February 17th, 2014 
Drew Caruso 
Artist: Junius
Album: Days of the Fallen Sun
Genre: Alternative Metal / Post-Rock
Label: Prosthetic Records
I think one of the most important things I take away from Elliott Smith’s career was his notion of sounds as shapes. Ever since I first read him stating that, it changed the way I perceive, react, and investigate musical pulses. Thinking of a song as an ever-changing wave, or a shape that is consistently changing within the song’s dynamic nature, the shape that I begin with in my mind at the start of a track is usually never the same shape at the end. I guess I bring this geometrical insight up now because with Days Of The Fallen Sun, Junius create an arsenal of sounds and shapes, and the only thing that the shapes of this EP have in common is that they are massive.
A work where each adventure is separated by interludes, Days Of The Fallen Sun is a gigantic eruption of ambience, distortion, melody and madness. Beginning with “The Time of Perfect Virtue,” the band’s ability to create such a debilitating wall of distorted sound, coupled with beautiful melodies is shown immediately. Never losing their pop sensibility, the band fuse sounds of metal, post-hardcore, doom, and other Wikipedia page names, without ever forgetting the melodies they set forth. Viewed as an opening anthem, “The Time of Perfect Virtue” is a colossal voice for the introduction of the pounding work.
With sonic interludes between each track, Junius set apart their epics consciously, giving the listener time to fully understand what just happened in the ears. Provoking a sense of insight and reflection, each track is a grandiose adventure of sound; with every new experience somehow sonically weaving into the next, without losing defining characteristics that Junius set forth for each individual piece.
“A Day Dark With Night” is just as epic as it sounds, and the longest track on the record is worthy of its fantastical vernacular. With a thundering opening, and a cyclically changing dynamic, the second piece of the EP is cathartic to say the least. Junius set the bar incredibly high for atmospheric elevation, and “A Day Dark With Night” only solidifies their momentous achievement.
Rest easy with the interlude “(The Purge),” because no matter how ready you think you are, “Battle In The Sky” will take you by surprise. A collaborating pair of metal and melody, the opening of the third track is as unforgiving as the wavelike vocals soon to follow. As the shortest track in the work, “Battle In The Sky” accomplishes what it needs to quickly, leaving nothing in its wake. Featuring some of the heaviest guitars of the work, with every bright note in the foreground, be assured that there is a heavier guitar laying the foundation in the background. Sludge and beauty meet, waltzing within perfect unison.
With the much needed rest of “(Nothingness),” the final track, “Forgiving the Cleansing Meteor,” builds slowly and strongly, much unlike its predecessor. With the most emphasis on percussion and bass in the beginning, the pulsing introduction lays the framework for the conclusion of this massive piece of art. This build continues for more than half the track, consistently gaining momentum as it pounds along, culminating in an ending that has been stuck in my head since my first experience with it.
Days of the Fallen Sun ends just as beautifully as it begins, without ever losing its heavy mentality. Junius have created a work that is able to construct such momentous sounds within various constants of musical coefficients, without ever losing their core foundation for music that is riveting, pulsing, momentous, and cathartic. An epic adventure from beginning to end, Days of the Fallen Sun is a cataclysm of sounds crashing against one another, somehow turning a collective collision of sonic tonality into a beautiful piece of moving music. This experience deserves your time.
SCORE: 9/10
Review written by Drew Caruso – follow him on Twitter.
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