Former Digitalmetal writer John Gnesin had always told me to check these guys out, long before the genre exploded into what it is now, and now I wish I had heeded him, and will definitely go back and check out the bands back catalog (1999s Afraid, 2003s I Can’t Believe I Was Born In July, and 2005s L’Amour, La Mort, L’Enfance Perdue) after hearing this superb album.

With the obvious starting point of Neurosis and Isis in so much the band play an atmospheric form of light/dark Post Rock hues, but like Burst, Impure Wilhemina are able to gravitate away from the expected ebb, flow, build, peak mantra of their peers and inject some clean rock, some metalcore, some angular hardcore and some simply gorgeous harmonies and layers into the mix. The end result, like Lazarus Bird is an album that’s almost unrecognizable as post rock, but instead simply delivers stunning music of its own discourse.

I’ll admit, three minutes into opener “Continental Breed” and its rather standard, almost Helmet meets new Poison the Well styled alternative rock, I wasn’t impressed, However, at the 3:50 mark the band unravel a layered, melodic melancholy riff that just rends you inner being, and I’m hooked. Then “Hide Your Anger, Give Your Mouth” suddenly erupts with a jagged hardcore lurch and screams and the layered melodies found right before the songs shift into acoustic introspection are to die for. “Poisons and Blades” really cements the albums similarity to Lazarus Bird with a jangly melodic intro before exploding into epic riffage, clean and screamed vocals and an emotional rumbling/shimmering climax delivers one of the albums many standouts. “The End Within” delivers the albums first real moments of what I would call atmospheric doom or pure Post Rock shoe-gazery with some truly draining, drawn out harmonies, not to dissimilar to Samothrace’s recent debut. “Travel With the Night”, like the opener, initially comes across as sort of an alternative rock track before the track shifts into somber acoustic bliss. “As We Kneel” is arguably the albums other standout track, getting right to it with piercing screams and just a monstrous, shimmering mid section that made me wilt a little. “Cover Me With Kindness” yet again reeks of Burst mixing a varied vocal attack, epic, churning power chords with delicate threads of introspection and artful, melancholic threads of brilliance. “The Rope” offers a short sharp before the lengthy closer “Drift”.

As well as the sheer depth of the song writing, the band has to be commended for getting to the point as Prayers and Arsons wanders little, coming in at around 50 minutes and most of the songs under the 7 minute mark with a couple in the 3-4 minute range. Aforementioned closer “Drift” is the albums longest cut but also is the albums weakest, being the albums only really wandering track, with a odd discordance to its first three quarters that’s a little grating compared to the grace and elegance of the prior tracks (even though the cuts last couple of minutes are superb).

Still, it’s those prior tracks that make Prayers and Arsons one of the most evocative and magnificently artful albums of the year and of the genre, with only Samothrace and Burst topping it.

Other than brief interlude “Orchidian” and “Death By Silent Tyrants”, the 13 short stabs of noise actually have a sense of structure and melody that many of their US based, sheer noise peers are lacking. Tracks like opener “Love Process Failure”, “Mouth Full of Shit Cannot Bite” and “good Average” display a crafty sense of melody under the histrionic bursts, while the likes of “Secrets”, “A Light Scent of Wreck”, “Nice and Easy” and aptly titled “Grindcore Deluxe” have a certain sense of Nasum/Rotten Sound grind (Yog’s earlier influences apparently) appeal amid their younger, modern chaotic exterior, replete with a mid range heavy guitar tone and Yonni Chapatte’s fierce scream.

Occasionally Yog calm down, and by calm down I mean they delve into a more angular, jagged, hardcore gait like “The Frameless Stage”, “Merge”, “Dark Bliss” heave and spit with controlled abandon. Closer “Death By Silent Tyrants” delves into the Harlots, Nights Like These, Romans realms of experimentation with a loping, post rock/sludge mood that’s a nice come down from the prior assaults.

With so called US bands like Iwrestledabearonce,. Dr. Acula, The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza, Heavy Heavy, Low Low and Destroyer Destroyer being passed off as ‘grindcore’, its refreshing to hear a band like Yog, from a country like Switzerland be just as noisy but with a sense of seriousness and a nod towards actual, classic grind.

A very nice surprise.