doom

“They never come back.” That’s what they always said about former boxing champions until Floyd “The Gentleman” Patterson came back and won his second World Boxing Championship in 1960. But if the music nerd among us is honest, one has to admit that the number of highly successful bands who came back after a real break and released a record that can compete with the old masterpieces. But, as Floyd showed, the generality in that idiom is always too big to hold up – and now we have another example that some bands DO come back with Dutch doom masters Celestial Season and their latest release “The Secret Teachings of All Ages”, out on Burning World Records since early October. 

The band, now with a kind of “best-up” line-up of their former highlights, show right away why they are considered to be among the big players of early European Doom metal alongside Anathema, My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost. The opening title track starts with a near-classical string melody and develops a maelstrom of dragging drums and slowly developing bass lines. The only way in this odyssey is down into celestial sound. Yes, here celestial as an adjective, because the good thing about the band is the way they construct their songs. While the doomy rhythm section pulls at your feet, the guitars go upwards with some wonderful melodies, even with a solo part here and there. And the icing on the cake are Stefan Ruiters’ vocals that are deep, growling and yet soulful, but the best thing about them is: He does not imitate anybody, he’s just himself. 

If you listen to this record you will notice how often the little details make it a great experience. The little violin melody at the beginning “The Ourobouros” which sounds like a Hungarian gypsy dancing around the campfire. Generally, the mood is very mellow, we are not facing death the leveller, we are more likely having to deal with one of his messengers who states that there is still a bit time left before the final end, so one better uses it for a last gathering. There is this kind of foreboding, when we hear the funeral doom tempo at the beginning of “Long Lorn Tears” - just seconds before the song picks up some speed and turns into Celestial Season’s straight rocker. When the song slowly fades out there is that little glimpse of hope that the old man will miss its destination. 

The vocal sample at the beginning of “Amor Fati” greets us with a quote by Marcus Aurelius “When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive, to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” The ancient emperor seems to lead us through the rest of the song whose title can be translated into “Love for fate” - an idea of 19th century philosophers like Nietzsche, who  asked themselves about the futility of human life and how much one can influence it. A very “doom” idea, if there ever was one: man was born into this life but is not being able to influence its procedure, not being to negotiate a different date with one’s end. Not knowing your maker and not wanting to know your finisher. 

If you like your metal fast and furious, then keep your hands off of this gem. If you want to bathe in walls of sound and ideas, enjoy little precious elements and parts here and there – then, please listen to this comeback album of the year. Celestial Season are nothing short of living proof, that the best of champions can return to reclaim their throne. 


Thorsten

doom / avant-garde / noise

Doom is one of those genres that can basically be everything because nowadays it is more than doom in the Type-O or Candlemass-kind of sense, it is also used as a description for a certain attitude and a certain range of music somewhere between Domkraft and Sunn O))), Anna von Hauswolff’s BADA and Wino. But to describe it simply as a state of mind is also not enough, because, unlike punk, doom cannot be an attitude. 

This is also noticeable when listening to Dutch doom/noise mashers Farer who have just released their full-length debut “Monad” at the end of November. But the band members are definitely no newcomers, as they have been playing under the name Menhir since 2013 and include members of Ortega. Last year they chose Farer as their new name and with that also came a change of style and sound. While Ortega gravitates much more towards post-metal, Farer is a bastard of doom and avantgarde noise. 

Their 4 track, 52-minute debut is a bastard of various parents – Sumac, Boris, The Body and Briqueville. Seems like a strange combination? Well, maybe, but Farer also play strange music. First off, they seemingly want to sound as if they are riding on the ways of a hurricane. There is always this sense of storm in their music, which is also a clear hint at their noise-aspirations. The distortion is set to echo over itself so that it keeps on reverberating in itself creating this kind of spiraling effect pulling the listener higher and higher. The latter effect is also supported by the fact that sometimes they use some smaller snippets in the background to even further strengthen their huge soundscape so that the air gets thicker and the oxygen gets less and less. Funny is the moment at the end of the opening track “Phanes” when you notice that part of those snippets was a clean-sung choral which was used in those part of the storm that are less upfront but still audible. 

The band plays with some industrial sounds in “Asulon”, the second track, which gives that song a “Godflesh”-feel, even though that is maybe a very personal idea. Nevertheless, this is also the track which seems most like Briqueville. The clean vocals at the beginning of the track connects it very well to the end of “Phanes” as mentioned before. The meandering industrial reverbs in the background are laid over the ever-present dangerous basic soundscape that connects all tracks and that makes this album also a very coherent unity. In “Asulon” the guitars take over after 5.20 minutes and they turn this track even more into a standout song. Alas, one should not forget that the creation of a “standout track” is probably not what Farer had in mind, they wanted to create a standout album and they really did. The noise guitars that are partially Sumac, partially Sonic Youth and yet always Farer are combined with wonderful little drums changes. Even when we have a guitar crescendo trying to move ahead of everything else it is still always held back by the other instruments so that we cannot but wonder how effective the band is. 

They show us so much in the final two songs “Moros” and “Elpis” that it becomes clear why Menhir only published one EP in 2016 before the band changed their sound, their songwriting, their approach and developed new songs. The choice must have been a hard one, but when listening to the “horns” (at least that’s what they sound like) in “Moros” one recognizes a band that chose not to choose between things but to be as borderless and free as possible. Everything works for the best of the record. 

“Monad” is nothing more and nothing less than another reason why to hold back with your AOTY lists till December. This band is gonna go far if they publish more music in the vein of their debut with so many high-quality songs garnished with as much virtuous noise as these four tracks. And, as if it was the most simple thing in the world, they show what doom is in the year 2020. It is writing a record that doesn’t care about what doom is but that defines it for themselves. 


​Thorsten

doom / gothic metal

SubRosa and Minsk – two heavyweights in the world of Post-Metal with two very different approaches to the sound of said genre. While SubRosa was more on the elegant side, Minsk was wondering more on the earthy, gritty side of the spectre. Now we have Asphodel Wine a musical collaboration between the real-time couple of Zachary Livingston (Minsk) and Sarah Pendleton (SubRosa). Sarah is contributing with her vocals skills and her violin, while Zach is playing the drums, the guitars and the bass while also singing. 

A few years ago we had an unforgivable “rock-duet” of Ville Valo and Natalia Avelon covering the old classic “Summer Wine” (by Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood), and my, my, my how bad that turned out. Now we have a romantic, dark duet that is much closer to Nancy and Lee or Nick Cave and PJ Harvey – Zach and Sarah really hit so many right buttons and take the (positively) necessary turns every and their “wine” is much more seductive than the Ville’s and Natalia’s. 

Much of that attraction derives from Sarah’s and Zach’s skills on each of their instruments. Especially Sarah’s violin is rich in sound and her skills turn the remarkable tunes into sparkling diamonds in a sea of sound. That sea is laid out and based on Zachary’s guitars and rhythm instruments. Especially the drums which he lays out are woven into such a wonderful blanket that even when he goes a little against the rhythm with certain fills or kicks that it is a welcoming embrace. If we add the violin parts when Sarah accompanies the drums with a deep-tuned passage. Those passages then work like a second guitar which is highly welcome, as Zach mostly plays and acoustic on “Slowdance Macabre”. The acoustic guitar is also part of this welcome, homely feeling that their first record together emanates. 

Interestingly, the full-length also has a very nice build-up when thinking of the arrangement of the songs on the record because the first few songs are a bit more laid-back in the sense that they feature a more gothic pop oriented sound while some of the songs of the second half tend to be more post-metallic especially “The Worst Way” which could also be a SubRosa-track. 

Noteworthy is also the use of the echo effect on some of the instruments and on Zachary’s vocals which makes them sound even larger than life. That is one of the things that make this quite the standout-record: the vocals. Both have already shown how amazing their voices can sound but here in this combination it is like witnessing a happily married couple going strong onto its 20th wedding anniversary and singing their own stories together. In some songs the timing and intonation is so perfect that it is nearly non-intelligible that they are not a thing for more than a few years. Especially in the title track and its near 9.30 minutes it becomes obvious that there a two master musicians at work here with lots of experience and a perfect feeling for how to write songs, how to build moods and how to reach their audience. 

This is definitely a perfect blend of the two original bands with a vocal duo that is amongst the best when it comes to creating a candlelit doomy mood without sounding like Paradise Lost or Type o Negative as Asphodel Wine’s focus is on the sparkling of the lights and not the darkness of the shadows. 


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

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

doom / black metal

There must be something special going on in some European countries, because there is no rational explanation why such small countries like the Netherlands, Finland or Switzerland have such highly productive metal scenes. More often than not, these scenes share some kind of weakness for experimentation and spread some emotional despair. This sense of despair can be rooted in very different environments – it could be the far-stretching, never-ending, white horizons of Finland or the anonymity of overpopulated lowlands in Holland. Or Switzerland which has an incredible landscape that separates it from a lot of other countries as it is completely enclosed by the Alps with hardly a plateau or a lowland. This enclosed location surely emanates a sense of seclusion, of living in the shadows of these huge forces of nature which could cut you off from the rest of the world.  And then – what to do in such lost places? Entrance: creativity! Switzerland has several scenes, of course mostly in the major cities like Zurich (never forget the Helvetic Underground Committee) or Lausanne (Borgne) or Basel with Ashtar among others leading the way.

Now, Ashtar has released their new album on May 15th and it is the follow-up to their debut “Ilmasaari” from 2015. “Kaikuja” is Finnish (drummer Marko Lehtinen is from Finland) and means “echoes” which is somewhat telling as the duo definitely has a knack for wavering sounds that ripple the surface of their doom metal oceans. The married couple behind Ashtar play multiple instruments (apart from the usual they also use a violin) so that they can write and develop their songs pretty autonomously from any other band member. On stage they play as a quartet with two guest musicians so that Nadine can also focus on her vocals. 

The record features an intriguing artwork of a crowned figure with the knees drawn up and an empty stare into the far-off distance. Again, despair in its purest form. And when you listen to the record this feeling intensifies as Ashtar give you a sense of looming bad karma that is going to crash and collapse over your head. The swooshing, gnawing riffs whirl around your head leaving you hardly any air to breathe before squeezing a bit harder and then letting go. This moment of letting go, which coincides with the intro to the second track, a near 14 minute epic, is a perfect example for modern doom bands and their way of giving the audience a moment to relax. The simple picking is joined by Nadine’s cello and slowly picks up pace and intensity just to enthrall the listener once more. The whole song never falls into a hurry but the sound of the guitar and the bass is crushing and the vocals also serve the purpose of screaming away every last bit of light. The noisy middle part brings this peace closer to post-metal than one might guess if you followed the duo since their early days. 

This is definitely something worth noting: The band shows an evolution in sound and songwriting. They know to use different tempos and minor changes in sound and riffing and add simple layers of deep-tuned strings over it which sound a bit like horn sections. The Lehtinens are a force to be reckoned with for this year’s doom charts. Tracks like “Bloodstones” show an open ear for different tunings and they are able to open their songs up to let some single rays of light in. What might sound like a devious kind of torture here is really highly appreciated because these single spots of warmth embrace the listener and pad him on the back, telling him that there is some light no matter how dark and deep the shadows of the mountains might seem from the depressing cave in which one is hiding from the world, the cave in the Swiss mountains. 


Thorsten

post punk / doom

Amanda Marshall. Julie Christmas. Paula Cole. Chelsea Wolfe. Heather Nova. Associations that first crossed my mind when I listened to the really interesting album by Australia’s Empress. And before anybody from Down Under tries to strangle me in my sleep. I did not worsen my enumeration by including Amy Lee. 

Joke aside, this record is dominated by the very strong, powerful voice of front-woman Chloe who totally encapsulates the emotions that the band wants to bring across with this new release, their second full-length “Wait ‘til Night”. The album is scheduled for release on November 20th via Brilliant Emperor Records and will be the follow-up to 2017’s eponymous debut that the quintet released on their own. 

The fact that Chloe and her voice was mentioned first in this review shall NOT take anything away from the music of the guys behind her.  The band perfectly balance out the different elements of their songs – the vocals and the music. The music is definitely post-rock or post-punk, depending on your point of view. The first half of the record is a bit more punk-ish in a sense that it is a bit harsher, less elegant; it is less “wind” and more “storm” than the second half, if you take that notion. The idea probably becomes clear when you listen to the first song “Golden Orb” (which was also the first single): the drums are highly energetic in the background just before they hit a harder point after roughly 3.20 minutes. The song here gains this harsher and noisier side, which is accompanied by some of Chloe’s more marrow-shaking screams on this record. The drums dominate the ending the track with a tiny march segment – this band is more than just a strong voice (and thus more than Evanescence). 
When listening to the second single “Void Share Void” it automatically is clear how close the band is to Chelsea Wolfe and some of her later songs: semi-acoustic, haunting guitar motifs are the basis on which the vocals talk about missing someone. After one minute the hellish loneliness sets in and takes over “I follow the humming of the bees from your hive up ahead / Between my fingers run their wings but I want to feel you instead / And I don’t want to but I have to let you go / And I never felt so alone” - the blending of nature with heartfelt emotions evoke a feeling of being alone in this big world. The sweetness (honey and the loved one) are so close but yet to unreachable. All this sounds like emotional torture and so much worse. 
“Void Share Void”, by the way, void cannot be shared because otherwise it is not a void anymore – sharing implies having someone to share it with and thus not being alone anymore, that track is the beginning of a second part of the record which is much more elegant and thus open to post-rock than the first one. 

The lyrics on “Wait ‘til Night” are so crisp and clear and gut-wrenching. Some people might argue that she sings in a style very close to pop, hence the above-mentioned female singers. However, I wonder whether we still live in a day and age where references always have to “genre-bound” in a sense that I could only use Chelsea or Julie as a reference for Chloe’s style of singing? Yes, she sounds like all of the above but only because all of the above are able to provide highly-emotional vocals, just like Chloe. 
If we arrive at the point where we understand that music works without borders, we will be a big step further on the way to understanding music as an endless field of influences and references. This record is definitely worth your attention, because it wonders on the line of post-rock and post-punk due to some exquisite drumming and it has a unique voice. 

PS There is another possible reference for this record: When looking at the cover you cannot but remember the iconic image of Kylie Minogue lying cold and dead in the water in Nick Cave’s song “Where the Wild Roses Grow” ;-)

Thorsten

doom / post metal

I will admit to having a bit of a crisis of confidence lately. I’ve always struggled with my self-confidence. For a long time whilst thinking of how to start this review, I was sat in front of my laptop with a virgin white page and the dreaded flashing curser, umm, flashing away. Then I pressed play on the album I was going to review, to refresh my memory, and the writing took a back seat to the mesmerizing sounds coming out of my speakers, which made me think about the power of music. In these strange times we find ourselves in, music is more important now than it has ever been in helping people through these tough weeks and months. It has an amazing capacity to elicit emotions which can even sometimes help turn around the worst of days.

Anyway, apologies for the laboured intro, but the album which helped me out of that particular mental pit I found myself in was the latest LP from Flanders, Belgium alumni BRIQUEVILLE, titled Quelle. This is the third album from the mysterious five piece (they even practice with their golden death masks on apparently!) All the songs the band have released to date follow on from each other. The first 4 acts from their debut album were Akte I to Akte IV then the second album contained Akte V to Akte VII.

The band play a meandering, often repetitive, mostly instrumental blend of post metal, atmospheric sludge, ambient soundscapes and much more in a churning brew of sound. Things kick off with Akte VIII which starts with ominous keyboards before adding layers of fuzzy guitars in an almost groovy style. Akte IX follows upping the ante with regards to heavy guitars immeasurably. It’s a purposeful juggernaut of a song which flattens all before it with it’s down tuned chugging guitars and aided admirably by some spooky electronic elements. 

Post metal has always been about contrasts, the contrast between heavy and mellow, light and dark and the next song, the immense Akte X is one which showcases everything great about the genre. It is a near 15-minute slab of atmosphere. The song starts with eerie electronic ambience which would not sound out of place in a horror film. This is then slowly added to by delicately picked guitar notes and a gentle drum tap, the guitar gradually increases in intensity ending with fairly quick picking, this build up then suddenly falls away and a huge wall of chugging guitars is unleashed and it’s a glorious release of pent up emotion. It’s wonderful and is the standout track of the album.

The rest of the album follows the template laid out on the first half of the album, indeed if there is any criticism of this album it’s that the second half does not hold the attention in quite the same way as what proceeded it, which isn’t to say it’s not great because it is, it just it never reaches the gargantuan heights of the first half, although saying that, Akte XII is a towering slice of sludgy monolithic bombast with a palpable feeling of dread and is magnificent. 

So, to sum up, this album has more electronic elements than the previous albums and this has added to its heft. It’s a towering album of atmosphere punctuated by monolithic slabs of noise. It’s a heady recipe and one which this band have perfected with this release. It is a hypnotic, repetitive, atmospheric monstrous concoction of sounds which should appeal to anyone with a passing interest in heavy alternative music. Highly recommended. 


​Simon

doom / industrial / jazz

Two days ago I chatted with friends of mine and two of them declared that the new Sumac was too free-jazz for them, that it didn’t have enough structure – and even though I still really like the record I could understand them. 

On October 23rd Hummus Records released a record by Convulsif, an avantgarde quartet that’s been together since 2014 and that has already released four full-lengths (simply named I to IV) and a few singles. To describe the sound of the Swiss extremists is not to difficult but it might be hard to fathom: Throw equal amounts of Godflesh, Agoraphobic Nosebleed and Oxbow into your mixer and blend well. Add a huge amount of Sumac, blend again with a strong harsh impulse and then pour it through a filter so that no vocals and no guitars are kept in the mix. Now you have: Convulsif and its lineup consisting of bass, drums, bass clarinet and violin playing some of the fiercest and mind-bursting avantgarde jazz you might hear this side of 2010. It is cold and beaten, seductive and hunting, haunted and feisty. 

This fifth full-length by the new Hummus roster acquisition has all the trademarks necessary to make you fall in love with it. Or hate it. Or both. The riffing bass that is used like a guitar (by the way, I wonder if Loic Grobéty plays a five-string bass) and Maxime Hänsenberger’s mis-used drum kit which both produce a hellishly deep foundation for Christian Muller’s bass clarinet and Jamasp Jhabvala’s violin. The latter two also add electronic to make the sound even more distorted and unbelievable. The snippets of clear constructed melodies are attacked after mere seconds by one instrument or the other as it seems as if the listener should not be able to come to a finite thought. 

Sounds strange? Okay, let’s have a closer look at the second track “Five Days of Open Bones” (also the second-longest on this hell hound of an album): it opens with wide, sterile clarinet base and doomy, low-tuned bass punctures before the drums set in and the violin slowly rise to the foreground of it all. After roughly three minutes the drums indicate to the rest of the band that now it’s time to notch it up a bit and Maxime throws in some in-between kicks and fills. After every turn of the meter you have the thought “okay, now it will set in!” but it doesn’t fulfill your wish, it remains on its slow ascent into madness. At near-exact five minutes the bass becomes more distorted and the electronic noise parts become not only more apparent but also dominant, the clarinet is nearly inaudible. And then it starts, the hurricane has arrived and is ready to blow us all to bits and pieces – and the clarinet and violin indicate this change as they fight their way to the front again – of course having to overturn all the other “fighting” instruments on its way. We do not witness how we got into the eye of the storm but after a second of calm it all starts collapsing over our heads at 8.30 minutes and everyone tumbles over the over. We have arrived at Grindcore Level 1 where the beasts of hell welcome us into the abyss. The storm breaks down after two minutes and the madness slowly fades with the Godflesh-like clarinet being our guiding buoy out. But we cannot exit without one last quick drum’n’bass attack – no escape is for free.

The level of EXTINCTion and execution on this record is simply awesome because the four musicians are true master of their craft. Even without any vocals it has a lot to say. Even the track titles do – as they are chopped up parts from Charles Darwin’s Beagle Diary. The only question remaining here is – who will be extinct after this record? Our brain? Or is it a sarcastic analogy to the year 2020 when mankind faces extinction and doesn’t know how to get through (just like in a hurricane?). If it is, then let’s hope that Convulsif’s next record is not about the second law of Darwin – the survival of the fittest (or the one most-adapt at adapting).

One day later after the chat with my friends, my head is free again and I immediately have to tell them about this record. I am sure it should check with quite a lot of them. It is (as hard as it is for me to say this) the record we were expecting from Sumac. Maybe it’s even better. 


​Thorsten

post metal / doom / sludge

It is always interesting to look at records as a whole – the way their dynamics flow and how the arrangements influence the tension the listener is feeling. With Ba’al’s new record “Ellipsism” this is definitely very worthwhile as the band from Sheffield, UK, is very adapt at using rhythmic changes to affect us. 

When listening to the first song and its thunderous start with loads of black metal-like screaming and swirling guitar lines, the first impression is “Oh, another black metal record!” - but then towards the middle of that first song they take their feet off of the gas pedal and give way to something else.

A new openness changes the song very much towards post-metal and even hints at a harsh form of post-rock. Initial reaction: “Oh, looks who’s hiding something up their sleeves!” The quintet is able to change the mood very carefully with well-tuned small yet effective segments and interludes. This movement in the first song is like a symbol for the structure and arrangement of the whole record as it becomes “quieter and quieter”. However, do not worry, Ba’al do not turn the thing into singer-songwriter acoustic guitar campfire songs. This is still blackened post-metal in the vein of bands like Agalloch or Downfall of Gaia. 

The only remaining question is to find out the intention – and here the name of the record comes into play. “Ellipsism” is the inner “sadness that you’ll never be able to know how history will turn out, that you’ll dutifully pass on the joke of being alive without ever learning the punchline”. Well taking this into account it becomes clear why the record slowly evolves from a hurricane to a lament. The initial rage at the inability to know what lies ahead, what comes after death, is giving way to a more inner, introspect repentance of it all. Therefore, the musical passage from a black-metal infused post-metal towards more post-rock, from overwhelming fear to melancholic giving in makes total sense. And that again is reflected in the listener, because one does not have any kind of closure or suture, it simply is never granted. One has to live with the fact that one cannot know. “Oh my, oh my.”

This inability makes the whole thing even sadder and more depressing. The final track “Rosalia” is the perfect way to end an album not centered around loss itself but losing yourself, losing your life, losing hope. Hecate Enthroned-vocalist Joe Stamps is able to lift the song up with all the anger he can muster in the middle of the track for a final aggressive motion before slow near-thrash like guitar lines and the queen of sadness, the strings (cello and violin), bring the track back to its calm-before-the-end melancholy. It’s like following a hero to his hanging thinking that he cannot see his girlfriend ever again for some strange reason and then dying with this internal conviction. The saddest part then is – to see her running around the counter watching him two seconds after his final breath. 

“Ellipsism” might not be the most inventive blackened post-metal record of the year, but it is a good full-length debut for the quintet from the Midlands after two EPs. Last year’s “Reverence” was already a good hint at what might follow and this full-length will not disappoint fans of Downfall of Gaia, Sons of a Wanted Man of Inter Arma as they are able to give us a convincing debut. 


​Thorsten