black metal

Decades ago it was normal for bands to release at least one record a year. Nowadays that is rather unusual so that if a band comes along and is able to publish two good records within one year’s time this should be noted as is the case with Switzerland’s black metal hopefuls Aara. In 2019 they published their acclaimed debut full-length “So Fallen alle Tempel” and now they are back with “En Ergo Einai” – and in between these two full-lengths they were even able to release a one-track single called “Anthropozän” (also one Debemur Morti)! 

But not only Aara’s output rate is impressive but also its quality, “En Ergo Einai” is another good example of modern atmospheric black metal. If anybody asks you in twenty years “what was the state of the art in black metal back in 2020?” - you can just simply use Aara’s second full-length to exemplify your answer. Melodic vocals, often using ethereal backing chants in order to purvey some kind of community event also called ritual. The guitar work is on point as the riffs are heavy but clear, the tornado is still a tornado but now you can see the whirling circles of the houses uprooted and pulled towards the deathly heavens. The drumming is able to hunt down each soul in its proximity and then give it a rest by gently padding it on the shoulder as if to say “don’t worry, all will be well, soon. (when this is over.)” And in the middle of all of this there is even a bigger idea behind it all: 

The duo consisting of the anonymous members vocalist Fluss (“River”) and the instrumentalist Berg (“Mountain”) was inspired by the Age of Enlightenment of the 18th century and the idea of mankind stepping out of its not-knowing, refraining from its omnipresent. Alas, Aara’s notion of the Enlightenment is not a merely positive one because to them, mankind’s strife for a better world is a lost cause as perfection cannot be found and thus this search is a futile one. 

Thus, we see – modern black metal fans must not fear (for fear is futile), Aara will keep your ears busy and your minds open for new thoughts and perspectives. Hopefully, with another good release next year!


Thorsten

grunge / stoner rock

Iceland’s scene is very likely one of the strongest worldwide as we are talking about a country with roughly 360,000 inhabitants and yet we all know so many bands from Iceland pushing the brim for modern music further and further. Keelrider is another one of those, although they most likely will not see as much attention as Sigur Ros, Björk or the whole Icelandic black metal scene because they are Stoner Grungers with a twist. In 2018 they published their debut album “North” and last year they published two singles from their upcoming album “Second Wind”. While “Too Far Gone” is in parts a very nice melange of Alice in Chains-vocals and Soundgarden-stoner riffs, “Sun” is much more interesting because the band some a little more variety when it comes to time signatures and giving the guitar lines more space to breathe. If you are into stoner rock and grunge, this band is something right for you! 

post metal

Post-Metal from Italy. Most foreigners automatically associate it with Postvorta but some, a little deeper in and a little longer might remember the name Calendula, the sextet from Parma, which released an EP (2011) and a full-length (2012) a while ago. After some changes concerning line-up and musical direction, they released a 25-minute-song in November which definitely doesn’t fit to the title “De Brevitate Vitae” - it’s not brevis (brief) at all. It is quite a monster with a lot of dynamic changes and oscillates between dynamic driving drums and some really clever, counteracting guitar-work following the long intro, which sometimes hints at a bit of Tool. The vocals are pretty good, they also use some samples to give it a more differentiated sonic outline. Something that can be criticized is the sound as the partially trashy Lo-Fi sound doesn’t really fit a record as ambitious as this one, although on the other side it fits to the proclaimed role models  – 90s post-rock bands such as Slint (noticeable in the very effective guitar motif after the first real break). If the guys follow this path, we might have two Italian associations with the term Post-Metal.

electronic 

Svart Records is one of the finest labels when it comes to hard, harsh music, most people know about that. Most people do not know that they also have an electronic sub-label – Svartronix which again is very open-minded. A few weeks ago they released the debut song by A Heart Beats “Dazes the Mind” which is pop music that fits perfectly in any 80s mix of songs by some tropical house producer. This songs purvey a kind of Caribbean calypso feeling but their sex-appeal derives to a large extent from the intriguing vocals of Paile who once was a member of Beastmilk. His delivery is very nice and especially the chorus is so funky that one automatically feels his feet moving, but the line also has some depth “It dazes the mind / and numbs the tongue”. The beats produced by Tuuki are layered with some space basslines in the sense of some more synth-driven Daft Punk and the beat itself is shuffling a bit, so that the sunny, opening sounds give the song a holiday feeling without the stupidity. A promising debut song, let’s hope A Heart Beats and Svartronix has some more servings.

doom / death metal

Russian death doom act Intaglio released a demo version of a new track at the end of last year and in some way, the beauty lies in the rhythm. Many voices will now scream that the rhythm is nothing particular new to the genre, as the slow, dragging rhythm of the song is really quite normal, but the way that the strings connect to it, support it in certain passages, yeah, even form it from time to time, that is really breathtaking – the Gothic attitude it brings to the song turns it into a remarkable one. The lyrics, speaking about the overwhelming character of a memory of death which overshadows everything else, are delivered in regular death metal style. Another standout feature is the use of the use of an upright bass that is tuned so well, that you can hear each tap and each ring.
In some way, three pretty singular metal genres are amalgamated into one pretty dense net of emotions that will leave no open ear without imprinting a memory of itself on the listener. If this is a first sign of a new album then one might keep Intaglio in mind.

punk

Everything about this 7” screams “Old school! Old school!”, the cover (seemingly a reverse from the classic Minor Threat discography cover that also was adopted by Rancid several years ago), the cover b-side, the black-white style, the sound, everything! But first things first: The revived band released a good album in 2018 and last December followed with this 7” out on Heartworm Press. The title track is a new shotgun blast somewhere between Zeke, MC5, The Clash, Turbonegro and Black Flag (although one must say, that only the vocals sometimes hint at Rollins) – definitely a good track. The b-side is a well-made cover of “Left for Dead” by The Lemonheads another one of these late 80s punk bands that turned more and more to indie-rock. The cover is good and shows a different side to American Nightmare. However, there is one thing that is lacking in this release and that is the teenage angst that made AN famous. The despair, the sadness, the melancholy – not there. On the other hand, that might drive the listener to despair and achieves the same effect.

avant garde / folk

Dog Tunnel Records

There are genres that seemingly are so heavily steeped in tradition and customs that it is hard to imagine to hear a new sound in them. Take Irish Folk for example; most of us at first might associate it with pub nights somewhere between the Dubliners and Christy Moore (at best) or Michael Flatley and Enya (at worst). But to combine the traditional folk instruments bodhran, flute, violin, and guitar with a wall of sound, lots of spoken word (not cheerfully and rhythmically, but rather intimidating and fierceful) is something rarely heard before. Tuatha is a fierce project that will leave some of us open-mouthed. Formed in early 2019 and already a rising star on the scene, the septet uses old Irish tales from the Middle Ages and Gaelic Dindsenchas (short poems describing certain places) to deepen their already impressive style. In parts, their unrelentless approach reminds one of the approach Archive and SubRosa took in totally different musical landscapes. This here is unique, bewitching and typical Irish yet also totally un-Irish. Folks, give Tuatha a listen!

sludge / doom

A quartet from Phoenix, Arizona with a very grainy, heavy sound, Mosara released their debut demo last November. It shall be a prelude to a record which is in the making and should see the light of day before the end of the year; of course the demo should also draw interest from labels and I think it might: The musical soundscape is strongly influenced by a lot of proto-metal like Sabbath, Blue Cheer, but also by classic doom bands like Electric Wizard or Cough – that means, you get what you expect, low-tuned, richly-distorted, grainy, a bit lofi-ish doom sounds with a tinge of sludge influences (most audible on the second track “Clay and Iron”). Sometimes the howls and growls could be a bit fiercer and less despaired because, sometimes, Tony Gallegos (ex-Twingiant) is a bit too clear. Nevertheless the sound is great, as if someone mated Fu Manchu with Sabbath and their offspring was left in the desert with a guitar as the only means of communication. The riffs are dragging, the bass is dominant, the drums are supportive – all good in the Arizona desert. 

death metal / black metal / doom / noise / grindcore

Noise bastard? Yeah. Death metal? Sometimes. Grindcore? For sure. Doomy Gloom? You bet. All of that and more is “Tellurian Insurgency” by Ploughshare. With their third release in as many years (after 2017’s “Literature of Piss” and 2018’s acclaimed “In Offal, Salvation”) the quartet from Australia’s capital Canberra once again proves that the bar is always too low for them. Excellent musicians with a highly complex understanding of how music works they show that extreme metal must also rely on atmosphere that sometimes exists between the chords and blastbeasts. A great deal of the attraction of this band is the vocals, which never sound cheesy but quite on point. This EP also features a remix of their standout song, the title track of “In Offal, Salvation”, which shows that it is even possible to give this dark nightmare of a song an even more desperate twist. One thing that becomes clear throughout the record is how important good drumming is for such a kind of music as it must set the tone for everyone. If the guys can keep up their productivity we should await a new heir to the extreme metal throne in 2020.

industrial

Describing this Oakland, CA, quartet is not that easy and not that difficult at the same time. Their sound relies heavily on synths, samples but also on guitar, bass and drums. They cross constantly between electronic noise (aka industrial) and post-punk’ish avantgarde sounds. Initiated in 2013 and having independently released already a bunch of records, Lament Cityscape set out to publish three EPs in 2020, each following some red thread and yet also standing out on its own. Something that they share with some of the pioneers of this kind of sonic assault (Godflesh, Killing Joke, Author & Punisher) are the harsh sounds that sometimes remind one of buoys warning the oncoming ships of the nearby rocks and sandbanks which here are symbolized by the rough drum attacks. In parts, this is a good record for those who like Godflesh’s Streetcleaner a bit less polished and a bit more straightforward. Partially, one is left behind by a lack of surprise, but fans of industrial noises and harsh synth-driven drums will really like this.

black metal

At first, the band’s name might sound like a nice pun on 80s karate flic “Bloodsport” (with the amazing multiple Academy Award winning actor Jean-Claude van Shakespeare) but when listening to this new face on renown Swedish Meta label Blood Harvest it becomes clear that the idea of a fungi which sits parasitically on its host and feeds of it before finally killing it works perfectly within the black metal community. It also works nicely because the record to it is really good and leaves one’s ears with an immediate wish to press replay because of its clever changes in mood, dynamics and tempi. The record (especially the second track “Cede to the Saprophyte”) is like a nice blend of groove metal and black metal with the emphasis, of course, on the latter. Thematically, the record presents the idea of the fungal mass on this planet slowly but certainly taking over and destroying all other organisms, a new take on the apocalyptic visions presented by bands like Botanist or Arx Atrata. For a band that only came together in 2018, this is really somewhat impressive. 


​Thorsten

avantgarde

Kreationist comes out of the blue with an out of the box release. Murky music needs an obscure underground label like the American Arctic Ritual Records who was willing to distribute the complex work of the bedroom artist Vidi. Merchants of Air was excited to receive this debut that was released on only 100 copies. 

Indulgence was build up on the poems of the French poet Arthur Rimbaud, he was a representative of symbolism and one of the great innovators of poetry during those days. The poems of Rimbaud were already an inspiration to several musical releases. The most known is the concept album Sahara Blue (1992) produced by Hector Zazou with, among others, David Sylvian, Ryuichi Sakamoto and John Cale. 

But Vidi has chosen an unopened path. He mixed the lyrics of the famous poet in a dreary whirlpool of avant-garde black/doom metal riffs, cold trip hop with electronica and ambient parts. His voice screams, rasps and talks with deep emotional content.  On track two, Tête de Faune, Vidi reaches the same ambient atmospheres of Hector’s Sahara Blue. Even though his voice distortions the romantic vibe, his rough whispering takes this awesome track to another dimension. The piano and organ sound creepy between the black metal riffs while on La Première Soirée part one and two, pumping trip hop and acoustic guitar got fused in sharp riffs and angry screaming.

With Indulgence, Vidi walks away from any genre. He doesn't repent his own musical interpretations of Rimbaud’s words and doesn't give a lack to what the world might think. We welcome the work of Kreationist which is stubborn, creative, mean and challenging. This is an album for open minded souls who seek new musical journeys, consider us one of them.

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Patsker

electronic / avantgarde

There are a few artists out there whose productivity and oeuvre are really hard to grasp in its utter madness. Zappa released more than 60 records, there are probably more than 200 Pearl Jam live-archive records released by the band itself, Bach composed way too many works for anybody to fully understand it, and then there are the noise artists of the last 30 to 40 years. And then there is KK Null. 

An artist who has worked on several important records and projects, Zeni Geva probably being his most well-known band, KK Null by now has worked on more 150 releases – either his solo work or the work with his band projects. For 2019 alone, discogs lists 16 albums and several smaller works! Talk about a restless person; nevertheless, if you look at his personal FB page you will see a man who is at peace with himself and who seeks peace. However, if you listen to his work, you will get a totally different feeling – one of unrest, of distress, of disharmonic chaos.

Interestingly, he performs the music for himself rather than for anybody else. You can’t cope with it? Your problem. Need any kind of information what he sounds like? Take Aphex Twin’s noisy snippets that jump in from the side and then flirr upwards into nothingness, only to come back down even noisier; take Atari Teenage Riots industrial drums but speed them up until they are merely one line on the oscilloscope; take the guitar riffs used by bands like Boris but take out the doom and turn it into gut-wrenching miniscule attacks on each of your nerves. Take all of this and take your time. 

Because, KK Null’s work needs time. On short listen to “Great Attractor” exemplifies all of this: You cannot grasp the “beauty” of it if you do not sit down and let the sounds wash over you. There is so much to absorb in this sound-verse that either you immerse yourself subconsciously into it until your heart stops trying to follow any form of drum pattern and you just feel it. Or you try to sit down and analyze everything that is happening – albeit, the latter is definitely the road to madness. The beats on the two tracks (one 22 minutes, the other 29 minutes!!!) do not remain steady they overlap each over; the noise elements do not connect to a larger unity, they separate themselves because they are loners. Only our mind and soul can bring all of this together. A hell of a work, a hell of a reward. 


Thorsten

black metal / avant garde

Black metal can be quite a stagnant art form and well, some might argue the same thing about German outfit Porta Nigra – who do not come from the place, where the original Porta Nigra stands, from Trier close to the French border, but rather from a city a little east of it called Koblenz. Thus, the band’s usage of the term probably refers more to the idea of a black gate (the literal translation), a gate into the abyss, maybe even into some kind of hell. One definitely might think so when listening to their new record, “Schöpfungswut” out on Soulseller Records, because the record starts off with a raging, speedy version of black metal on “Die Kosmiker” (‘the Cosmics’).

The record, six tracks spanning 46 minutes, revolves around a lot of mythological figures – Freya from the Nordic sagas, Ixion from Ancient greek mythology – but also around the myth of creation as represented by the title itself – ‘The rage of creation’ as it might be translated, which is also alluded to when they use the German version of ‘Our Father’ on the fifth track “Unser Weg nach Elysium” (‘our way to Elysium’) where they interestingly mix christian spirituality with a nod to Ancient Roman idea of paradise, Elysium. 

This record is musically much less avantgarde than its predecessors, also due to a lineup-change. It is much more focused on black metal and the primal anger connected to it. This is also its flaw, the album is less eclectic, even though that was the aspect why they stood out from the crowd, with songs and structures streaming in from basically everywhere. Nowadays, the only outstanding element are the vocals who channel a lot of different spirits from old shanties to infernal growls, sometimes even a kind of vaudevillian crooning or some gang shouts. All of the lyrics are well-understandable as the production is extremely good and clear but not without the necessary dirt and grind.

The band is still good at penning down interesting lyrics and transporting them into great vocal melodies, but some part of their originality is missing from this release, thus it is a good record, but not outstanding. For fans of the genre that can’t get enough. 


Thorsten

post metal / avant garde

Perihelion is one of the bands mentioned in our Hungary special (read), and a few weeks ago they released their new record called “Agg”, which is Hungarian meaning ‘very, very old’ - this and the song titles already shows that the band uses their mother tongue for their songs (and vocals). 

​This might be an obstacle for easy global success – if you really strive for that – but it can also give your songs a very unique character if you sing in a language most people won’t understand. For Perihelion, it’s definitely the second, as the mind wanders and you take the voice in as some kind of shamanic background, not that the music makes you drowsy, definitely not. 

The four-piece from Budapest officially formed back in 2012 and has since been very productive, this is their third album and fifth release all in all. Their music has some notions of post-metal, some of their patterns are very repetitive and there are definitely some arty tinges to it. They can be compared to fellow Hungarian Thy Catafalque, although there are much less extreme, or to Denmark’s Møl, even though there are no blastbeats on this record, or to Red Sparowes, albeit only when it comes down to visuals as “Agg” seems like a twin to “Every Red Heart Shines towards the Red Sun”.  The album even contains a hit: “Erdo” with its sparkling guitar intro by Gyula and Balász backed by Barna’s drumming skills and empowered by Gyula’s vocals is one of the songs that will be in your head for a few days. 

Perihelion are really good at evoking emotions with their music, sometimes it can be very “calm” and motionless like a desert due to the unbearable heat with lots of false pictures in your head just like the guys here suddenly turn the song from a post-rock melody into some kind of psyched-up post-punk. The riffs are more than solid, the drummer does an amazing job of slowing down the songs of speeding them up without dominating the whole sound – generally, it should be noted that the songwriting is really good and the vocals are on-point. If I just knew what they are trying to tell me! 


Thorsten

ambient / experimental / avantgarde

Unexplained Sounds Group

There are people on this planet, with a devotion for music, who are willing to dig as deeply as possible into the underground scene. The result of  Rafaelle Pezzalla (also active as Sonologyst)digging is almost unlikely. The sympathetic Italian is the driving force and seeker of the Unexplained Sounds Group label, which focuses entirely on the contemporary experimental and alternative electronic music of our overpopulated planet.

With the new Unexplained Sounds Group release 'Anthology of Contemporary Music from Middle East' he presents a new chapter of the Sound Mapping project with special attention to non-Western countries, following the selection of contemporary electronic music from the African continent.

This compilation focuses on experimental and alternative music from the Middle East and includes artists from Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iran, Israel, Iraq, Palestine, Jordan, Afghanistan and Cyprus. This anthology shows a very interesting look at the productions sounds of artists rooted in their traditions with a progressive look at the new limits of their music.

These (as yet unknown) sound paths explore both experimental and radical improvisation, disturbed electronic tribal sonic structures, and psychedelic noise-drone escapades that sublimate the grains of sand in steaming ground breaking soundscapes. Anthology of Contemporary Music from Middle East reveals here an incredible sound puzzle in which the listener will find his favorite way to new places of architectural music constructions.

Speaking of a musical mind fuck, this compilation is a must for fans of experimental and cross-border electronic music. We have been stunned by this collection in a supernatural way. Top!

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Patsker

ambient / experimental / avantgarde

Unexplained Sounds Group

And yes, the sound mapping series of the Unexplained Sounds Group continues. After more than three years, the CD version of the previously only digital Persian experimental underground survey, focusing on experimental and alternative music from Iran, is finally out since November 30th 2019. 

Rafaelle Pezzalla had a lot of help from inside the Tehran scene to discover and compile this unique compilation. The artists delivered shining musical diamonds that have an eclectic content and various emotions. We were immersed in experimental electronic sounds, avant-garde, drones and ambient. The roots of the artists are woven in their sound sculptures and breathing rare buoyant atmospheres.

More known names in the genre, like Alphaxone and Xerxes the Dark have already released work on the American dark ambient label Cryo Chamber. The digital version of Anthology of Persian Experimental Music contains four bonus tracks. Reza Solatipour delivers to our opinion, without question, the most intriguing bonus track. The dark drones, mystical electronic pulses and a wide range of unique voices display an amazing world of deep sound ambiance.

For more than two thousand years the Persians had already developed and imprinted the core of the theoretical framework in the music of Middle Eastern origin still valid to this day. The local underground scene explores the ancient sound vibrations with a new vision and modern approach without losing their identity. The abstruse and complex quality tracks provide a soul-searching survey in the avant-garde music of Iran. We could only think of one word to end this review: brilliant!

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Patsker

ambient / black metal / experimental

Mosaic – a word for a stone puzzle picture comprised of hundreds of colored stones that only makes  sense when looking at the whole picture. Band names should not be overestimated but with Mosaic from Eastern Germany the name is really a namesake. This album is as much medieval market square as it is modern black metal auditorium, as much ritualistic wooden-ness as it is metallic clang in the modern world. There are lyrics that are as simplistic as “Come on!” but there are also lines where famous poets are quoted and their words interwoven with those of mastermind Martin van Valkenstijn. 

Martin is not only the composer and singer for Mosaic, he’s also a multi-talented guy who plays the majority of the instruments on the record himself – some clearly old-fashioned and medieval like the Nordic lur, others as normal as for example the bass guitar. He also recorded the field recordings for the record which is to be released soon via Eisenwald Tonschmiede and which shows a very cleverly arranged mix of black metal and medieval scants. 

However, van Valkenstijn doesn’t like being alone in the recording studio so he invited numerous guests including his wife or genre reps like Werian-drummer D.E. or Empyrium’s Schwadorf. Those artists comply with his line of thought and his wish to deliver another blackened medieval folklore record that hardly faces competition this year because of its brilliant songwriting, for example in “Ambrosia XIX” when simple bagpipe sounds are interwoven with deep chords and enchanted vocals just before the modern clever singular drum kicks set in and the track flows into a totally different direction yet never forgetting where it started. 

One might argue that for a band so obsessed with lyrics the vocals are too far in the back of the mix but at the same time it should be noted that they can be read off from the lyrics sheet so that you still get an impression of Martin’s love for literature which he also displayed on All Saints’ Day publishing a musical cover of Georg Trakl’s poem “Allerseelen”. But on the other hand one should note his musical vision: His music is part of a ritual, sung around a fire by the bard. 

The idea of a mosaic is on full blast here as every bit of a song is as well-structured as the others. Martin van Valkenstijn is really able to set another stone into his very personal mosaic giving us a brilliant collection of new songs. 


Thorsten

experimental / avant garde

I like strong female voices. Examples are the ritual chanting of Jarboe, the soulful crooning of Amy Winehouse, or the screaming of Amelie Bruun (Myrkur). Hell, even Adele would be great if it weren't for those mostly cheesy songs.

Last year I added Kristin Hayter of Lingua Ignota to this list. I was genuinely shocked when I first heard "All bitches Die", because of her intense, chilling screams - barely human, and especially not "female" at all. Music is rarely really frightening, but this really shook me to the bone.



So I was really eager to pick up the follow up record, Caligula. From the song titles alone you can already tell this are not really love songs: Butcher Of The World, If The Poison Won't Take You My Dogs Will, Fucking Deathdealer, and so on.

On this record Kristen has been assisted by some high profile musicians (Full of Hell, Uniform et al.). So musically it's a much more diverse affair, with the piano playing an important role. I have
to say this suits her (classically trained) vocals well, although I feel screaming is really her "unique selling point". She does some interesting throat singing as well this time (Fragrant Is My Many Flower'd Crown and Sorrow! Sorrow! Sorrow!), and at times even sounds a lot like Tori Amos ( May Failure Be Your Noose).

The violent and larger-than-life lyrics are an important part of what makes her so interesting, and, as before, they are based on her violent past (she was a victim of sexual abuse in her past). If I had to compare this record to her previous, I would say this is a more therapeutic record. "All bitches die" is rawer, it is the sound of a psychotic girl running around the street screaming, and harassing random passers-by. "Caligula", on the other hand, is Kristen lying on the couch of a shrink, recalling traumatic events from her past. Somehow it sounds more controlled and "safer" than before.

"Caligula" is a very good record, that will surely appeal to the hipster crowd. It's certainly more accessible than her previous record. Personally I would have liked a bit more screaming and a bit
less piano. Then again, this is probably a logical evolution, which should give her a lot more exposure to adventurous music lovers.


​Koen