{"id":558122,"date":"2026-08-03T21:44:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T21:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/558122\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T21:44:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T21:44:08","slug":"cairiss-wilderness-review-angry-metal-guy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/558122\/","title":{"rendered":"Cairiss – Wilderness Review | Angry Metal Guy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Towards the tail end of last year, a humble group from the UK called Asira shook up my top ten list. Little did I suspect that I would hear from some of these fine musicians again so soon. Five out of the six members of the blackgaze band Cairiss contributed in some way to As Ink in Water<\/a>, and now they break a decade-long silence since debut album Fall. Wilderness seeks to express and overcome personal trauma and suffering while also validating those of its audience who are waging their own solitary or unseen battles. As such, this work of art transcends sole beauty or entertainment value to extend an invitation to process and heal in whatever way may be personally needed.<\/p>\n

Wilderness is both a continuation and amplification of the potential teased on Fall. Cairiss remains rooted at the intersection of the gossamer elegance of Sylvaine and the blackened anguish of Unreqvited. This is an uncommon type of blackgaze that successfully flits between grandiose and intimate. Freya Brown, who previously handled all vocals, is now devoted primarily to those of the harsh variety. Her hard work paid off\u2014her snarls and screams are much sharper, more expressive, and more dynamic all-around. Newcomer Lydia Williams takes charge of the clean singing with similarly breathtaking results. Additionally, the instrumental melodies are more poignant; hints of Asira\u2019s and Opeth\u2019s soulful, progressive guitarwork can be found throughout Wilderness (\u201cThe Guide,\u201d \u201cDissociate\u201d).<\/p>\n

Wilderness by Cairiss<\/a><\/p>\n

In my review of As Ink in Water, I noted that Asira showed a mastery of contrast, and this is even more true of Cairiss. It\u2019s particularly evident every time the different vocalists overlap. When Lydia\u2019s operatic singing crests into view in \u201cThe Guide\u201d and interlaces with Freya\u2019s fierce growls, the effect is chill-inducing. On the mellower side, \u201cIntegrate\u201d brings Martin Williams\u2019 voice to the forefront for the first and only time on Wilderness as he and Lydia harmonize into a blissful siren song. But perhaps no song encapsulates Cairiss\u2019 wondrously dichotomous nature more than album closer \u2018Wildfire.\u201d It sounds like Freya poured every ounce of feeling she possessed into each syllable of her screams, which are periodically assuaged by soothing singing and an emotive guitar solo. I\u2019m impressed by how well Cairiss can bring together such opposing elements without one ever overwhelming the other.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Wilderness is also well-balanced in other ways. This is a carefully constructed album wherein every moment serves a purpose. None of the songs ever stall or dissolve into aimlessness. Crescendos and climaxes arrive and depart in a smooth, natural flow (\u201cRetrace,\u201d \u201cThe Guide,\u201d \u201cDissociate\u201d), facilitated in large part by Connor Frapwell\u2019s percussion. He excels at building and releasing dramatic tension, evoking the ebb and flow of a thunderstorm in \u201cRetrace\u201d and helping the extended intro of \u201cNervosa\u201d feel much shorter than it is. The total runtime is a sensible 43 minutes, suggesting a good deal of self-editing, and I\u2019m left wanting more as the final howl in \u201cWildfire\u201d dies. If I have any complaints about Wilderness, it\u2019s that I wish that the bass lines were a bit more prominent.<\/p>\n

Time does not heal all wounds. Some must be confronted head-on, and that is what Cairiss does heartwrenchingly and unequivocally. While I wish that it had not needed to be born from a place of such anguish, Wilderness is one of the most authentic and cathartic pieces of music I\u2019ve heard this year so far. Cairiss has leveled up considerably in the last ten years, each member\u2019s individual strengths shining brightly in a musical subgenre where contrast is intrinsic. Fans of blackgaze\u2014or the beautiful sides of metal in general\u2014should heed the beckoning to venture off the beaten path into the Wilderness.<\/p>\n

\ufeff<\/p>\n

Rating: 4.0\/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 192 kbps mp3
Label: Self-Release
Websites: cairiss.bandcamp.com<\/a> | facebook.com\/Cairiss<\/a>
Releases Worldwide: July 31st, 2026<\/p>\n

\n\tGive in to Your Anger:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Towards the tail end of last year, a humble group from the UK called Asira shook up my…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":558123,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[2246,18328,125401,49385,842,155382,27571,274544,156,255554,157,111,139,69,9661,762,763,34572,53158,34574,274545,84792],"class_list":["post-558122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-2246","tag-4-0","tag-asira","tag-atmospheric-black-metal","tag-black-metal","tag-blackgaze","tag-british-metal","tag-cairiss","tag-entertainment","tag-jul26","tag-music","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-opeth","tag-review","tag-reviews","tag-self-release","tag-shoegaze","tag-sylvaine","tag-unreqvited","tag-wilderness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=558122"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558122\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/558123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=558122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=558122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=558122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}