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The streetlight was all we needed

by Sertraline

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Sælzer Bub
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Sælzer Bub While post black metal is my favorite genre this one was a must-have for me.
Something between the atmospheric aggression of Wolves in the Throne Room and the melancholy and depressive mood of Swallow the Sun.
I love the drums on this one and the melodies of the 3 guitars.
There is so much soul in their music.
Truly a masterpiece…
mourner
mourner thumbnail
mourner Melancholic and mostly calming with its subtile, beautiful and sometimes fragile harmonies. Gloomy with a touch of spheric light this great band unfolds its hypnotic atmospheric post black metal. The drums are really fantastic.
elhater
elhater thumbnail
elhater A great chance to listen all work of this great band so far. The atmosphere created by every note is sublime. The intense feeling poured on this songs flows through all the record like a river of purple thick blood. A genuine collector's piece. Favorite track: Entwined.
Metallurgical Fire
Metallurgical Fire thumbnail
Metallurgical Fire The comparisons to WITTR and Deafheaven will probably draw a lot of people. I’m not one of them. I prefer this work to what I’ve heard from those bands, and it has a lot to do with Ken Culton. It’s a privilege to hear his playing. The drums drew me in first, but overall this album causes me to drift away from my problems even though it’s by no means cheerful. It’s striving for something better and makes you want to do the same. Post rock and jazz fans should check this out as well. Favorite track: Their Cities.
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    Released in a 4 panel digipack / 8 page booklet with new artwork, this is all of Sertraline's work released so far compiled into a single collection.

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  • Full Digital Discography

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    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Wrath, Kaer Morhen, Sodden, sound graveyard bound [2023], about all the bad days in the world, Inside, At the Gates of Adversarial Darkness, Worldtorn: Anemoia, and 119 more. , and , .

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1.
(Bloom) 02:08
2.
Azalea 05:40
A beautiful poison, you say with a grin I sit with you again For a while until it ends Grief harbors anger and your resentment A banner for the cause As we both play our parts Bad decisions even have reason Make me bite my judging tongue A blanket of friends on a bed of guilt Void of denial, you knew full well I hated and I loved you And I pretended to understand I hate and love you And I now understand
3.
(Haze) 00:51
4.
Shade 08:55
Flowers, sunshine, lost in its haze Slumber in liquid, counting the days The lamb, the snake, caught in its wake Go and stroll in the garden But don't drown in all the weeds The eyes to open, the mouths to feed Melt with each loss The bloom of pain And the heat of the cross Find me the shade When I walk away, will you look at me?
5.
You've played the labor game and it reads truth But the truth is wealth is playing you Prosperity shows what your eyes hide Poverty knows what walls can't divide Open the gates, the hounds are now released Hear me when I say, our blood is the same shade Your fangs polished and white, growing since birth Your view will always be from above But its height will never define my worth
6.
As she runs past the worn oak Timid, numb, and red Upon the detritus, with persuasive step From the glint, translucent and pale She lays back with crooked stare Questions forgotten, mercurial divide Mirrors her through the river Drawing shadows from the sky Mind the wisdom thereafter, with such obligation it derives Humbled to be here forever at your side
7.
Entwined 07:18
Out of the sun and from the soil cast the girl A fitting name of Rose Rolling upon withered pine where grief is without wander Crowded heads with vacant eyes A pain shared always proves stronger From both our hands Into our mouths And down our throats From the soil cast the girl A fitting name of Rose Where grief is without wander We are entwined, forever now in peace
8.
Wise from what you thought Like needles through dust A view of transparent skin Only then can healing begin Falling for a phrase, taut and exemplary Icons on stone to serve the past Obdurate when regret becomes our history When love is discreet and hope trivial Rise from your knees, despite the scar As I will always be watching from afar
9.
Their Cities 07:20
To the hum of the streetlights we danced Under the viaduct we sang all night To all the factories we would run and scream And to the convenient store parking lots where we'd vow to see better days With the smell of a dying town Won't be here to see if it turns around The bridge, the park, the square They all will rot The bridge, the park, and the square They all will rot But the mills of sorrow will always grow It was a big part of our lives But we must go and never look back Leave their cities behind and head for the trees...together
10.
Prague 07:37
Hanging from complacence Seeking a renascent heart I shall wander far from everyone My wife, my kid, my home The warden of time, a prisoner of choice To those empty canals from a middle aged voice Regret has burrowed down to the most selfish of bones And I've scorned my beloved to no fault of their own A world away yet still close to fear A new skin to touch to help me disappear We drive down to the end where the lovers meet Rain on cobblestone, under lights like fire Between where the songs fade and grief hides the laughter Time is a burden to the future we seek All motives are lost in decisions we make The past is a widow and she lets us pretend Fate is a consolation when we know it's the end I'm so sorry

about

Sertraline (Buffalo, NY) formed in the winter of 2014 as a reimagining of veteran death-doom group Where She Wept. The band, armed with the experience and chemistry of longtime collaboration, began to craft a new sonic legacy, combining atmostpheric black metal with post-rock elements to create a uniquely heavy-hitting trio of EPs: Shade (2017), From Both Our Hands (2019), and These Mills Are Oceans (2019), now released as a single compilation for the first time entitled The Streetlight Was All We Needed.

Sertraline are marked by immense musical saturation. Three guitars pour out sustained, melodic passages drenched in reverb and illustrated with glacial leads, backed by a rhythm section inspired equally to jazz-like syncopation and punishing metal proficiency. Often wandering but never lost, each song surprises listeners in turn with moments of introspection and emotional climax, punctuated by lyrics which span themes of “guilt, regret, addiction, anxiety, and depression...but also a hunger for love and hope” amidst reflection upon and angst towards the present social and political climate.

credits

released January 15, 2021

Guitars - Jay Zgoda
Guitars - David Lopian
Guitars - Shelly Muehlbauer
Vocals - Tom Muehlbauer
Drums - Ken Culton
Bass - Jason Roman

"Shade" EP
Originally released May 8, 2017
Recorded by Joe Leising at Rotten Metal Recordings in the winter of 2017

"From Both Our Hands" EP
Originally released July 2019
Recorded in the Spring of 2018 by Joe Leising at Rotten Metal Recording

"These Mills Are Oceans" EP
Originally released November 2019
Recorded in the Spring of 2018 by Joe Leising at Rotten Metal Recording

***

"Whoever crafted this music did so from the bottom of their hearts and souls and it is noticeable when listening to it."
-Metal Roos

"Falling somewhere between Wolves in the Throne Room and Deafheaven, the walls of sound delivered by Sertraline’s three guitarists are rich, textured slabs of bleakness that tower up, threatening to swamp you, even as the drumming and excellent bass keep you afloat. "
-Angry Metal Guy

“From Both Our Hands” is a very crafty and engaging release that showcases a promising young band and a wide array of cool ideas in the genre. If you like dreamy Post-whatever music that is both intense and carefully crafted, look no further and check this one out."
-Infernal Masquerade Magazine

"Sertraline revive the over saturated world of atmospheric and post-black metal. They utilize their influences well without being a mirror image. They echo the lush reverb tremolo haze that Alcest have become known for, all while sticking to a more fundamental black metal sound. There is an ebb and flow to the album similar to a river. The swells build until they come crashing down but instead of causing claustrophobia it creates a sense of beauty, and of engulfing melody."
-Cvlt Nation

"I would bet this band are destined for cult status in an already awesome scene."
-Musipedia of Metal

"Imagine a steady, dismal rainfall with no sign of a letup. From Both Our Hands paints grey skies, murky waters and withering autumnal trees on an otherwise blank canvas. "
-Welcome to the Metal

***

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Hypnotic Dirge Records Amadora, Portugal

Hypnotic Dirge Records is an independent record label and webshop based in Saskatchewan, Canada and Lisbon, Portugal active since 2008. Our intention and raison d'être is to release quality expressive and eclectic art through aural manifestations.

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