Museum Of Light – Diviner

by Mark 'Yeti' Richard · April 15, 2025

Museum Of Light is a heavy rock/alternative/ post metal band from Seattle, Washington. The three-piece consists of Ted Alvarez on guitars and vocals, Jeff Bartlett on bass, and Rob Smith on drums, vocals, and keys. It also features Elissa Alvarez on vocals, with Amelia Urry on spoken vocals. They released their debut album in 2022 called Horizon. On March 14th 2025, the band released their sophomore album entitled Diviner, on Spartan Records. Consisting of eleven tracks in forty two minutes, the record combines crushing heaviness with ethereal melody.

The spoken message from Amelia Urry “Does the body die?” begins Diviner followed by a guitar riff strumming with more spoken words commencing. The music has an atmospheric texture that punches into a heavy powerhouse rhythm. The instrumental track flows from ethereal sounds to raging riffing as it sets the tone for Museum Of Light. “Blunt Force Drama” kicks in next and displays a heavy bottom end rhythm with powerful drumming and high octave noise rocking guitars. The song dials right down into some mellow psychedelic sounds and fades right into “Get Paid” highlighting more female spoken elements. The vocals of Ted Alvarez make their appearance in a soft tone to start and get more aggressive as the music builds up heavier. The song reminds me of old Baroness on different parts. The heavy fuzzy bass is obliterating throughout this recording and bleeds in nicely on this track. “Above You” creeps in next and has a sludgy chugging riff that floats into drawn out chords and more glorious noise rocking flourishes. The transitions are solid from melodic to heavy and Museum Of Light harnesses both gracefully.

The fifth track “Undone” begins with light chord strumming and intensifies initially with the heavy discordant bass and drums, just before the electrifying guitars embark on the song. The vocals are somewhat harmonized and reminds me of Abrams in their execution. “The Known World” has clean guitar and layered spoken parts prior to the full release of the band settling in heavily. The ambience has a strong dramatic effect on these tracks that makes the distortion feel that much more pronounced and crushing. “Still Running” is a great example of that. The song has an airy tone and mellow drift in the beginning and then charges in with the fuzzy metal surge. It then drops back into the soft psych melody and lush vocals to complete it. However, it explodes right into the start stop raging of “Kneel”. The mostly heavy rocker shifts lighter towards the end and balances out nicely as it moves immediately into “Born All Wrong”. The seamless transition from one track into the next is the beauty with this recording. For that reason, it is best to listen to Diviner from start to finish in one uninterrupted session. The band dishes out some alluring and delightful melodies and matches them expressively with a wide range of heavy and devastating sounds.

The title track “Diviner” is a brutal and viscous track with pulsing ripples of heavy chugging at the beginning. The song repositions into divine ambience with more spoken passages from Amelia Urry. Museum Of Light has produced and created a magnificent piece of musical art with Diviner. The final track entitled “Breathe” brings the album around in full circle. The song has a battery of heavy rhythms and plenty of keyboards and synth elements that connects it all together. The final spoken message is the same as how the album began, “does the body die?”. The band has an interesting and elaborate sound and constructs some of the most dense and captivating music out there today. Diviner is an album that is cemented from the alluring flowing of these songs drifting into one another. Museum Of Light is a band to watch out for because they will take over your mind with this sonic expedition.