Far From Your Sun – “The Eightfold Path”

You don’t have to look far beyond the front sleeve of the album “In the beginning… was the emotion” to realize that this promises to be one of the most interesting and accomplished independent progressive rock albums you will lay your ears on. Not an album to be skipped through, this is an hour-long progressive-rock epiphany, touching all corners of its musical spectrum, leaving no boundary unexplored. The mesmerizing rhythm section and long-form grooves, are overlaid with vocals that soar and soothe, ridden with passion and nuance. The walls of bone-crushing guitar motifs are countered by the broiling and resonating basslines. The sound is always dynamic, but never melodramatic, always art without ever being arty. This is the sound of Far From Your Sun.

Far From Your Sun is truly talented collective, a synergy of minds and talents. There are no weak links, and nobody is merely going through the motions. Taken separately, the arrangements and performances are exceptional and inspiring, but taken as a whole the music moves up to yet another level – extremely sophisticated, but still raw and primal. Their dramatic prose and poignant narratives combined with tasteful cinematic segments easily lures you down the rabbit hole.

Far From Your Sun is a project that brings together the work of talented artists coming from various backgrounds such as photography, painting and writing. Far From Your Sun is described as meaning: “We can live fulfilled and happy in the shadow of the artificial lights, far from the fads, far from a flattering, but often elusive, misleading sun.” The mood of their sound is as thought provoking as it is cathartic, whisking you away on its lyrical journeys.

The track, “Far From Your Sun” opens the album. It provides a particularly introspective moment of instrumental contemplation within its precise but fine construction. The diverse vocal sections appropriately assist in depicting an extremely kinetic soundscape.

“Under The Hands Of Time” slips some addictive bass and guitar dabbling into the intro, taking a prominent place and heightening the theatrical nature of the piece. It builds into a crushing wall of sound that ebbs and flows between soft and loud passages.

“Annabel Lee” is another song that balances beautifully on the light and dark aesthetic, which renders Far From Your Sun’s music so hypnotic. Not to mention the pristine vocals and subtle harmonies. The vocal work is so tinged with oscillating tones and timbres, it cuts through your soul.

“Life” continues the premise instilled by previous tracks, continuing to wrap you in swathes of luscious sound, leaving you with a marked level of fulfillment and bliss, regardless of the somber themes which penetrate your inner being.

Depending on how you choose to interpret this journey Far From Your Sun could soothe your mind or it could shatter your soul into pieces. As you flip through “The Eightfold Path” and “A Thousand Lives”, the lyrical content continues to be particularly poignant, as it traverses through a variety of emotional stages and experiences. The music and vocals have a parallel evolution that is both expansive and all-embracing.

“On The Path” is a full-scale, take-no-prisoners assault, providing an unrelenting, heavy presence. The lead vocals are also at their most impressive here – the range scaling remarkable heights. The drumming too, adds some effective accents to the arrangement.

Melancholy, beautifully harmonized, and brilliantly constructed, the closing track, “F.A.D.”, is another gem to add to the crown of jewels that make up this album. “In the beginning… was the emotion” is one of those albums that gets better and better with each listen.

It was surprising to learn that this album was initially released in 2015. But it was an even bigger surprise to learn that Far From Your Sun will be releasing a brand new album this year, entitled “The origin of suffering”. Now that’s something to look forward to!