REVIEW: Junius - Sotera
- Noise Leonard
- Jun 25
- 3 min read
Earlier this year, JUNIUS released their first new song in nearly ten years. It’s been quite the break for them - since 2017’s Eternal Rituals For The Accretion Of Light they’ve only played a few gigs, including a short Europe tour last year. With that in mind, new music wasn’t a huge surprise, but with all this time having passed, and only two founding members remaining in the group, a completely different sound was to be expected.
That’s what they did with Initiatrix, the lead single for Sotera, their fourth full-length LP. JUNIUS are a band that often get slapped with the “post-metal” label, which first time listeners might find somewhat confusing, considering Initiatrix is played quite straight, leaning more into gothic metal than anything else. There’s operatic vocal performances from Joseph E. Martinez, as well as dark and almost choral walls of guitars in the chorus, with a generally moody atmosphere across its runtime. It’s a solid tune, and while not as ambitious as other cuts on the album, makes sense as a sampler for the record.
This is clear on the opener, Disciple. The gothic feel is on full display here, with a wonderful post-chorus, as he croons “I am the one you doubt” and “I’ll make you fall in love”. There’s a massive emphasis on space on the track, every instrument feels miles apart, anchored together by the permeating rhythm from Dana Filloon’s drums. The way the three guitar parts work together in tandem here feels entirely natural, despite them all achieving drastically different effects. It sets the stage perfectly for the second track here, The Oracle.
The Oracle opens with a noisy, distorted riff that wouldn’t feel out of place in a post-hardcore song. Don’t be misled, however, as the verse kicks in with Martinez wailing over pounding toms in a Robert Smith-esque vocal inflection. The relative quietness of the verse and the almost happy-sounding chord progression only adds to the release given by the chorus. It feels gargantuan on this song in particular. The bridge after the second chorus features feedback and loose, distorted playing over a spoken word section. It’s the first hint that there’s more to this song than meets the eye. Of course, it doesn’t take long for this to come into full effect, as the second half of this song ends up leaning more into prog metal. There’s a certain tension to the occasionally chugging guitar and Martinez’ disaffected vocals, broken by his screams launching the song into its exhilarating outro, everything coming back together. An extremely dense track, and likely the highlight here.
Elsewhere on the record, we get tracks like Darkwater, a slow burn with the most prolonged calm before the storm on the album. When said storm approaches three minutes in, it never leaves. Occasionally dropping one sole distorted guitar into the right channel before exploding again, it’s an intense experience. This one really lets the group’s guitarwork shine, a testament to their ability to build a grand soundscape out of them. Lucifera is easily the most mellow tune on here, opening with nothing but chorused-up guitars, with an intimate vocal performance from Martinez, especially when he goes into that higher register. There’s still that all too familiar gothic darkness on here, condensed into its purest form yet. With comparatively softer and slower instrumentation throughout, it almost feels romantic.
We end on Scythian, six and a half minutes long, making it the longest track on here. It certainly lives up to that, rarely relenting - and if it does, it’s either in service of a huge wall of sound, or something entirely new. Usually both. A fitting end to such a grandiose and theatrical album. Sotera is an album that feels like it should be taking bigger swings than it actually does. There are some great moments here, like The Oracle and Scythian, where their ambition shows on full display and sticks the landing completely, but after ten years or so, it feels as though something is missing. JUNIUS have crafted a group of songs that, at points, feel somewhat underdeveloped, but with a little extra care, could be fantastic. For that, we’ll just have to see how they bloom in a live setting.
Score: 6/10
Sotera will be released on 26th June 2026 via Prosthetic Records.
Words: Noise Leonard
Photos: Junius
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