kayo Dot, Silencio, Rosetta), its connections with some of the more celebrated acts of the past few years (Mastodon, These Arms Are Snakes, Botch), or its well timed split release with like-minded Kenoma, something bit Mouth of the Architect hard and gave it the necessary inspiration to craft the remarkableThe Ties that Blind. This is not an album to be taken lightly, nor is it a “light” album. Heavy, repetitive drones warp the listener into a hypnotic trance with the help of ambient synthesizers while metallic riffs hammer over and over and over and over and over and over again. My biggest pet peeve with the evolution of Pelican was that The Fire in our Throats Beckoned the Thaw sounded like the recordings of a bunch of kids who had just figured out what “ambient guitars” meant and turned their back on the brutal riffage that had made them a notable band in the first place. Mouth of the Architect is not lacking at all in the riff arena; in fact, much of it is employed with the compositional curiosity of a post-rock band in the late stages of its development, but at the same time it is kept at the raw metallic level and this really helps drag the album down into the lower dregs of existence where MotA is able to do its best work.

Across six tracks Mouth of the Architect fights as hard as it can to win the proverbial war. “Baobab” explodes out of the gate with a flailing guitar line and quickly transitions into hellish vocals and an onslaught of metallic riffs. And everything is pretty much exactly as it should be. The band could continue this gig for another fifty minutes and call it a day, and we’d probably say the album was a really “strong release, but lacked vision and/or creativity.” We’ve all heard that album before, but that’s not what MotA has in store for us today. Five and a half minutes into the track the clouds part and the band ventures off into a very tranquil passage. And have no doubts about it when I say that this isn’t your typical metal band faking a post-rock buildup, Mouth of the Architect has done its homework and really pulls this off with no complications or hesitations. But to really pass this album off as the harmonious union of metal and post-rock, it is just not enough to be able to play both styles of music so convincingly; it is necessary to be able to mesh them into a coherent whole, and that is exactly what the last two minutes do -- cascading drums, jangling keys, rough vocals, and disorienting riffs all included. This is what Mouth of the Architect has stumbled upon and perfected in The Ties that Blind, a harmonious co-existence of these two utterly beautiful forms of music.

The second track, “No One Wished to Settle Here”, is the high point of the album. All parts come together for this fifteen minute behemoth, which sees a smooth intertwining of metal and post-rock but keeps things interesting by allowing the different genres to fluctuate in their presence. When the vocals arrive the guitars step it up a few extra notches and the riffs get their crunchiest and most upsetting. Other times the keyboards kick in and the riffs vanish for a brief respite. However, each segment always relapses back into the inevitable meeting of these two forces, which battle unrelentingly throughout the album. This beauty reaches a zenith when the keyboards and riffs race full speed to the song’s climax, the uplifting notes and heavy chord progressions twisting the sonic landscape with every single footstep. “No One Wished to Settle Here” is the mark of a band that not only appreciates its past and fully understands the paths it has taken to get to where it is, but also has the keen vision to look into the future and stay one step ahead of the crowd. This is what makes Mouth of the Architect and The Ties that Blind such a standout success.

After “No One Wished To Settle Here,” The Ties that Blind goes through various permutations in an attempt to exhaust all obvious possibilities of this newfound musical formulation. “Carry On” starts off very light and friendly and steadily builds momentum and anger, all the while constantly increasing the force every so slightly until the very last seconds of the track dissipate. “Harboring and Apparition” starts off even slower and lighter than its predecessor, throwing down some very Explosions in the Sky reminiscent guitar lines, match it with the “drummer-boy” drumming, then slip into the dark underbelly of the album and allow the vocals to force their way on top of the music. “Harboring An Apparition” does get “loud,” but over the 8 minutes of the track, the energy level never breaches the metal threshold, adequately putting it into the so-called “post-metal” category. Next the band ventures into a standard stoner rock ballad with “At Arms Lengths,” paying homage to its roots and acknowledging its history one last time before venturing into the album closer. The last track, “Wake Me When It’s Over,” follows “No One Wished to Settle Here” in presentation, but exchanges the glossy appearance for a more experimental edge. This is likely the direction we’ll see the band going in the future, and all signs indicate it’s going to be spectacular.

For as long as I can remember, Mouth of the Architect’s myspace has claimed the band originates from “Hell, Ohio.” This place doesn’t technically exist (check a map). When I received the The Ties that Blind the first thing I did was check the running album length. 66:06, or in another interpretation: 666. If there’s one thing I love in music, it’s consistency. The Ties that Blind metaphorically is a slice of the underworld. All the signs of here: demonic, possessed vocals; aggressive, bone-crushing riffs juxtaposed with tranquil, cinematic segues; and the full effect of a hypnotic, surreal otherworldly experience. MotA is your Charon across the river Styx; last last glimpse of hope before the never-ending world of pain and torment.

For all the post-rock influence in The Ties that Blind, Mouth of an Architect could have really blundered and attempted to incorporate the quiet/loud schema into the album and fill it with as many "explosions" or "cathartic releases" as possible. I guess in hell they don’t have time for the foreplay, so MotA just goes straight for the kill, letting its metallic side be the overriding force, and last time I checked metal fans weren’t praising cathartic buildup and release. In the end this decision proves to be one of the key components to the album's success; there are many things bands can do in this genre, but by keeping it simple and smooth The Ties that Blind is able to display its strong points and really shine instead of being cluttered with a plethora of unfinished ideas and experiments.

The Ties that Blind will go down as a special album in my book. Over the past few years I’ve been watching the metal world closely to find the first release that would blend together sludge metal and post rock so perfectly. There have been quite a few close calls, but it wasn't until this album that everything finally fell into place and for that we must applaud Mouth of the Architect. Now that the gate has been opened, we shall watch all the like-minded bands come flooding in…

~Jordan Volz