STILL return with their heaviest, most uncompromising work yet, reuniting with producer and mentor Joe Clayton at Manchester’s No Studio to deliver a sonic experience that’s as unfiltered as it is relentless. As the first band outside of Clayton’s own Pijn to release on his newly launched label, Floodlit Recordings, STILL epitomize the label’s ethos: a space for left-of-centre musicians to build community and push boundaries.

The album begins with “Yearn” and a droning lead that builds gradually before a sudden, visceral plunge into blast beats and dissonant and angular guitar lines. It’s a potent entry point to STILL’s sound, which moves unpredictably between ambient dread and overwhelming force. “Only Time Will Tell” further escalates the tension, blending wandering, distorted guitars with anguished dual vocals as frontman Fraser Briggs confronts the grief of his father’s unexpected death, which occurred midway through the writing process. It’s a raw moment that shifts the album’s tone into darker, more vulnerable territory.

Throughout the album influences from black metal and post-metal emerge, yet STILL’s approach feels singularly intense. Tracks like “Light” and “Dark” embody an almost cinematic unease, keeping listeners on edge at the mid way point, while “Life Eclipses Living” slows down into a dragging despair, recalling the expansiveness of ISIS. Then, in “Small Mercies of Falling Apart” the band returns to their more familiar breakneck fury, unleashing a blistering array of blast beats and discordant guitar textures that pull you in and refuse to let go.

The closing track, “Unresolved” is a highlight, showcasing STILL’s unique ability to marry melody with brute force as Briggs’ guttural, tormented screams converge with the lead guitar’s direct, pointed aggression. It’s a cathartic finale to a powerfully intense album that explores grief and rage without compromise. It’s raw and unapologetically heavy, STILL have crafted an album that demands attention—a must-listen when it drops on November 15th.