Ireland’s own Raum Kingdom and Belgium’s All We Expected recently collaborated on a joint-effort EP called All We Expected and Raum Kingdom Split. Together, these two bands have put together a four-track musical piece that disconnects the listener from their surroundings and transports them to a place that only music inhabits.
The EP starts off with All We Expected, featuring Guillian Maertens on guitar, Tijl Tytgat also on guitar, Artuur Bruwier on drums, and Martijn Salomez on bass. The Belgian group came together in 2012 and have been creating instrumental post-metal tracks ever since. Their style can be described as ambient rock that will have the listener thinking about what each note is trying to scream out.
their song We’re Not Born to Live Like Brutes tells a story from beginning to end without lyrics. It is up to the listener to put meaning to the emotions portrayed by the pleasant symphony of instruments. The quartet creates a well-balanced picture that captures all sorts of feelings and exposes them to the mind without a single spoken word.
Flood is the second song in the EP from All We Expected. The title is self-explanatory as to what the track delivers to the auditory senses. Bruwier on drums keeps the pace as a grounded reminder of the reality surrounding Maertens and Tytgat’s fantastic interchange of airy melodies. Towards the end of the nine-plus minute track, the band manages to ambush your thoughts with an all-too-pleasant culmination of an aggressive four-piece instrumental harmony.
Raum Kingdom came together in late 2013 in Ireland and is comprised of vocalist Dave Lee, guitarist Andrew Colohan, bassist Ronan Connor, and drummer Mark Gilchrist. By April of 2014, the band had released their first self-titled EP with five original works. Their music is described as heavy post-metal. They have influences from artists such as Acid Bath, Cult of Luna, and Deftones.
Their track titled Grace starts off with a very calculated introduction that leads to a soft vocal delivery by Lee. But, while the song has soft melodic undertones, Lee delivers guttural screams that drive home his abilities as heavy metal vocalist
Lastly, Lost In The Hunt by Raum Kingdom ends the split. The band has a slow tempo that creates a lingering effect from the heavy guitars and bass. The drumming is thoughtful and purposeful. Haunting vocals combined with growling creates an ambience of despair that can only be ended with the guidance of the band’s musical abilities.
To get more info of either group check out the links below: