Some years ago, melodic drone/doom bands started to become known and respected in both the metal and hardcore scenes. We’re talking about stuff like early Boris, which has more in common with Earth than with the more modern Sunn O))), Hlidolf and such. We can attribute that to the rise of sludgecore, specifically Neurosis and Isis. While sometimes terribly overrated, like it or not, they both introduced a new aesthetic idea and an original way of riffing.

How do sludgecore and Hyatari connect? Hyatari is precisely sludgecore gone drone. If you've heard both Enemy of the Sun and A Sun that Never Sets by Neurosis, you'll somehow be able to recognize what's going on here. It's not a carbon-copy of it, not at all, but both The Light Carriers and Enemy of the Sun could have been made by the same band, except The Light Carriers is much, much more interesting.

The main difference between The Light Carriers and other drone is that Hyatari is less improvisational and more compositional, with structures you can follow in your head, and maybe even remember the riffs. Riffs? Yes, riffs, while that can be surprising, The Light Carriers is an album with actual guitarwork. Ok, not Dark Angel-riffage, but more like Earth-riffage. And not only that, there are even actual drums in some of the tracks. The mystery is how the guy could keep time without falling asleep. Another difference is the inclusion of leads over the heavily distorted, downtuned to hell and back rhythm guitars.

To finish the recipe, they added low dialogues and random noises over it all, just to make it even more twisted. What makes it awesome is that they don't seem like they’re present in the music, so you'll find yourself more than once trying to find out what the hell's making "that weird noise" near you, only to realize it's Hyatari playing tricks on you.

Atmospherically, the album features elements of "machine making loud noises" approach, like in Sunn O)))'s Flight of the Behemoth, or the dark, tortured atmosphere some Neurosis songs have. Even if the seven tracks displayed here are unique, all of them form an aural story.

Also, if you often complain about drone albums being horribly boring, trust me, The Light Carriers isn't. In fact, it's varied, much fun and really addictive. Hell, you'll love it even if you hate drone, because it's so good.

Easily one of the greatest drone albums ever made, certainly in my top three. (9.99/10)