black metal

Belgium again. Soul Dissolution plays the kind of metal music that fits perfectly to that very niche that might not be occupied yet by any of the other awesome Belgian acts. It is black metal but neither in the noisy way of Wiegedood or Amenra nor in the hardcore-infused kind of Soul Grip or Oathbreaker. Soul Dissolution plays atmospheric black metal, and they are really good at it!

The trio, consisting of Jabawock on the guitars and bass, Acharan delivering the lead vocals and Threnos behind the drums, started back in 2012 following their idols like Agalloch or Alcest; since then they released two full-lengths and a couple of EPs with “Winter Contemplation” (out since Mid-November) being their latest. Two tracks and 24 minutes of pure atmospheric black metal magic later, the author of these lines is convinced that Soul Dissolution might become the next big thing (if they become a bit more productive). 

On the two tracks you will find all the elements necessary for good black metal with a strong emphasis on atmosphere and moods. A lot of that is due to Jabawock’s fine guitar work which is dragging behind on doomy feet when necessary and then again can spirals out instantaneously. And it’s exactly these moments, when the lead guitar takes off and drives off into psychedelic or post-rocky moments that Soul Dissolution are at their best. Which shall not imply that the work by Threnos or Acharan are in any way less important. But for atmospheric black metal the guitar work is the most important and also the tuning and sound of the guitar. For example, Jabawock uses his guitar like a synth in some parts of the first song “La Dernière Tempete” (‘The Last Storm’) and then transfers to last part of the track with some nice guitar pickings that have just that tiny bit of reverb in order to imitate the echo of a nice middle-sized Gothic cathedral – open in motif, but enclosed in area.

Interestingly, after the initial two spins I would have thought that the second track “Where the Clouds stand Still...” (yes, this track has an English title!) was my favorite but after listening to the whole EP again and again I must admit that both tracks stand out among a lot of post-black, blackgaze or atmospheric black metal tracks heard over the years. Of course, the influence of folk-oriented bands like Agalloch is obvious on that second track with is semi-acoustic guitar pickings and cello intros. One has the feeling of watching the sun rise over the top of some snow-capped mountains somewhere in the far distance. 

Soul Dissolution might not be the innovators of a genre with long trodden paths but there are near-impeccable emulators of everything that makes this genre enjoyable. “Winter Contemplations” are the perfect soundtrack for the darkening days where we feel less and less warmth. Interestingly, the music is less dark and sinister as some people might say, but it is able to radiate a lot of warmth. 

The only thing the band should work on are the lyrics as they display quite a lot of the stereotypes that are too often found in black metal. Of course, happy lyrics are not wished for but some of the phrases used here have been heard just too often – the storms, the torrents, the snow. If they work on that – then I predict this band to become bigger than most of their Belgian neighbors. 


Thorsten

doom

Doom has always been more about the ritual than about the music which serves more or less the purpose of supporting the events unfolding before our own eyes. Therefore the following question must arise as a kind of consequence: If we do not see the ritual – to what extent can the music itself become an enchanting and dreamlike event? 

When listening to the next possibly big thing from Belgium, Pothamus from Mechelen, you might begin to feel the same trance that will overcome one when listening to Brazil’s finest, Labirinto. Pothamus will now release their first full-length through Consouling Sound, the epicenter of Belgian underground music. Stemming from a scene with so many different, awesome bands it can be difficult to find one’s own niche, but Pothamus has done so easily as it seems. The trio has developed a sound that is rooted in post-rock but from there they evolved with full force. Their journey started all the way back in 2014 and has since released several single tracks and an EP (“I” from 2016); now “Raya” will be next. And it will come at you like a sneaky snake from behind, but it can take over your mind by giving you an exciting concoction of sounds and genres. 

Their post-rock has now turned into that kind of doom which is not looking for the deep-tuned smalls riffs but that is developing a pull on you by means of Michael Lombarts’ bass which is giving us one tribal dance quality line after the other. His first-class skills never show off, but you will notice the way he uses his four-string especially in songs like “Heravis I” where the bass is the main instrument placing the drums into the shadow. Moreover, there are further features on “Raya” that will keep your head spinning and your soul adjusting. The often use some fantastic synth spaces underneath it all and some of the guitar lines are windy like Chicago so that we always have a feeling of standing on a windswept beach where the master of ceremony is starting to light the candles. 

This master is Sam Coussens whose guitar work is just awesome and who adds vocals that – although containing words and thoughts – speak directly to your heart as they are often so hushed so near-Gregorian and enchanting that you get the feeling of witnessing a decade-long-tested master performing his craft. The record (like most of their work) was produced and mixed by their friend Chiaran Verheyden who was really able to give all the lines their right purpose – it’s mostly the rhythm section that sets the tone for the six songs (in 49 minutes) with Michael’s little bends on the bass strings and the near-Neurosis quality of Mattias van Hulle’s drumming. If you like your drums performing on native tribe-level (often bordering on post-punk) you will love this as much as Neurosis or A Storm of Light. The 16-minute monster title track “Raya” might be the best Neurosis-song you have heard from a band other than Neurosis in a long while. 

When the first spin of the record is over, you might wake again or come to full consciousness but your mood might be so altered that you just want to go back and therefore spin the record a second time. To come back to the original question above, one has to say “Yes, doom music can have the same effect without the ritual!” If and only if, it is done as cleverly (on a compository and a productional level) as “Raya” by the Mechelen guys.  This record is one of the biggest evolutionary steps you might witness from any band in 2020. Pothamus have found their sound and hopefully they do not turn back from it. 


Thorsten

shoegaze / drone pop

Sens Dep (short for ‘Sensory Deprivation’) was founded as a side project of Australian band Laura already more than ten years ago but never released a debut album up to now. They will change that at the end of November with the release of “Lush Desolation”, an eleven track record bathing in both ugly and beautiful sounds.
This stark contrast is what makes the band really interesting and their sound often reminds us of a noisy and droney version of triphop; or a beautifully meandering version of drone and thus like a crossover between Slowdive, Jesu and Archive. What they share with each of these? Well, let’s see.

With Justin K. Broadrick’s famous post-Godflesh – band the band from Melbourne share the love for drones that build and edge out noisily but that never seek harshness as a primary motif. They rather incorporate their drones and synth spaces onto each other in order to construct some beautiful soundscapes, their “Lushness” is not in pain but in beauty. They construct sheer mountains with their drones. Take the final track “Luckless Hunter” as an example – here the band places layer upon layer and the whole construction is like a beautiful (yet also scary) sunrise above the Alps.

They also feature some really enchanting vocals in their songs, not on all but on some of them. And the thing about these vocals is their chanting pop-appeal, thus the connection to Slowdive and their very mesmerizing use of vocals in order to enhance the overall impression of a very plush and very admirable new way of creating shoegaze with a twist. This one is not based on indie rock but on drone music and this combination which is also a bit like Wreckmeister Harmonies or Jarboe is very nice and easy to follow because of the vocals. 

The triphop bits can be heard when listening to “New Dawn”, the first track of the record – those dragging beats (though pretty quick-paced), which only kick in after two minutes, could also be straight out of a long-forgotten Archive track at the time of their first, still noisier albums. Or straight from Tricky’s earlier record, where he also uses some industrial beats and distorts them even further. 

The band has obviously taken its time – in between they created lots of sounds to accompany visual media or installations. While doing this the project grew into a live band and playing some specially curated live shows they did not concentrate on releasing music that could stand on its own without any accompaniment. But now they did and they also came back to being a trio, one that has something to say with the help of dark, yet beautiful music. Music that will reward you for peeling back layer after layer so that you can discover some minute details like the cello parts which do not automatically reveal themselves. Or the small, Sigur Ros-like, vocals that are sometimes used in the background as another instrument in order to give the tracks some more human sound.

All of this and much more can be heard when taking your time to sit back and dive headfirst into this landscape rich of sounds that is “Lush Desolation”. The only thing lacking is “Desolation”, because the record is too warm and too rewarding for one to feel despair or desolation. 


​Thorsten

psychedelic / shoegaze

There was always something about the sunset in California as far as I remember. It was fast but it was a kind of orange that not only pulsated because of eruptions on the surface of the sun but that seemed to resonate with life with the pumping of the blood in our veins. One might have seen the sun go down thousands of times and yet, every time it feels brilliant and perfect if you sit down and take the time to really see it. When listening to Gong Wah’s self-titled debut album, there is this very same feeling. The band from Cologne, Germany has a certain mood and radiance surrounding their tracks that makes them stand out from the mass. The music is psychedelia in a very familiar way, but there is also some post-punk and some Golden State kind of AOR. It is like a mix of 13th Floor Elevators and the Mamas and the Papas, Blondie and A Place to Bury Strangers. A lot of that has to do with the voice of Inga Nelke, who met the two guitarists Thorsten Dohle and Felix Will early 2018; the band has grown to a full quintet since then. The other element contributing to this loving feeling is the guitar sound, which is a bit like a crossover between A Place to Bury Strangers and some simple effective wah-wah sounds. You need some sunshine in your life during these cold autumn and winter days,? Gong Wah is a good choice for you.

screamo / black metal

Montreal. A thriving scene. Lots of thriving scenes. Awesome bands. LOADS of awesome bands. One example would be Cell Press. Their new five-song EP to be released at the end of the month is adding a deep and well-constructed example for modern screamo. They are not playing it safe with this 24-song-monster, whose final track takes up nearly half of the time of the whole EP (and probably one complete side of the cassingle). The first four tracks are all variants of the screamo genre, some a little more on the black metal side, some a little more on the noise side. What really brings them all together is the thoughtfulness with which they perform: Listening to the first track “Piss Police” one notices that they use the same riff as intro and as outro. Or the final track “My Son will No the Truth” which they never want to play live – it’s more of an experiment with each musician adding one layer to the song without knowing what will be added next. And all of it is based on an 11-minute solo by drummer Mark McGee, who taped the solo and on the next day each musician added his part single-handedly so that in the end the band came up with a monster of a subdued noisy ambient track that never seems to find its course. But this sheer aimlessness makes it even more intriguing. Or the third track “Black Out in Verdun” which is right in the middle between Helmet (the drumming and the bass!) and some early HydraHead bands (the vocals and the dirty, meaty riffs!) - here the band is as close to noise-core as it gets. To put it in a nutshell: Don’t miss on Cell Press!

post metal / grunge

Sea Sleeper are from Seattle, Washington and, strange as it may sound, you can hear those old, deep grunge roots in their sound, especially in the vocals shared by bassist Nick Kessler and guitarist Jess Cooley. Sometimes it’s just this special kind of Northwestern phrasing, sometimes it’s a little reminiscence to vocals by the Grunge icons Staley and Cornell, just this special kind of slighty higher intonation that is still gritty. The band plays a mix of metalcore, blackened post-metal and some sort of tech death metal. What is striking that the band and especially the rhythm section is really up to the best of the game seemingly changes paces and genres effortlessly. Shane Cooley is on point and delivering some awesome blastbeats and fine-carved work driving the songs with force and finesse. Nevertheless, it is not to be denied that the band should improve a bit on the riff-side when they really want to go pedal to the metal, because the guitar lines cannot keep up. It is all fine, when it’s midtempo and Jess can add some extra distortion but when the songs speed ahead it seems as if he can’t come up with ideas other than your regular metalcore stuff. The vocals give the new album enough of a twist to keep listening, always waiting for that next moment, when they show the influence of their home scene and when the songs exceed the 6 minute mark. “Far more than Substance Now” is a good example for that, with its nearly eight minutes and some really interesting slowdowns and middle parts. If the band follows the path this song and “Mountain Carver” show up, they will definitely gain a lot more attention with their next record. 
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PS: Nostophobia is the fear of everything old or everything related to nostalgia. 

dream pop / emo

Planes Mistaken for Stars were/are one of the most important bands at the crossing between hardcore and midwestern emo without ever being emo-core. They released several full lengths all to critical acclaim.  Two members of the band now release a Covid-quarantine EP under the moniker Blunt Razors and via Deathwish (where PMFS also published their last full length). Gared O’Donnell and Neil Keener have collected six tracks, one being a cover of the Kate Bush song “Under Ice”. Their record is pure Midwestern magic with lots of spherical guitar lines, hushed up drums and a voice to fall to your knees to. The whole things becomes even more intimate when we remember that Gared is undergoing medical treatment for cancer. The songs show a kind of longing and wishing that it becomes hard not to fall in love with them. It’s like Cyrano watching his beloved from afar and never quite getting her attention. The last lines in “Amber Waves” are a perfect example for this: “I’m just a minute / A minute above you babe / Could you meet me /  Would you keep me / Could you give me your minutes / To drown in amber waves“. The narrator is so close to his beloved but yet there is this unbridgeable distance so that he can only dream of them being together and chase new ways. We share these moments and the duo has this ability of drawing us into the songs so much, that we do not feel like observers anymore but participants. The melodies are so delicate and the whole setting so calming and soothing that one cannot but hit repeat and repeat and repeat.


Thorsten

drone metal / noise

It was April 19th, 2018. A long, long time ago. When there were socially undistanced gatherings with sonic support called concerts. It was one of the mind-blowingly warm April days in Tilburg’s Freak Canyon at Roadburn. And late in the day there was another collaboration, this time by two of Finland’s finest: Oranssi Pazuzu and Dark Buddha Rising under the moniker of “Waste of Space Orchestra”, a recording of that collab was released last year to high critical acclaim. For me, it was my first real encounter with Dark Buddha Rising, I had listened to some of their stuff before that weekend as I always do with most of the artists, but this concert was really able to transcend that place and moment in time. Since then I collected nearly all DBR stuff and was positively excited when I heard that they would release a new record mid-November.

After giving “Mathreyata” a thorough listening session, I can only say: Wow! Masterpiece! Top of the class for this year! Why? Well, let’s find out.

When entering the record via “Sunyaga” the listener steps into a world where human life is either non-existing or physically regressed up to a point where regular human interaction is not possible anymore due to the mental and bodily decay. Mankind is so regressed from before that no one even remembers anymore what caused this development. There is a small group of remainers that hold up a torch of enlightenment through rituals. These are accompanied by music from the apocalypse – deep, sonic assaults on the living and the dead and everyone in between. 

What strikes everyone listening is how rich this music is, even though it is to harsh and noisy. Listening to each of the four songs on “Mathreyata” is like witnessing a perfectly well-rehearsed orchestra performing songs by Neurosis. It is fighting against the scripted music but at the same time it still sounds awesome. DBR’s mix of noise, sludge, drone and doom is similar Sunn O))) at certain moments but then again it’s like a modern version of Godflesh or a less-well-lit adaptation of Swallow the Sun. This is very obvious with the second track “Nagathma” with its lush melodic lines on the one side and the harsh indistinguishable growls on the other. 

The band took up the concepts they had already introduced on their last two regular releases, the full-length “Inversum” (2015) and the EP “II” (2018), as Vesa Ajomo states "Mathreyata follows the visions that were received from ‘Inversum’'s implosion and is the accession of what we invoked with the ‘II’ EP. Before completing the great circle, all cycles must be dissolved. In the end we are standing at the edge of the abyss.” When listening to this record, an abyss must be quite tempting and disturbing at the same time. 

What is awesome about this record is its balance, you never have the feeling that anything on it is too much or not enough. The tracks tell you everything you need to know about its ugliness and simultaneously lures you in to find out more – in a very adequate length: unlike on some other DBR releases, no track is longer than 15 minutes (not shorter than seven at the other end). 

If you are looking to buy only one extreme metal album this year - “Mathreyata” might be your best choice because it combines the best trademarks of the Dark Buddha Rising-sound with a precise songwriting and some perfectly encapsulated soundscapes.


Thorsten

sludge / black metal / metal

“Lord Almighty!” - what a brilliant reaction when hearing a new band or a new music in general. It purveys respect and awe and shows that one is definitely in some way impressed (unless it’s utter shit and you cannot hold it any longer). In the case of Boston-based metal outfit Lord Almighty it would definitely be a positive outcry. The band performs a kind of black metal that is infused with lots of other influences, the NWOBHM probably being the most obvious genre and Priest the most obvious band. 

The foundation for Lord Almighty’s sound is aggression but combined with a strong will to give the audience more than just the usual black metal templates. By incorporating black’n’roll elements in the vein of Kvelertak and fast-paced classic heavy metal passages the band is able to create a sound resembling the stampede of wild buffaloes with humans running away from them in sheer terror. 

Interesting are those passages, where the Boston sludge-machine slows down and even goes acoustic so that a totally new atmosphere is created and you might consider their sound post-black metal but it is rather a kind of modern atmospheric sludge like Baroness on their Yellow and Green record. Naturally, not a bad comparison to get. 

The band comes very close to releasing what could become a highly influential second full-length – following their self-titled debut EP  (2013) and the full-length debut “Paths” (from 2015). As their approach is pretty variable they should invest a bit more next time and go all the way and create a great piece of atmospheric black metal with twists and turns. With “Wither” they deliver a great promise and hint at what might come in a few years. 


Thorsten

experimental

The German Marc Richter has been enchanting us for years with his detailed ambient and drone fabrics under the name Black to Comm. Richter also works under other aliases such as Mouchoir Étanche and Jemh Circs. On his previous album Seven Horses for Seven Kings, Richter focused more on dark places where fragments of deafening noise and sinister drones squeeze between the soaring ambient. On Oocyte Oil & Stolen Androgens the demons seem to be dissolved. 

The title track, which lasts more than seventeen minutes, contains deep emotional fragments of melancholy that are amplified with acoustic-sounding effects and thin piano touches. The experimental interweaving of samples in the layered ambient structures is (back) performed with German thoroughness.

Richter uses vocal fragments, complex percussion, loops and rustles, resulting in mystical and challenging tunes. Every sound structure and added connotations have been put together with a high level of finesse on this edition. On his sound carpets, Richter does not just flirt with minimalism, he is always looking for innovation with experimental manipulations that blossom out of his transpiring creativity.

Oocyte Oil & Stolen Androgens produces a captivating and deep listening journey with dreamlike sound tissues that have a hypnotic effect. With this subtle release, Richter once again proves that he is a permanent fixture as a unique voice of innovative music with a relatively low accessibility limit.
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Patsker

indie / experimental / doom

Have a Nice Life. Only seldom has this comparison a) sprung up so quickly and b) held up so well. The American institution for music between the corners is certainly a good comparison for Australian-Japanese trio Slowly Building Weapons. Why? Well, because they also like to experiment so much with styles and genres that it can be hard to tell where this little snippet or that small structure now “comes” from and in the end everything makes sense for this record. One can hear doom, post-hardcore, lots of post-punk, some avant-garde BUT in the end it all amounts to only one thing: Beautiful, open experimental indie. 

Were there first two records “Nausicaa” and “Sunbirds” still easily genre-recognizable, this record is not. ECHOS is a huge step for the trio as they seemingly have found their own sound, their own musical identity. And all of it can also be related to the artwork of the record which shows a group of four nuns (maybe Dominicans?) standing with their back to the photographer on an observation platform looking out into the distance and likely into a valley as in the far-distant background you can see some other hills/mountains. The photo is very sharp and offers a good look upon the nuns, there is nothing old-fashioned here. Now this artwork (as reminiscent of another HANL record is) serves well as our starting point. 

With ECHOS Slowly Building Weapons do not stand still, do not keep their point of view, no they have lifted themselves above their former work and now reach into the distance to come to new peaks and new observations about what they want to achieve. They do not care if we can follow their idea, they only take it all in for themselves. The somewhat threatening grey clouds above show that we are still not talking about happy golightly music but about music that has a meaning, that wants to tell us something. 

The trio has let go of all their former anchors and is ready to get to a new point, that is for sure. They recorded the whole record in one room together – apart from Nick vocals which had been pre-recorded in Japan before they came together. 

Every track on ECHOS could be taken as an example here, but I want to use “Disc of Shadows” for this review. It starts with a beautiful semi-acoustic bit of picking and then all of a sudden all the other elements kick in. Fast-paced blastbeats and stumbling drums accompany simple riffs and the vocals are the one element that takes you by the hand until the moment when this storm is slowing down – literally slowing down. The riff remains as strong but the drums step back and then the same picking sets in again to finish the song and to lead into the next track “Echo From Hill” which is much lighter and much simpler. What is really mesmerizing about this record is its flow, you never have the feeling as if there is anything here that is too much. All single parts flow into each other. The listener never asks himself where all of this comes from, or where all of this is headed. Here the passage and its emotional experience is the most important thing. 

And that is maybe the best thing ever to say about any record – it is able to shut off your thinking. To bypass it and to allow you to wander along with all of this melodious, contemplative outlook. There will hardly be any record this year that can do so more easily (on the surface level easily) than ECHOS. Slowly Building Weapons have come to new heights with this record and just like the four nuns are experiencing a (probably) breathtaking view, the listener here is experiencing a “thought-taking” record that will speak to your heart and soul directly. Just like HANL. Are SBW their new equals? I think everything is possible for this trio.


Thorsten

psychedelic / hard rock

Mienakunaru is one of the many projects (maximum) guitar player Mike Vest (Bong, Lush Worker) is involved with. When you check this British musician’s Bandcamp page or scroll on Discogs among the abundance of collaborations and bands he is connected with, you will be in for a surprise.

​Mienakunaru is a trio, Mike Vest plays bass and guitar, Junzo Suzuki (Miminokoto) also on guitar and Dave Sneddon on drums.

Lost Bones Of The Holy Butterfly is a two track instrumental album focused on dazzling psychedelic guitar music. The album is a trip filled with continuously echoing and improvised solos dressed up in hard rock riffs. Japanese psychedelic guitar player Junzo Suzuki has an important part in this eclectic sonic guitar tsunami. Suzuki’s solo music is a stripped down form style of ghost blues and improvisation that also stands out in this collaboration. The musicians of Mienakunaru recorded the music in their home place, Mike Vest arranged and mixed the album.

If we would try to write down all the releases these three artists were already participating, that page would be longer than the review of this wondrous trip. We won’t put more unnecessary words to this. These underground artists created a sound drug with Lost Bones Of The Holy Butterfly. Beware, Mienakunaru plays explosive and addictive dope music!

​LP out on Drone Rock Records Dec/Jan 2021

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Patsker

psychedelic / jazz / rock

Talking about the discovery of the year! OZO is another side project where Mike Vest (Mienakunaru, Bong) is involved with. And yes we got hooked by the music collaborations of this hard working musician from Newcastle. OZO is not only a trio but seems to be a hamlet in the Belgian province of Luxembourg too. This time Mike Vest  worked with Karl Conrad D'Silva who plays alto sax and Graham Thompson on drums.

Pluto is an album drenched in acid jazz vibes. The brutal alto sax improvisations of Karl Conrad D'Silva are accompanied with psychedelic bass tones and stoner rock orientated guitar parts. The tracks have floating and mesmerizing parts which crash violently in a storm of saxophonised abuse. D'Silva shows no mercy, his playing goes deep with heavy experimental outbursts and varied lung pulses. He has already performed with several highly acclaimed experimental artists like Stephen Mallinder of Cabaret Voltaire, Legendary US grindcore originators SIEGE, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth and The Death Of Rave’s Rian Treanor.

OZO sweats, growls and kicks ass on Pluto like their life’s depended on it. Mike Vest manages to put some interesting electric sax melodies between the insane cacophonic waves of D'Silva. Well, we are sure this won’t be everybody’s cup of tea but for those who love experimental sax improvisations mixed with psychedelic and powerful rock, infused stoner rock influences, OZO is a band worth to check out. Our favourite track is Fine Tuner Abuser which unfortunately, slashes only fifteen minutes. Talking about an awesome recording.


Patsker