[THE WAYS OF EXILE] Releases of the year 2024

Iress have been called Doomgaze (Big doomy metal riffs meets shoegaze prettiness and walls of noise) band and while that may have been a good description of their older albums, the band have moved on from that with Sleep Now.

There’s not much going on in the way of metal for the first half of this album. Sleep, now is a very good alternative / shoegaze album that reminds me of some of the 90’s 4AD records. However, things start to get heavy half way through the album, where The Remains introduce the loud guitars, while Knell Mera has some great doomy riffs.

Michelle Malley’s voice is the band’s not so secret weapon making the band stand out so far from the others making this kind of music. Her ability to switch between a sweet vocal, adding a hint of gravel and some diva-esque high notes completely changes the band’s vibe and makes them shine all the brighter.

This is an album that effortlessly walks the line between alt rock and metal and hopefully will help the band get the recognition they deserve.