Bastions – Majestic Desolation | Album Review

The UK post and alternative hardcore scene has been in fine health for quite some time now. However, those new to the genre may not know that it was Bastions that helped sow the fertile ground that now harbours some of the best names to be found in the UK. Now they’re back to reinstate their importance and prowess.

Helping to shape the scene and genre alongside a pedigree of acts in the vein of Goodtime Boys, and Brotherhood Of The Lake, it’s futile to even imagine the scene without Bastions‘ input or influence. Upon it’s release eleven years ago, the band’s debut LP Hospital Corners redesigned the sound and aesthetic of UK post-hardcore, becoming the de facto musical ambassador of the scene in the process. Even after all these years, the impact that record made on the scene is still evident and transparent. The texture of the record has become one with the musical tapestry of the genre’s sound, and whenever they know it or not, many a freshly-faced emerging band have tapped into the emotional intensity and profound dissolution that bounded Hospital Corners. Now eleven years since that release – and seven years since their final appearance – Bastions have returned with Majestic Desolation, a record that’s reimposes the band’s pioneering nature and rings true to it’s namesake in a way that’s darkly visceral.

Whilst it would be easy to dub this a comeback record, doing so feels criminally narrow-scoped, especially given the implied connotations. Majestic Desolation feels more akin to being a natural continuation of the sonic themes presented within it’s predecessor as opposed to being something forced and contrived. As the droning interlude of ‘Haas’ into the ironclad sprawls of personal disquiet within previous singles ‘A Broken Crown’ and ‘Acres Of Love’, it’s clear that time has not dulled anything but the band’s appreciation for life. Whilst this does indeed naturally build upon the foundations laid with Hospital Corners, this is no mere nostalgia trip fawning over the bygone days of the post-hardcore scene.

This is a record that feels conscious of it’s existence, a body of work from a band that’s aware of the gravitational shifts that have impacted the scene they once centred. With that in mind, the misery that permeates Bastions’ work has only seemingly quickened with the passing of time. There’s no joy or positivity to be found here, only the sounds of slaughtered youth and existentialist solitude being presented with spacious and atmospheric rage.

Bastions always had a penchant for conjuring miasmas of dense atmosphere with their take on hardcore but here such an atmosphere is engulfing. There’s a profound and almost infectious level of lethargic misery on this record, one that billows forth from the embittered and borderline resentful shouts of Jamie Burne prior to seeping into ones’s very being. This is only further palatable with the record’s perfect understanding and utilisation of melody and space. There are moments where this record totally ravages the listener without mercy – such as in the case of ‘Heavy Hearts’ – but this record plays out between a push and pull between self-annihilating acrimony and lethargic inner-turmoil.

‘Darker Paths’, and the one-two knockout of ‘Slithering’ and ‘Coalfields’ demonstrate this fantastically. Arguably the best tracks on the record, these songs are rich with holistic atmosphere built around crushing walls of violence and ebbing spacious dissonance. Lewis Johns has truly done a brilliant job in producing this record, ensuring the bass and percussion of Gareth Davies and Kieran Brindley respectively sound impactful to a fragmenting degree whilst also providing the guitars of Jamie McDonald enough rage to fully embolden the wide spectrum of frustration and bitterness that Majestic Desolation channels.

This may not be long record duration wise – with it spanning just 25 minutes in total – but it uses every single second available to brilliant effect. This isn’t a comeback or a quick and contrived return to the game void of substance, but a decanting of the misery that Bastions have collectively accumulated since they took their original leave from music. They may be a new proposition to many inhabiting the scene concurrently, but with Majestic Desolation, it’s clear Bastions are ready to take their position at the zenith of the scene once again.