This week Iranian metalhead Mass hits us with four albums within his realm of speciality, black metal. If you like atmosphere and post black metal then these are some essential listening in 2020. […]
I’m Gonna let Mass take care of the Microdoses for a bit, so enjoy some curated content from him. He is a writer and educator in Iran who listens to an eclectic range of music. Welcome to the format of Mass. SCORING IN A MICRODOSE. Can you believe it? […]
This is the first Tulus LP in eight years and they are coming back fully loaded. In that down time they formed the band Khold so they weren’t completely without practice. Now they’ve returned to their original project with this new album Old Old Death and I gotta say, it starts off with a lot more pep in their step than I was expecting, many of these riffs would be just as fitting on a blackened speed metal record. Modern black metal albums have a tendency to take too long starting up but not Tulus, they’re bringing the noise up front. The first impression from the artwork on the cover nails it. It’s a fantastic blending of castles, cosmos, forests, bats and a skull. You always expect one of these things on a black metal cover but all of them? They’ve cornered the market. […]
Four great albums, four short reviews. This time we’re dealing with a stranger bunch and that’s pretty damn exciting. This is the result of a deep dive into Bandcamp new arrivals, all of this albums are hardcore or hardcore adjacent with a few twists and turns of their own. And three of them are Name Your Own Price! […]
Voidfire are coming into the scene strong with a well presented debut album entitled Ogień Pustki, and it is a concept album “based on the theme of finding artistic inspiration in emotional suffering” according to the band. Immediately the most eye catching thing is the mysterious artwork, this time skipping Lewandowski and going straight to the source, a licensed piece from Zdzisław Beksiński made in 1976. It’s a bloody strong artwork to have and will surely find the band stuck in the minds of many this year. The sound on hand here is some tight melodic black metal for lonely hearts, with a kicking drum for marching into the gloom. […]
When confronted with the ambiguous genre tag of avant garde I toss aside all expectations because it can either be a complete waste of time or something glorious and I have no way of knowing which way it’s going to go. Naiv is in the latter category, bringing a rejuvenating sound that has an interesting swing to it. It only took the second track to make me fall in love. […]
Eternal Storm made one hell of a splash in 2019 with “Come The Tide”, a sophisticated album that made its way into many end of year lists including my own. I still listen to it every week and cannot recommend it enough. It’s cumulative of it’s inspirations while also maintaining its own identity throughout. There’s a strong sense of voice across this album matched by strong musicianship and song writing. Essential listening for fans of Swallow The Sun, Opeth, Amorphis or anything good that has the duality of melody and death growls. […]
Nephilim Grove marks the American death doom giants, Novembers Doom’s 30th anniversary. Indeed, an infrequent feat (at least these days) to celebrate. Thirty years of firm, ferocious and fanciful activity, breaking necks as well as breaking hearts. Having been released on November 1st, the album insinuates, all so subtly, the symbolic capacity that it possesses: the quintessence of the band’s career or their next step on their path… or maybe simultaneously both? […]
En Route Vers Le Grand Vide is a really tight post metal EP from Qeubec, Canada. As I often do with releases that complex me in some way, I’ve gotten some insight from the bands drummer Dieter who shed some light on the meanings starting with their name, “À l’Ombre d’Héméra means in the shadow of, so it literally means in the shadow of daylight.” says the drummer, “We think it fits well with the music because we try to play with contrasts, hard and heavy, but also fragile and breakable.” […]
Brisbane has been coming out with some pretty awesome metal lately and Eternal Rest are no exception to this. Their third album The Picture Of Hatred has a lot to boast about for a band from such a humble part of the world (arse end of Australia, I’m here too so I can admit it) such as having this release on the American label Gore House Productions, album art from french artist Remy Cooper and being mixed by the iconic Dan Swano (what?!). With this in mind you might be imagining something quite fancy or even melodic… Yeah nah, this album is filthy, often finding itself on the grind side of death. There’s a sense of nihilism and discomfort, so naturally I enjoy it. […]
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