Disappearer is part of an increasing collective as of late partaking in the type of post-rock I like to refer as 'instrumetal.' What this means is heavy, methodical, usually atmospheric and droning music taking partial influence from doom metal but still lenient enough to be perfect to put a listener in a beautifully haunting trance, certainly popularized by cult phenoms Isis (you know, aside from their minimal vocals) and recaptured nicely in recent times by Pelican. And this is exactly what Disappearer, made up of members of There Were Wires and Doomriders, does on their self-titled effort here.

The last 2 songs of Disappearer was originally self-released as a limited 2-track EP in late 2004. Here it's more or less reissued in a full package with an extra cut, "Crownfire," placed at the front. And what an addition it is; probably the standout track, it's like the others in its strange way of weaving through open space, not quite traveling in the path of one full, complete crescendo, but rather small ones scattered throughout; it bashes and crawls, experimenting with spacey loops, climaxing midway through, only letting up for a fully distorted bass foundation and repetitive guitar leading it along.

The other two aren't half-bad either, though. "Rust/Dust" is a pulsating, pounding number, with a pretty letup towards its end that quickly deconstructs everything and slowly but surely builds it back up again. "Universal Fog"'s first half is rather quiet, but as expected it picks up steam with heavy start-stops and smartly chugging rhythms, soon letting ring a few of the band's trademark guitar howls.

Instrumetal is getting quite a boost here and there, and Disappearer are simply providing yet another necessary adrenaline shot that is likely to get a few noticing the action.

Crownfire [clip]

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Disappearer