Review: The Visit – Through Darkness Into Light

The Visit
Through Darkness Into Light

Self-Released
Street: 10.09
The Visit = Helen Money + Roger O’Donnell and Julia Kent + The Revolutionary Army of the Infant Jesus

The speed and virtuosity in which Raphael Weinroth-Browne attacks his cello will gain obvious comparisons to metal from fans. The blueprint is there: Hyperspeed bowing as proxy for both blastbeats and the tremolo downstroke while wrapping Heather Sita Black’s stirring, classically trained and vibrato-rich vocals in a shimmering, frigid cloak of the neo-pagans’ holy winter. Inside the stirring classical chamber pieces on Through Darkness Into Light are passages of great labor and great light. Weinroth-Browne plays featherweight movements that highlight his dynamism and lyrical ability on the cello and Black’s ability to range from a powerful, commanding lead to fellow expositor to imbuing force when she reaches wordless falsetto highs. A release that should appeal to fans of both metal and classical music, a demographic that shares more in the venn diagram of musical proclivities than either camp are probably willing to admit. –Ryan Hall