Interview: Victor Vicart from Dvne (Post Metal)

Ellis Heasley
April 24, 2021

It’s only been out just over a month, but it certainly feels as though Dvne’s Etemen Ænka can hold its own with some of the best metal albums of the 21st century. Personally, it’s right up there with the likes of Cult Of Luna’s A Dawn To Fear, Gojira’s Magma, and Mastodon’s Crack The Skye. Its 67-minute runtime never feels too much, and there’s a real focus on song-craft, dynamics and story-telling. It was therefore a real pleasure to chat to the band’s guitarist and vocalist Victor Vicart last week. Check out the interview below where we spoke about everything from Dvne’s early days through to his opinions on modern sci-fi adaptations. […]

  • Free Bandcamp Wiki 2021

    Here’s a list of Bandcamp albums that are Name Your Own Price (free). It’s encouraged to support the bands if possible but I know it’s not possible for all of us. If you want one added comment below and I’ll check it out. If you encounter any that are no longer free then comment below! If you every see nazi shit posted here or anywhere on Noob Heavy, I didn’t know and you can email me at noobheavyau@gmail.com to remove that trash. The 2020 Free Band Camp Wiki is still up and will stay up. […]

  • Commissioning Artist List

    These are visual artists who sell band merch designs on IG or are open for commission. They vary in price and style but there should be something for every level of band here. All Links go to Instagram or their official website or their FB (If no IG) (clicking photos works) If they put contact links in their bio then go there rather than DM. Try to have realistic expectations including budget. If you want to be included just email me with an example work to noobheavyau@gmail.com […]

Join The Kvlt by Espi Kvlt

  • Join the Kvlt: Trve Qveer Black Metal

    April 3, 2021

    Continuing from where I left off in my previous column about leftist black metal bands, this time I wanted my focus to solely be on queer art. As a trans bisexual black metal musician myself, it’s always a breath of fresh air to find other queer folk making this kind of music. Even when leftist black metal bands get popular, they are often dominated by cishet men. Here’s a list of eight queer bands breaking the barriers of what it means to be a black metal band in 2021. […]

  • Join The Kvlt: Leftist Black Metal to Sink Your Teeth Into Vol 1

    February 17, 2021
    Written by Espi Kvlt One of the very first questions I am asked when people find out I’m a queer anarchist-communist in the black metal scene is the names of queer and leftist black metal bands they can safely enjoy. Unfortunately, one of the sad truths about being a black metal fan is that no band is 100% safe. Even the most leftist bands I’ve loved have been outed as having abusers in them. However, I have compiled two lists of bands that one can safely enjoy and support, always keeping in mind to be vigilant no matter how much you think you can trust them. [...]

New 2021 Albums

2021

Album Review: Wreche – “All My Dreams Came True” 8/10 (Black Metal)

May 12, 2021

When someday I teach a college course on heavy metal, one of the things I’ll cover on the first day of class is the basic instrumentation of the style: guitar(s), bass, vocals, drums. Some bands drop vocals from the standard lineup (Animals as Leaders, Behold the Arctopus), some drop the bass (Eremit, formerly Pig Destroyer), and some will even drop the guitar (Bell Witch, Necromantia). Autarkh even blew minds earlier this year by using DJ-style beats instead of a drumkit.  […]

2021

Album Review: Awenden/Feminazgul – “Split” 8.5/10 (Black Metal)

May 7, 2021

I have been eagerly awaiting this split, so I immediately rushed to listen to it when the review copy appeared in my e-mail. Both Awenden and Feminazgul are two of my favorite black metal bands and having both of them collaborate on a single album is something I didn’t know I needed but now is the most obvious thing in the world. Awenden, an anarchist black metal band, joins forces with Feminazgul, another anarchist black metal band, join forces to create an album that is as elegant and beautiful as it is heavy and powerful. […]

2021

Album Review: Disembodiment – “Mutated Chaos” 8/10 (Death Metal)

May 6, 2021

Time to leave the beautiful but unforgiving open waves of the blue ocean and go someplace a bit…uglier. Like, waaaaaay uglier. A place that’s as grimy and full of muck and shit as any putrid swamp or sewer. Disembodiment is here to bring their debut EP Mutated Chaos to the eyes and ears of the world, and it’s not a pretty sight. It’s damn good, though. […]

2021

Album Review: Ape Vermin – “Arctic Noise” 7.5/10 (Doom Metal)

May 4, 2021

After a full half-century of existence, it’s impressive that doom still seems to go down as well as it often does nowadays. While bands have of course pushed its boundaries over the years (special shout out to Elephant Tree here as surely one of the best examples), for the most part it’s stayed in pretty much the same (slow) lane of Sabbath-inspired riffs, long songs, and a general psychedelia. None of that’s a criticism – if it works, it works, and it clearly works for the North Carolina-based trio Ape Vermin. Their take on the genre definitely sits on the sludgier end of the spectrum, and draws comparisons to the likes of Conan, Slabdragger, YOB and Sleep. They first shared this with the world on 2018’s Sonic Monolith, which is now getting a follow up in the form of their brand new record, Arctic Noise. […]

2021

Album Review: Atrium – “Constant Variables” 7.5/10 (Progressive Metal)

April 30, 2021

One of the major upsides of a solo project is that a lack of excessive cooks in the kitchen often allows for an especially high level of prolificity. That definitely seems to be the case for Atrium, the one-man project of Utah-based musician Vince Ochoa. According to Ochoa’s bandcamp, he released no less than six EPs in 2020 alone. This year though, he seems to have slowed down a little bit, with Constant Variables, out on May 7th, marking his first release of 2021. […]

2021

Album Review: Screaming Banshee – “Pierceive” 7/10 (Prog Death)

April 30, 2021

Let’s talk about the differences between string quartets and symphony orchestras. Yes, this is an album review for a death metal band. Just hear me out for a paragraph. In the classical music world, symphonies are the expressive zenith for composers. Think of Beethoven’s monumental symphonies and the massive works of Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss. A wide range of instrumental colors and dynamics are available in the crafting of a symphony and one can make damn near any sound they want if they know what they’re doing. A string quartet on the other hand is but two violins, a viola, and a cello. A severely limited color palette compared to a symphony orchestra but ask any fan of Johannes Brahms and talk your ear off about how much music you can fit in a string quartet. Where a symphony is bombastic and emotionally over-the-top, a string quartet is often esoteric and rewards close listening to discover the music’s secrets.  […]

2021

Album Review: Victory Over the Sun – “Nowherer” 8.7/10 (Experimental Death)

April 30, 2021

This is something else. Victory Over the Sun is a solo project of a music genius named Vivian and she accomplishes a lot with this release. I won’t be able to do it justice, due to this person having an understanding of guitar and songwriting that I just do not possess, there are dimensions I can’t see here. I’ve been playing for 15 years and still suck so bad. From the bandcamp page: “written entirely in the 17 equal divisions of the octave (17EDO) tuning system, on guitars I refretted myself”. Ok, I don’t know what that does, but this album sounds so epic. […]

Australian Metal

2021

Album Review: Dr Colossus – “I’m a Stupid Moron With an Ugly Face and A Big Butt and my Butt Smells and I Like to Kiss My Own Butt” 9/10 (Stoner Doom)

April 24, 2021

This is a big one for me, Dr Colossus have been my favorite Australian band since flooring me with The Dank in 2018. They combined good old Aussie stoner rock and stories told using The Simpsons. Fans of the show will have unlimited fun picking apart the references, I know I did with The Dank when I reviewed it. For this one, I’ll let the readers discover them for themselves since the band was cool enough to get me such an early listen of the album. Dr Colossus are back with a new LP, new merch and an Australian tour! […]

2021

Album Review: Feculent – “The Grotesque Arena” 8/10 (Death Metal)

March 10, 2021

Releasing on March 19, The Grotesque Arena is the debut album from Brisbane’s own Feculent, one of a number of fantastic bands to come recently out of Australia. This could almost be called a supergroup, if that term meant anything these days, as it features a whole slew of great musicians that you might know from other bands: Matthew Budge of Resin Tomb, Siberian Hell Sounds, and Consumed on vocals, Kaleb Doherty of thrashers Idle Ruin on guitar, Jim Dandy of Descent on bass, and master-of-all-trades Brendan Auld on drums. Auld is the mastermind behind grimy one-man project Snorlax, which put one of 2020’s most underrated death metal records, as well as a member of Resin Tomb, Siberian Hell Sounds, Consumed, and Necroseptic. He also does the production and mixing here for Feculent. Needless to say, this lineup is stacked, and boy does the music reflect that. […]

2021

Album Review: Spire – “Temple Of Kronos” 8.5/10 (Avant Garde)

March 8, 2021

Last year I started following the Sentient Ruin Laboratories record label on social media. Fast forward to February of 2021 and they are just promoting the hell out of this new album from a band of which I had never heard. That band is the Australian duo Spire and the album is TEMPLE OF KHRONOS. Having enjoyed previous bands from this label like Shaidar Logoth and Novae Militiae, I FINALLY, almost reluctantly was like “Alright, fine. I’ll give it a listen. Stop taking up my Facebook feed, goddamnit!” […]

2021

Album Review: The Amenta – “Revelator” 9/10 (Avant Garde)

March 4, 2021

The pre-release promotion on this one was immense and filled with curious dark aesthetic, so am I quite excited to delve into this return LP, the Revelator from Australian big boys The Amenta. They did a promotional thing that is right up there on my list of favorite things bands have done, they gave away a haunting full head mask of the lead singer’s visage, very cool memorabilia unique to the band. […]

2020 Albums

Album Review: Khan – “Monsoons” 8/10 (Stoner/Prog)

January 12, 2021

Here I am, fumbling through the digital ether of Spotify again. Another day at work, another familiar album, another podcast. Tap, skip, scroll, skip, scroll. Then my little eye spies a dreary sky, with, wait, what is that? A melting planet amongst the clouds? Yup, sign me up. Tap. I’m instantly rewarded with a rubbery, chubby bass line sliding around under a shuffling drum groove. You got me guys. In chimes the guitar. I’ve found a chill place to let my mind float off through the planetary clouds while the rest of me does whatever earthly chores I’m stuck with. […]

2020 Albums

Album Review: Depravity – “Grand Malevolence” 9/10 (Death Metal)

November 15, 2020

Grand Malevolence is the death metal album I’ve been waiting for this year. Many have come and gone, some solid albums but even with Necrot and Ulcerate releasing huge albums I was still reserving my fandom for something specific and until now, undefined. It’s a big boy, with many five minute songs making up forty-nine minutes total but not a minute is wasted. Depravity are a machine that will keep force feeding you your own shit the whole time then at the end you’ll doff your hat and thank them. […]

2020 Albums

Album Review: Fumarole – “Valley Of Ten Thousand Smokes” 9/10 (Stoner Doom)

October 17, 2020

Brisbane’s Fumarole have been around since 2018. They dropped the “Mountain” EP in 2018 and have released 3 singles leading up to the ambitious concept album “ Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes”. The album was recorded and mixed by Scott French of Lovestreet Studios, Gold Coast. Mastered by Haldor Grunberg of Satanic Audio in Poland, this is a great sounding album that excellently captures the live prowess of the band and is dripping in classic stoner goodness. Got a light? […]

2020 Albums

Album Review: Aversions Crown – “Hell Will Come For Us All” 7.5/10 (Tech Deathcore)

July 21, 2020

Aversions Crown is one of the bigger modern bands of Australia, among titans like Psycroptic and Disentomb. Much the same as those bands, it’s usually a good few year wait between albums so Hell Will Come For Us All is a much welcomed release to fans of sci-fi death. At the very least, there are many improvements over their 2017 album Xenocide. Gotta love the Burke work though. […]

Aussie metal

Australian Heavypedia: Warrior Within Interview

July 5, 2020

Warrior Within are a thrash metal band from Queensland, specifically the Sunshine Coast, where the good beaches are. Like many classic thrash bands in Australia, Warrior Within formed in the 90s by two brothers. The band has gained new members since 2016 and 2017 leading to the recording of several EPs which can be heard below. If you dig the old school speedy thrash sound with a message refined over decades, then give this lot a go and show some support. […]

Reviews Presented Randomly

2020 Albums

Album Review: Wormhole – The Weakest Among Us (Deathcore)

December 10, 2019

Wormhole are a four piece technical death/Slam band coming out of Baltimore. Formed in 2015 the band have released one full length album with the second to be released early next year. At the heart of the band is the familial craftsmanship of the Kumar brothers, who along with the remaining members consist of live performers from bands such as Vulvodynia, Cognitive and Vale Of Pnath just to name a few. You can judge the full experience for yourself on the 14th of January via Lacerated Enemy Records. […]

2021

Album Review: Grohot – “Creatio ex Nihilo” 7/10 (Black Metal)

March 8, 2021

This first effort from black metal band Grohot is certainly enough to get my attention. I listen to a lot of black metal day in and day out, but my interest was immediately piqued when I saw they’re from Romania. A band from the home of vampires? Surely this will be great! While it didn’t necessarily meet my high expectations, it is a solid record, and I believe with time Grohot has the potential to polish up their sound and become great. […]

2021

Album Review: Ad Nauseam – “Imperative Imperceptible Impulse” 10/10 (Black/Death)

February 17, 2021

When we think of the term “avant-garde”, what does that bring to mind? On a definition level, we might think of the ideas of pushing boundaries or rejecting traditional concepts. On a musical level, we usually associate the avant-garde with dissonance and atonality, complex polyrhythms, and envelope-pushing experimentation. We metalheads probably think of Gorguts, or maybe Ulcerate, perhaps Blut aus Nord, or Dodecahedron. Well, get ready folks, because if you didn’t think of Ad Nauseam when you thought of avant-garde, after you listen to Imperative Imperceptible Impulse, you might think of them before anyone else. […]

2018 albums

Album Review: Nekrogoblikon – Welcome To Bonkers 8.5 (Heavy Metal)

October 3, 2018

Nekrogoblikon are obviously about having fun with music and they still have done alright with reviews in the past, mostly getting through with high scores. I dig their approach, it’s a classic heavy metal sound with a lot of modern techniques and ideas thrown in. It borders on avant-garde in the vein of UneXpect but is just tight enough to be a serious composition. They have some good song writing that takes them above the meme they embody in their public personas and music videos. There’s some real poppy hooks like you’d expect from British rockers The Darkness. […]

2019 Albums

Album Review: Holy Serpent – Endless 10 (Stoner/Gaze)

November 4, 2019

Endless is straight up ‘the shit’, that’s the most important fact of this review. It’s an album that has made me swoon like few others this year and it’s not exactly that metal or heavy. It is however, perfectly suited to the current climate of stoner rock and doom, bringing something quite zesty and refreshing, a fusion of fuzz, alt rock and doom rock. I’m hearing influences from Type O Negative and My Bloody Valentine, it’s super inspired and engorged with energy despite the doomy tempo. They nailed it musically and in terms of doom aesthetic – something Australia has been refining for some time now. […]

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