Atmospheres are a well named band if nothing else. Imagine if TesseracT fully embraced their atmospheric side and marginalized their more djent/groove metal base. That’s a basic idea of what Atmospheres are about on their album “The Departure.”
I love atmospheric metal but if allowed to wander too much, as happens on this album, it gets tedious and boring. Another problem is vocally, Atmospheres are a bit thin. I think the band realizes this and tends to play more toward the instrumental side of things through the album.
Had the band had a better balance between their ambient side and their more crunchy side, “The Departure” would be more interesting. Unfortunately, this winds up being background music. When the band does find a good hook here and there, it becomes a bit too jarring only because the album borders on new age at times.
“The Departure” is less about being a departure from what is currently happening in the djent world and more about a starting point for this new Belgian band. They are quite talented but too often they lose my interest by wandering thru their own self indulgence. My guess is that if you live and breathe djent, this album will feel like a revelation. I’ll wait for the new Textures album myself.
Rating: 5/10
Progressive Music Planet 
Any thoughts on the new ATMOSPHERES album REACH ? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K56geuUVNhw&lc=z22dfty41wbbvllewacdp434idguncnqmy3f1zakknpw03c010c
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haven’t heard it and to be honest, I don’t quite remember THIS album.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Maybe the reason why you don’t remember the second album is because you didn’t like it and rated it 5/10 ? A number of points you then commented, have been adjusted, that is why I was wondering how you would think about this album.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Are you in the band perhaps? I don’t remember it partly because I didn’t care for it and partly because I listen to a TON of music. Not just the albums that get reviewed. If I get some time, I’ll check it out. There are easier ways to ask for a review. hahaha
LikeLiked by 1 person
My son Stef is the founder-songwriter for the band, I do the merch and as such, am interested in what you guys think about the music. That was the intention for my initial reply, not loosening a review. If you should consider to post one, that would be very nice but as I said, your opinion is as important as the pr a review would be. Kind regards, Frank
LikeLiked by 1 person