Luke Oram
Microdose: Eluvian, Deserts Of Mars, Dirty Grave & Orbyssmal
Four albums, four small reviews, four great sounds. […]
Black metal
2019 Albums
Album Review: King – Coldest Of Cold 8.6 (Black Metal)
This is my first encounter with King and it was a hell of a great experience. This band does black metal in one of my favourite ways and the album they’ve put out here is of great quality from front to back. As far as I can find, this album is their second full length and it certainly marks a promising future for the band. […]
2020 Albums
Album Review: Izthmi – The Arrow Of Our Ways 8.7 (Black Metal)
A wonderful black metal album that has both more harsh noise and more melody than I was expecting, this is not a middling release – it has a pointed sentiment and strong structure. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it a million times, guitar solos and sweet licks make black metal worth listening to. Even the tremolo picking here isn’t stale. The Arrows Of Our Ways is a very unique album and I’m not exactly sure what makes it so – perhaps the combination of mixing, vocals, concept and low af bass all make for the right cocktail. Izthmi have crafted an immersive and rewarding experience that releases via Within The Mind Records Feb 14th, 2020. […]
2020 Albums
Album Review: L’Homme Absurde – Belong 9.0 (Post Black/Metalcore)
I’m in love with this underground russian music scene of post black metal and hardcore hybrids such as the recently release Toluca album. Be it blackened screamo or post black metalcore, it seems the combination is hyper-viable and will become increasingly prevalent globally in no time. Your dad won’t be able to appreciate this one, It feels special like that. Something about being so fucking grim and melodic but at the same time lending itself to actual dancing and moshing. It’s an experience of energy and geography. L’Homme Absurde (The Absurd Man) originally started as solo project and became a band. This is their third LP titled Belong, it releases independently on January 17th. […]
2019 Albums
Album Review: Wandar – Zyklus 9 (Black Metal)
Zyklus is an outstanding black metal record that not a lot of people have heard over here and I’m honestly surprised. The quality and creative direction are both high end and it’s presented eloquently. Wandar are a German band who have been around since 2006 putting out music independently. I received the cassette from indie tape bistro Repose Records earlier this year and it has since become one of my favorite tapes. It’s also out on Vinyl, very recently actually. I’d recommend this to any black metal fan, especially those I see on social media growing weary of post-black releases this year. Wandar encompass most forms of black metal and won’t bore you about it. […]
2019 Albums
Microdose: Ploughshare – Tellurian Insurgency (Sludge/Black)
Well that was unsettling. Ploughshare play a fucked kind of black/death/sludge metal that will make you feel physically unsafe even in the comfort of your own home. Tellurian Insurgency is their brand new EP through Aussie label Brilliant Emperor and it releases on the 29th of November. Not an album for the easily scared, if this is you, then turn your radio back on and continue listening to Kyle and Jackie-O, you clicked the wrong social media link. Happens to the best of us. […]
2019 Albums
Album Review: Toluca – Soras 8.3 (Post Black/Screamo)
This year has been incredible and if you’ve been reading for a bit now then you’ve seen me become increasingly excited about metal over the course of 2019. I was starting to think it may slump then I started getting some really good submissions from very talented bands putting out music towards the end of the year. Death Metal, black metal and hardcore have been insane this year and so has sludge but until today I didn’t realise I was missing something that I fondly remember having last year – A solid and true to form post hardcore album in the visage of bands like Boss-De-Nage or Birds In Row. Toluca offers an experience equally eloquent and abrasive from the lands of Russia with their new album Soras. Out November 29th via Tokyo Jupiter Records. […]
2019 Albums
Tape Review: Peasant/Somalgia – Within, Without (Black Metal)
I love split cassettes, you never know what is going to be thrown at you. It forces you into a more open minded state and what I received from this dank split is some enchanting black metal from a bunch of grim cunts in the UK. Limited to a now sold out 50, this is indeed a neat tape to receive. Might as well get on it digitally and give it a listen. […]
2019 Albums
Album Review: White Ward – Love Exchange Failure 8 (Post Black)
I love coming across albums that are very long, but feel like nothing. Albums you can just sink into and lose yourself in are the absolute best. A prime supplier of records like these are post-black metal and atmospheric black metal in general. White Ward fit this quite well with their new album “Love Exchange Failure” that eclipses an hour in length with only 7 tracks to its name. […]
2019 Albums
Album Review: Sugar Wounds – Mechanical Friends (Grind/Gaze)
Like many things in the information age, extreme metal has become over saturated and more accessible than ever. Now, this is a good thing and a bad thing for bands and listeners alike. As a listener, you have access to tons of amazing albums by tons of amazing bands that you would have never heard otherwise, but you’ll find yourself getting bored with certain sounds and styles, things can get redundant. As a band, it’s easier than ever to make and promote your music, but it’s hard to standout in a musical landscape where most things have been done. I will always stand by the idea that generic does not equal bad, however it’s always exciting and refreshing to hear something you’ve never heard before. […]