A riveting musical collection from an unexpected collaboration.
Breathless Spirit is a bold and immersive collaboration between Toronto-based folk doom metal band Völur and Cares with UK/Canadian producer James Beardmore. This unexpected pairing results in a rich, genre-defying journey that feels less like a traditional album and more like a sweeping film score.
At its heart, Breathless Spirit thrives on contrast. Völur’s signature blend of raw, ritualistic folk doom, full of weight, distortion and ancient atmosphere, collides with Beardmore’s polished, modern electronic sensibilities. On paper, they couldn’t be further apart, but together, they find a balance that brings out the best in both: organic chaos tempered by synthetic clarity and vice versa.
The opening track, “Hearth,” sets the tone for the album with an eerie calm, beginning with lulling heartbeats of what sound like synthesized strings, before erupting into sudden bursts of drums, guitar and distortion.
From there, it erupts into waves of drums, droning guitars and unsettling textures. Each track unfolds like a new chapter, never predictable yet deeply connected.
One of the most striking aspects of this album is its unpredictability. At any given point, whether between tracks or even within a single song, the sound can shift so drastically that, heard in isolation, one might assume the songs come from entirely different albums or even different genres. Yet, when listened to consecutively, these contrasts complement each other, creating a compelling journey that feels like being pulled between two emotional and sonic forces. This tension is especially present in the transition between “Windborne Sorcery I and II,” where extreme shifts in tone and texture make the listener feel as though they’re being pulled back and forth, completely helpless to where they’ll be taken next.
Taking into account their drastic differences in previous works, for example, The Moderns by Cares with its polished, synthesized production and Völur’s Death Cult, which is haunting yet melodic, their collaboration creates a compelling blend of contrasting styles. The album feels like a striking fusion of modern electronic production, rumbling doom metal and archaic folk, blending the rawness of ancient tradition with contemporary sounds.
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