With Red Sky Mourning, Soul Blind fully commit to the swamp-thick, oversized alt-rock sound they’ve been refining—one rooted in ’90s influence but reinforced with modern weight. It’s a record that moves slowly, hits hard, and prioritizes atmosphere over flash, letting riffs and bass loom large while everything else drifts through the fog.

The album kicks off with “Business or Pleasure,” briefly baiting the listener with a sample before collapsing into a low-end assault that immediately sets the scale. The guitars carry a faint Southern twang, the drums stay locked into simple, head-nodding grooves, and the vocals arrive washed out and airy, hovering above the mix with a distant, Alice in Chains–adjacent haze. That contrast—huge, murky instrumentation paired with ghostly vocal lines—becomes the album’s defining trait.

Soul Blind thrive in this mid-tempo sweet spot, where riffs and bass are allowed to swallow the mix without sounding sloppy. “Dyno” leans into that approach hard, letting towering guitars and bass dominate while the drums quietly steer the momentum. When the chorus opens up, it snaps into focus with surprising catchiness, and the swirling leads cut through like warning sirens. Even when the band’s own heaviness threatens to overwhelm the song, the production makes it feel intentional—monolithic rather than messy.

That ’90s alt-rock meets heavy shoegaze identity runs deep. “Hide Your Evil” rides a groove-heavy swagger, riffs bouncing and bass snarling while the drums shadow the movement instead of competing with it. The vocals remain submerged, but just clear enough to establish a moody, rhythmic cadence. Backing vocals thicken the final stretch, swelling into the chorus-drenched weight Soul Blind handle so well.

When the band ease off the throttle, the album’s most textured moments emerge. “Mistake to Wonder” sinks into a tuned-down haze, driven by stuttering guitar figures and drums that finally get room to breathe. It carries a slow, sorrowed Deftones-like energy—dreamy but bruised—ending in a reverb-soaked fade-out where the bass hums beneath everything like a lingering ache. It’s a strong showcase of the band’s shoegaze instincts without abandoning their heaviness.

That restraint doesn’t last long. “Billy” rolls in like a creeping storm, pairing crunchy riffs and sneaky bass movement with screamed vocals and an oppressive atmosphere. The breakdown in the back half is one of the album’s most punishing moments, built on deep chugs, massive drums, and a sense of downward pull that gives the track a sinister edge. Even at their heaviest, Soul Blind’s blend of shoegaze and alt-metal feels natural rather than forced.

Later tracks push fully into what could be called “big shoegaze.” “For Real” opens with heavy drum thumps and vibrating bass before sliding into a foggy, slow-burning build that feels like shoegaze amplified through a stadium PA—huge, enveloping, but still soft around the edges. “Thru the Haze” doubles down, layering nuanced, shimmering riffs over dense alt-rock rhythms and vocals soaked in reverb, locking the song into that late-’90s twilight-zone atmosphere the band clearly loves.

The title track, “Red Sky Mourning,” distills the album’s emotional core. Slow, restrained, and enormous in its own way, it relies on punchy drums, mournful riffs, and vocals stretched into long, drifting lines. It’s quietly heavy rather than crushing, blooming with melancholy instead of brute force, and stands out as one of the record’s most distinct moods.

That softness makes the pivot into “New York Smoke” feel especially jarring—in a good way. Dissonant riffs, bold bass, pounding drums, and vocals loaded with frustration snap the album back toward the band’s hardcore roots. It’s raw, snarling, and direct, a reminder that beneath all the haze and atmosphere, Soul Blind still carry that DNA.

The closer, “Closer to You,” settles into a slow-burning crawl. The drums get more expressive with cymbal work, the bass drags heavily beneath the surface, and the riffs arrive in dense, suffocating waves. A jankier middle section briefly breaks the spell, making it the album’s one real stumble, but even that misstep folds back into the broader mood. The washed-out vocals remain cool and distant, and the track still feels unmistakably Soul Blind—big, dark, and submerged.

Red Sky Mourning is Soul Blind at their most massive, murky, and emotionally weighted. Its blend of ’90s alt rock, heavy shoegaze, dense low end, and blurred vocals creates a sound that feels nostalgic without being stagnant. Even when elements disappear into the haze, it reads as a deliberate choice rather than a flaw. Built on groove, atmosphere, and sheer size, the album occasionally wanders under its own weight—but as a whole, it stands as the band’s most cohesive and fully realized statement yet: dark, heavy, hazy, and entirely their own.