Category: Electronic

To some people, rubbish isn't always rubbish. To some people, scrap yards are instrument stores. This release by Käki (aka Junkyard Shaman) is the registration of a live performance, using junk, loops, soundscapes, samples and drones. The result is a brilliant mix between Master Musicians Of Bukkake, Einsturzende Neubauten and Raison D'Etre. In three long , repetitive and captivating tracks, Käki effortlessly takes the listener on an hypnotic trip. This is a perfect journey for a post apocalyptic movie about earth during a nuclear winter. Recommended? You bet. This is fantastic stuff.

Alien Tantric Method - Intraverse

dark ambient / electronic

Canadian dark ambient act Alien Tantric Method delivers a gloomy, cinematic and outer space inspired album, loaded with eerie soundscapes and cosmic noises. Immediately, IIVII comes to mind. Both acts seem to have a similar, highly electronic approach and both acts love adding repetitive percussion to their dark ambient sounds. Obviously, the result is something massively immersive. Here, that results in genre highlights like 'Awake' and the stomping 'Vortex' which drags both noise and EBM into the mix. Take it from me, this is one highly exciting release.

Rodney Cromwell - Rodney's English Disco

electronic / synth pop

Right, time to put on our dancing shoes and step into our time machine for a sweet trip to the electronic eighties. Rodney Cromwell comes up with a melancholic EP, fronted by the synthpop cracker 'Comrades'. However, there is more to be found here. 'Barbed Wire' borrows influences from shoegaze and new wave. The joyful 'Technocrats' reminds me of German act And One while closer 'Dreamland' seems to revisit The Cure's synth years. In all, this is pleasant EP that totally reeks of the eighties. I don't mind and I know heaps of others don't mind either. So check it out, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Siete Catorce - Agnosia

electronic / experimental

Hypermedium

Mexicali producer Siete Catorce delivers an experimental and unique approach to electronic dance music. Far away from trends, Catorce plays with quirky percussion, intrinsic soundscapes and futuristic atmosphere. On this EP that results in four wayward but energetic dance tunes, something between Autechre and Speedy J's 'A Shocking Hobby' album. This is no everyday techno music, on the exact contrary. This is the result of a years long exploration with beats, sounds and glitches. My personal favorite here is 'Susurro', a possible smash hit in a highly developed alien world. Neat!

Superalma Project - Dystopian Children

drone / dark ambient

Inspired by Dystopian literature (1984, Brave New World, Hunger Games), this project by Igor Almeida delivers an angsty and dark soundtrack, loaded with haunting soundscapes, eerie noises and impending percussion. At times acts like Deutsch Nepal, Coil or De Fabriek come to mind, which obviously places this release right into the avant garde ambient scene. The album closes with a track named 'Isn't Life Disappointing?' which clearly sets the tone for the whole thing. No, this is not a joyous piece of work, not at all, but it is a damn intriguing and captivating one, that's for sure. So check it out now.

Teahouse Radio - Her Quiet Garden

drone / ambient

Teahouse Radio is a brand new project by Pär Boström of Kammarheit and Cities Last Broadcast fame. With this project, Boström seems to explore the brighter side of ambient music, although the album still is gloomy and melancholic. The set-up is minimal, the drones and soundscapes are mild and the overall atmosphere is dreamy, as decent ambient music is intended to be. The album contains eleven tracks, each one and excellent and beautiful piece of work. This is definitely something for fans over everything between Brian Eno and Biosphere, which I guess says a lot about the overall quality.

Adeptus Mechanicus - No More Heartbeat

dark ambient

Hailing from The Netherlands, Adeptus Mechanicus treats the listener to frightfully droning dark ambient tunes. According to the bandcamp page, the music is inspired by Yen Pox and Stratvm Terror, which might explain the industrial soundscapes and haunting atmosphere. The artist is also active in the world of hard-, dark- and speedcore and that too is audible in the intense nature of these three tracks. In fact, 'Mechanical Bringer Of Death' seems to embrace the harshness of those genres (without the beats) to create a monumental industrial noise track. I'm damn sure that all fans of dark, harsh ambient will absolutely adore this stuff. I know I do.

Hezaliel - Paradise Lost

dark ambient

Eighth Tower Records

We're crossing the border again to witness yet another brilliant dark ambient performance by one of our fellow countrymen. Belgian act Hezaliel seems to continue the dark, impending flow of some of the previously reviewed albums here. This album contains eight deeply droning piece of dark ambient music, all with an enigmatic and mystifying atmosphere. The monolithic 'They Darkened The Land Of The Nile' is my personal favorite but each of this tracks will end up in my ever expanding dark ambient playlist. I suggest you check it out and get your hands on this thing. It rarely gets better than this...

Visions & Phurpa - Monad

dark ambient

Cyclic Law

Visions

Phurpa

Celebrating its 100th release, Cyclic Law presents an exclusive collaboration between label head Frederic Arbour’s long standing project Visions and Russia’s enigmatic ritual formation, Phurpa, lead by Alexey Tegin. The result of this collaboration is a stunning and enigmatic dark ambient album in four chapters, showcasing the best possible combination of both seasoned acts. Fans can actually expect the usual elements: drones, soundscapes and haunted voices. Yet, that "usual" comes at a very high quality and an almost suffocating atmosphere. For fans of dark ambient, this is a definite must-have.

AnD - AnD003

techno

And Music

Manchester residents AnD are here to invite you to the dancefloor and then pound you into a pulp with their raw, heavy and chaotic analog techno tunes. This stuff is intense but pretty much irresistible for every fan of hard electronic dance music. Borrowing elements from Detroit techno, retro rave and industrial, this EP opens with the dazzling track 'Manchester'. 'Analogical' follows and quickly becomes my favorite here, one that reminds me of the boiler room at Pukkelpop. 'Prophecy' nudges more towards trance while closer 'Transit' is mostly noise with beats. Enjoyable? Fuck yasss!!!

Rebekah - My Heart Bleeds Black

techno

Mord

More stomping techno, this time from Birmingham-born Berlin-based artist Rebekah. On this EP, or better, on this Double-EP, Rebekah delivers no less than nine dark and grinding techno tunes, driving on repetitive beats and enhanced by gloomy noise-scapes. The result is a massive assault on your dancing muscles, a neverending frenzy of dark, almost industrial techno. It's damn hard to pick a favorite track here and at some points I'm not sure that I can enjoy this music for a long time but I have to say that tracks like 'Halo Effect' and 'Empirical Cycle' are definite dancefloor killers.

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T.R. Hand - Folke Meditation

20/2/2018

Submarine Broadcasting Co.

drone / experimental / electronic

This project, called t.r. hand is made by the artist known as Glove Of Bones, and it’s a very surprising way to hear experimental electronic music that is either "against the machine" and also enjoyable! The entire art and also the limited 50 CD copies are awesome and was really made with affection to his fans. In the author words: Folke Meditation is a selection of recent sound works, designed to be used during free or guided meditations, is not suitable for everyone, It has not been tested or approved by any Government Organisation and the creator also say that it’s better to consult a Shaman or Alchemist before using this medication... This eccentric presentation was very creative, like his music!

He also defines his work “as a melange of cut-ups and ambient and experimental beats and sound collages”. In a work like this, It is worth to mention some songs: ‘Message to the Experiment’ with an initial noise that become more melodic and with a constant pulse, ‘Circle of Teeth’ with his crazy rhythmic pattern, ‘Meditation Number One’ which starts with a chaotic beginning and changes gradually to a kind of low-fi recording of some Steve Reich music just to end up with a fantastic glissando, ‘Krankenhaus für Mauerkrankheit’ with its beautiful melody, ‘Spectral Analysis of Mu’ with another beautiful melody (in a Vangelis style) and an awesome birds recording with a special end (a big surprise that you will have to listen) and ‘Deadman on Arbor Low’, where he incarnated Earth and Sunn O))) but with some melody in his heavy distorted electric guitar accompanied by choir voices and some additional instruments/samples.

And the “Gran Finale” comes when you discover that the entire work - guitar and imaginary guitar, samples & loops, various field recordings, processed radio, vocal, guttural noise, construction, production and mastering - were all made by only one person!!! This is an amazing experience, this album have more than an hour and you don't even perceive this!!! It’s different (in a good way), it’s eclectic in aesthetic and t.r. hand is a kind of project that will never accept anything just for commercial purposes, because his music has soul, it definitely has soul!!! And the soul/honor of an artist can't be sold!!!

Glauber

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Brieviews 37

20/2/2018

Grantezuma - Grantezuma

alternative rock

soundcloud

A rock band, definitely! All the songs of this EP are great compositions as individual pieces. This work were produced by Sebastian Carsin in a very professional way, only reinforcing that Grantezuma works very hard to achieve his goals and doesn't do this in a sloppy way - a praiseworthy attitude in this ephemeral world. Definitely the big hit of this EP is ‘Doce Negro Abril’ (Black Sweet April, in English). If I were the musical producer (in an artistic way), I would have put this song as the first track, with no doubt! Grantezuma deserves recognition, so keep working hard!!! One of the life's secrets (at least in my humble opinion) is: Always be patient and persistent!!!

Glauber

Ferla - 13122017

drone / experimental

Abjection Productions

What do you do if you have a composition that is impossible to play because it requires a lot of expensive electric guitar pedals and all the guitar players that you know don’t have money? Ferla decided to get this music concept and just play it at a festival called ‘Jazz No Hope’, in Porto Alegre city (BR-RS). The music is amazing (despite the poor recording)... Its concept is very simple but very powerful: An overlap of loops with slightly changes at the tremolo bar and the tone potentiometer. So if you like that old-school low-fi bootleg cassettes, this album was made for you!!! If not... that’s ok, because this artist have other interesting works recorded in studio!!

Glauber

Maff - Melañiña

alternative rock / shoegaze

Hailing from Chile, Maff delivers some good old fashioned shoegaze, mixed with alternative rock. So yes, this EP drags you right into the nineties but at the same time it sounds incredibly relevant today. Parts Jesus and Mary Chain, part Sonic Youth, part Dinosaur Jr and part Explosions In The Sky, Maff brings highly enjoyable ethereal rock tunes to your speakers, highlighting in the single 'Hawaii'. That one certainly is one for the dark dancefloors, and so is 'Deserts Are Rainbows', be it in the early morning hours. My suggestion? Check it out. What Maff does is nothing new but it's so damn satisfying...

Sophia Marshall - Lin-dah

folk rock / americana

website

Former HaveNots vocalist Sophia Marshall spent several of her school years in the same building as three members of Kasabian. Now she releases a tribute EP containing three songs from the world famous act. Funny thing is, I am not familiar with Kasabian's music so for me, these are all brand new songs. And I like them, although I'm not sure I will equally like the originals. I'll probably check them out soon. I like Marshall's often fragile voice and the gentle, country-inspired guitars. I'm quite sure that 'Goodbye Kiss' and 'Fire' will often appear in my day-to-day playlist, especially on these chilly winter evenings. Nice work.

We Are Cursed - We Are Cursed

metal / post hardcore

French eardrum violators We Are Curses deliver four pounding and pummeling tracks, balancing between metal, sludge doom and post hardcore. The band consists of members of Synopsys, Godisdead, Jack Dope And Noise so these are experienced musicians. Therefore it will be no surprise when I say that this EP is a thunderous blast. Fans of anything between Conan, Amenra, Yob and Neurosis might want to check this out. It might not yet be the mesmerizing quality delivered by those acts but We Are Cursed are certainly getting somewhere with this. This is a very promising debut EP.

Taller Than The Trees - Hubris

post metal

Since I mentioned Amenra I might as well throw yet another ridiculously talented post metal band from Belgium. The oh so quiet town of Westerlo now has its own noisemakers, named Taller Than The Trees. On this EP they deliver four crushing tracks plius three pieces of ambient noise by W.D. Spectrehead which serve as breathers. The endresult is an immersive twenty minutes lasting epos of sludge doom, post metal and post rock that hopefully will get a decent amount of heads turned into their direction. Sludgers, doomers and headbangers will easily enjoy this album, I'm sure of that.

Black Neon District - Standing Waves

progressive metal

Rising from the ashes of French progressive death metal act Outcast comes Black Neon District, formed by three of its members. They left the "death" part of their music behind them, resulting in clean vocals and a more convincing overall sound. Fans of bands like Dream Theater, Pain Of Salvation and perhaps even Opeth, Evergrey and Meshuggah will easily appreciate the skills and talents that Black Neon District showcases. For me personally, this is a bit too progressive, but that is personal taste. I cannot deny that these guys are skilled and attuned and that there is little to stop them from breaking through in the world of progressive rock soon.

Ficture - Filled Spaces

downtempo / electronic

Audiobulb

This is a coincidence. I was looking for something new to add to my "downtempo" folder, something to accompany acts like Bonobo, Autechre, Miwon and Boards Of Canada. Now this EP falls on my plate and I immediately loved it. It fits right in there, especially the bass loaded opener 'Portable'. All five tracks on the EP are intriguing. They're gloomy yet playful and filled to capacity with interesting sounds, hooks and angles. It's albums like these that put a smile on my face. Today's electronic scene is loaded with generic rubbish but EP's like this one show that there is still hope and that there are still great talents to be discovered.

Depths Of Kronos - From The Void

death metal

Back to the headbanging regions of the musical spectrum where we find Dutch destroyers Depths Of Kronos. These guys from the lovely city of Tilburg come up with some infectious melodic death metal. With heaps of tempo changes, brutal growls and tormenting riffs, this bands places themselves in the footsteps of bands like At The Gates, In Flames and Soilwork. To be honest, this is not really my cup of tea, but - also to be honest - I recognize a talented death metal act when I hear them. This certainly is a talented band, one with plenty of variation and with all the necessary elements to make death metal great.

Affasia - Adrift in Remorse

doom metal / dark metal / death metal

Transcending Records

Speaking over diverse metal, here is American death doom band Affasia and their mindbending debut EP 'Adrift In Remorse'. On this EP they seem to show what it would sound like if November's Doom entered the recording studio with Anathema, Slowdive and Evoken, or something like that. Elements of classical music, darkwave, gothic rock and shoegaze fuse with lingering doom death metal and the result is massively intriguing. These four tracks, highlighting in 'Dissolute' show a fresh and interesting direction for the slow and heavy scenes. I wonder how the future of Affasia sounds like...

Revenger - The New Mythology Vol. 1

thrash / death metal

Ok, one more slab of ruthless aggression before I jump into something calm and soothing again. Here is the new, second, EP by Canadian thrashers Revenger. This five track EP is a harsh, powerful and fierce work with skulls ripping riffs, flashing solos and bitter, arduous vocals. It constantly balances on the edge between thrash and death metal. So no, this is definitely not for the faint at heart. On the contrary. I think you'd have to be a seasoned extremophile to be able to enjoy this, but if you are, you will undoubtedly end up with severe whiplash, multiple bruises and a hammering headache. Fuck yeah!!!

Hemka - 707 Collision

techno

Balans Records

From death metal to techno without hesitation, only on Merchants Of Air. Anyway, it's dancefloor time with French producer Hemka and her '707 Collision' EP. The EP contains two tracks and two remixes of the title track. What to expect? Well, repetitive beats, Detroit techno inspired melodies and a raving atmosphere, nothing more, nothing less. I guess this is just one of those releases to play loud and throw yourself onto the dancefloor. My personal favorite here is 'Nocturnal Rounds', probably because I like all things nocturnal. Oh well, let's just dance our asses off. It can be cleansing sometimes...

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Urs Wild - The Black City

23/1/2018

dark ambient / electronic

In July I reviewed an album by Swiss producer Urs Wild (read), titled 'The Hidden Universe'. I was quite impressed by this effort, which I had discovered through the wonderful Unexplained Sounds radio show.
That same show recently provided me with Urs Wild's newest effort, 'The Black City'. Once again, I was impressed and curious towards the rest of the album. Long story short, here I am, engulfed in gloomy electronic soundscapes and a pitch black atmosphere.

So yeah, I guess another review is due

The album opens with the track 'Darkworks' and I must say, the flag covers the load perfectly. No need to gently lure the listener in, Urs Wild immediately delivers sonic grimness from a very high level. In a way it feels like a slowed down version of Scorn delivering the basslines for an array of drones and soundscapes, plus the atmosphere of Bohren Und Der Club Of Gore. "Doom ambient" would be a perfect tag to describe this music. 'The Well Of Sounds' gracefully follows its predecessor's example, showing basically the same deep electronic bassline which gives the whole thing a conceptual feel.

The entire album lasts for over an hour, with four songs taking up more than ten minutes. However, if you listen from start to end, there is very little that tells you that you're listening to a next song. As I mentioned before, the whole thing truly feels like a concept, or a soundtrack for either a dark sci-fi movie or a film noir. I can imagine a track like 'Underforce' lingering on throughout a Blade Runner scene. I wouldn't mind either, on the very contrary. What a delightful slab of dark drones this is. Raison D'Etre would be proud of Urs Wild.

Anyway, before I slip into writing a song by song description, allow me to recommend the hell out of this album. Urs Wild certainly knows the scene and he definitely knows how to produce excellent dark ambient albums. 'The March Of The Guardians' shows how easily this artist can cross the line between ambient and noise without losing the eerie, impending atmosphere. So yes, dark ambient aficionados, I think you need this album in your collection, even more than his previous one.

Serge

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Phantoms vs Fire - Swim

18/1/2018

electronic / downtempo

Speaking about ways an album is promoted, this one comes with some really big references. Perhaps it's quite gutsy to name acts like Tycho, Philip Glass, Mike Oldfield and Bonobo but it certainly is dangerous. I mean, those are some big names, some incredibly talented artists who have proved their timelessness.
So yes, I was quite curious to see if Phantoms vs Fire can keep his promise. This Italian one-man project, founded by multi-disciplinary artist Thiago C. Desant delivers a thirteen track album, showcasing his multi-instrumentalist talent and his love for atmospheric electronic music.

So I started listening to the songs closely. Opener 'Breathing' mostly seems to serve as an ambient inspired intro while title track 'Swim' sets a step in the right - downtempo - direction. Nice, but I was not impressed so far, not yet. That critically changed when 'The Beach House' started to play. There was the musical brilliance that can be compared to Bonobo and Tycho. What a track, definitely a highlight on this album, gloomy, downtempo and immersive.

'Nightmares And Dreams' seems to follow a similar path but often wanders off into experimentation, a bit like a child with an attention disorder. Again, not a bad tune but after 'The Beach House' I'm expecting perfection. 'Cinematik' answers to that call. It's a joyous blend of downtempo electronics and Radiohead inspired indie rock, something like that. By now, my opinion about this album is definitely nudging towards the positive.

Apart from the obvious influences, I can sense some interest in traditional Japanese or Chinese music, judging from the plucking melodies here and there. 'Atlantic' opens like that and then turns into something that feels like a modern version of synth pop. 'Nightwalker' takes the latter and twists it into something slow, gloomy and highly atmospheric. Well, perhaps now is the time to mention that this is quite a varied album.

'Starfish' was initially coined as one of the highlights of this album. My ideas are often different but this time I have to agree. This certainly has hit potential and can easily become a fan favorite, thriving on a steady, danceable beat. Another one of those smile-evoking tunes is 'VHS Hypnosis', followed by an equally playful 'The Gloaming Swell' and the weird 'The Invisible Sea'. I think "playful" is a good term to describe the entire album.

Well, that will be it. I described almost all the tracks here, except 'Underwater', which is actually one of my personal favorites and closer 'The Illusion (End Credits)'. I guess it's safe to say that 'Swim' is an excellent album, beautifully combining a wide array of instruments and influences. I'm especially curious for the future of this project. The talent and motivation seem to be present and if all goes well, this could become a name to be reckoned with in the near future.

Serge

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Brieviews 34

9/1/2018

Vhorthax - Nether Darkness

death metal / black metal

Iron Bonehead

An interesting black metal EP, full of sinister and crudely afflictive melodies, in the best style of the genre’s old school, Nether Darkness has powerful and distinctive guitar lines, that ostensibly create an atmosphere of doom and demise. With rapid and crudely hostile, almost agonizing melodies, Vhorthax gets really close to what is known as blackened death metal, although they maintain their style more aligned with traditional BM. With pragmatic virtues that showcases a group in the complete command of its technical skills, the harmonies of this EP displays a world of good old fashioned black metal, with aggressive guitar lines, and a permanently lugubrious atmosphere. With six tracks – Altar I - The Mass, The Levitating Tomb, Stabat Mater, Thy Foul Graal, Crushing The Vessels Of Trinity and Altar II - The Descent of the Martyr –, Nether Darkness is a formidable EP, that has a tremendous amount of dark fury, delivered at the perfect intensity to reach the highest peaks of the black art.

Solip - Without

post rock / shoegaze / doom

An energetic, skillful and wonderfully captivating EP, full of great scale harmonies, Without, by Solip, an American group from Oakland, California, is a pretty reflexive, poetic and sensible work of art, ostensibly built on the axis of a profoundly philosophic and quiet serenity. With four tracks – Adaptation, Held In Place, The Burning Car and No Gomorrah – perfectly tied together by a formidable sense of unity, the purity of their sound is proportional to its intensity. With the logical propensity to wander above the dense fibers of their own fragile melodies, that seems to gravitate delicately over the everlasting rainbows of invisible, but palpable

delightful universes of sensitive compassion, the music of Solip seems to be the sonorous configuration of a reasonable moment of beauty, doomed to be ephemerons at the pretentious highlight of its infinite vastness.

Electric Hobo - Valkoinen Ratsu

drone / noise / experimental

This side project from Finnish act Junkyard Shaman delivers three psychedelic drone trips loaded with feedback, noise and shrieking vocals. The result is a one-man version of sludge doom bands, something between the haunting musicality of Amenra and the guitar noise insanity of Skullflower. Don't expect any tempos, percussion or soothing chamber music. This is harsh, intense and exorcising music that only those who understand this genre can appreciate. Yet, for them, this EP surely is a highly recommended gem. Best to be played loud, that's for sure.

Democide - Omen

electronic / psychedelic

Under the motto "experiments with techno", Democide ended last year with a two song + two remixes EP. Opener 'Lethe' is a gloomy, immersive and atmospheric track, thriving on breakbeats and soundscapes. 'Vanguard' follows that example and seems to add a touch of psytrance. The remixes are just as interesting, especially the last on, for 'Lethe'. This is a formidable dark electronics tune, one that can easily fill the dark dance floors. So my advice: check this out. If you like your beats broken and dark, this stuff is an absolute must-have.

Gurt - Skullossus

sludge / doom

The UK sludge metal scene seems alive and kicking and this Gurt-vehicle is a perfect example of that. With monstrous riffs, thundering drums and howling sludge vocals, Gurt rage like madmen. While most sludge metal bands cause some hooded head-nodding, these guys guarantee moshpits, crowdsurfing and beer throwing. Yep, this is party-sludge, the "grindcore of the doom scene". Fans of everything between Dopethrone, Slabdragger and Iron Witch can easily trust Gurt to deliver the filth, the noise and the overwhelming sound they crave so much. Party on !!!

Neraterrae - The Nhart Demo[n]s

dark ambient / noise / drone

This album by Neraterrae contains remixes and reworks of his early work under the Nhart moniker. In nine rather short tracks, the artist seems to balance on the edges between dark ambient, noise, death industrial and drone. Personally, I think I would and will place it in my noise-folder, where acts like Gruntsplatter and Deathpile roam. With shrieking sounds, vague rhythms and eerie soundscapes, this album is probably not suited for everyone but seasoned noise-adepts live for stuff like this. I am damn sure that most of those people will absolutely adore this album. So yeah, this comes highly recommended, if you dare...

Day Before Us - Nihil Interit

dark ambient

Rage In Eden

This album got lost in my mailbox for a long time but I'd still like to push it a bit. I've reviewed his work in the past and I have always loved what I heard. Not surprising since I'm a dark ambient fan. Yes, this is dark ambient, laced with neoclassical music and a cinematic atmosphere. The production quality is excellent. The music is well varied, giving each track its own identity and the whole thing a conceptual feel. There are beautiful vocals and strange, eerie soundscapes. I think fans of acts like Penitent, Raison D'Etre and Dark Sanctuary will easily appreciate this album. So to them, this comes highly recommended.

The Veldt - Thanks to the Moth and Areanna Rose

shoegaze / dream pop

Shoegaze / dreampop pioneers The Veldt deliver a solid EP with five new tracks and two remixes. As per usual, you can expect overwhelming guitars, dreamy vocals and an overall sound to lose yourself into. Furthermore, as atmosphere is concerned, everything about this EP seems to come directly from the soul. It's deeply emotional music that will make every fan of acts like Slowdive and Cocteau Twins burst out in joyous tears. The Veldt have been doing this for decades now and they still find room to improve and surprise. So naturally, this is a must have for all shoegazers.

Novaria - EP1

progressive rock / metal

Heading from Amersfoort, The Netherlands, Novaria delivers four quite strong songs. Initially, this was a one-time studio project but apparently Novaria is being turned into a full band. Personally, I think that is a great evolution. These tracks deserve a stage and an audience. Fans of bands like Katatonia, Anathema and Paradise Lost will undoubtedly appreciate songs like opener 'Into Nothingness' while Evergrey fans will adore the brilliant 'Blindsight'. I'll leave the other two songs up to you but I promise, if you're into atmospheric and progressive metal, you'll probably want this one.

Centripetal Force - Eidetic

thrash metal / progressive

Xtreem Music

A very peculiar blend of thrash metal and progressive hard rock that you need to focus on multiple times to truly let it sink in. These three songs by Italian band Centripetal Force bring some unusual acts to mind, including Mekong Delta, Thought Industry and Sleepytime Gorilla Museum. With surprising hooks, melodic vocals, tempo chances and bizarre twists, this EP will either blow your mind or go mad. My advice? I don't know. Think for yourself for once, these guys do that and they've come up with one of the most mind boggling metal releases I've heard in a while. Weird but awesome...

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Ascendant - Particle Horizon

8/1/2018

psychedelic / ambient

Synphaera Records

A fantastic and captivating trip to a peculiar universe made entirely of dense, calm and colorful sonorous aphorisms, Particle Horizon, more than being categorized as another album of experimental and minimalist ambient music, cosmically analyzes into the soul of it’s fascinating harmonious paradigm the spiritual essence of its expressively detailed, but somewhat constrained style, where ephemeral galaxies of profound sonorous sensitivity wanders throughout the paradoxical realm of sensibilities, with the aim to diffuse the everlasting enchantment of perpetual melodies, greatly devised at the clean and sober line of a convergent path of subtle intonations, that draws another type of existence within the empire of your senses. Aspiring to disintegrate the anatomy of the sound into a state of catatonic freedom, the expansive paroxysm of each and every track on this album is a delicate, but concentrated experiment on delirious and illusion, that has on the synapsis of its conscious lights the potential to create a different version of reality. With ten tracks that ostensibly penetrate the craters of the soul – Luminescence, Gateway Aura, Edge of the Infinite, Zero-Crossing, Twilight Gap, Gardens of Light, Radiance, The Age of Acceleration, Taking the Void and The Particle Horizon –, the fascinating cosmogonies that emerge from the music are exhilarating molecules of artistic emancipation.

With a formidable degree of originality – but modestly confined to a secure space of harmonious subtlety, Ascendant circulates on this album over the impenetrable logic of its own sonorous hallucinations, with continual, but small melodic punctuations, that respects the sagacious and perfectly coherent ordeal of the work. With its cosmic level of serene, but infinitely curious and demanding space ambient style of sound being preponderant all the way throughout this sensitive journey of inapprehensible fascination, Particle Horizon is a pretentious, but successful audacious outlook on the genre, giving the fact that explores in a more individual perspective the gloriously diluted, but also infinite possibilities offered by this category of music, that almost seems to be the remainder of a sidereal silent symphony.

The sound, very tasteful and soft, carries on the atmosphere of its genuine commotion the authenticity of its discreet symbolisms, that explores persistently the invisible nuances that gives consistence to the sound. So, in a more technical procedure, the sonorous expansion deliberately collides with the sign of its own artistic ambitions. But this is the prerogative behind the energetic dynamic of the marvelous calmness that overflows throughout this state of the art work.

In a few words, you can positively affirm that Particle Horizon is a formidable trip to an invisible universe of sound, whose surface extends far beyond the standards of normality. With surreal atmospheres that comprehend on the junction of its fundamental qualities the essential pretext that perfectly juxtaposes in music all salutary aspects of existence.

Wagner

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Brieviews 33

4/1/2018

Happy new year, dear reader, and welcome (back) to Merchants Of Air. To kick off the year in style, we prepared another heap of Brieviews and once again we're exploring many corners of the musical universe, from the heavy jazz of Dead Neanderthals over the fun folk metal of Nordheim to the soothing downtempo electronics of Build Buildings. Enjoy the read and let us know in the comments if you found something interesting.

Planetariet - Planetariet

post rock

An infatuated, but deeply calm and resourceful cosmogony amazingly inserted in an overwhelming ocean of clarifying thoughts, S/T by Planetariet, is an amalgamation of underlying vicissitudes brilliantly crafted at the harmonious line of a delicate and sensible planet of sonorous isolation. With a gentle touch of eternity, this interesting and refreshing EP is an intensely reverberating enigma of homogeneous synchronicity, that seems to revolve around the soul of its own reflexive and protuberating sincerity. With a calmer sound that apprehensively feels the underlying eccentricity of its profound and

densely acquiescent serenity, majorly entangled in a human emotional diagram of omnipotent infinity, S/T is a simple, yet complete sonorous conflagration of a melodic universe, whose imponderability is virtually attached to the most restless deliberation of a wonderful and honest expressive moment in time.

Wagner

Dead Neanderthals - Organ Donor

heavy jazz / grindcore

Dutch heavy jazz duo Dead Neanderthals come up with a late Christmas present: a fifteen minutes long improvisation with sax, synths and drums, accompagnied by some delicious looking artwork (unless you're vegan, obviously). Expect brutal sax drones, gloomy soundscapes and René's repetitive, almost ritual drums. I know, those are Dead Neanderthals' usual ingredients but like many bands they're getting better and better at this. So if you're a fan of these two deviant jazzists, you have absolutely no excuse not to download this track. Tip; serve loud !!!

Brosandi - Music For An Unknown Galaxy

ambient / post rock

Canadian one-man project Brosandi comes up with a sweet EP, containing three gentle post-rock tunes (and an intro). The music here is not overly complex. Instead it feels like watching and listening to a guitarist on stage, armed with only a few effects and loop pedals. The result is something gentle, something perfectly suited for these cold winter evenings. The artist claims to be inspired by Sigur Ros, Explosions In The Sky and so on, and yes, those references certainly apply, be it in a minimal, introvert and intimate way. I wonder how this would sound with a full band but this already comes highly recommended.

Boltzmann Brain - Sentences

jazz / noise rock / experimental

This German band has so much fun recording and release their debut in October 2017 ('Sind Die Echt') that they immediately decided to record another EP. What to expect? Well, something between Red Snapper and Add N To (X) or Black Dice getting a go at jazz and rock music. Jazz, noise, rock, soundscapes and psychedelic music come together in a weird but exhilarating orgy of indefinable music, perhaps that is the best way to describe this thing. The second track 'Come Join My Religion' is simply awesome, reminds me of Haus Arafna a bit. Not many jazz rock bands can do that, you know?.

Knight ‎– High on Voodoo

heavy metal

Heavy metal is far from dead and this band from India once again proves that. With flashing guitars, methodical drums and potent vocals, these guys deliver a solid EP. Think Iron Maiden, think Manowar, think Judas Priest think Helloween and you come quite close to what Knight sounds like. Everything about this album sounds and feels vintage, as it if comes directly from the eighties. For old school metalheads, this certainly is a band to keep an eye on, especially since there is still room for improvement, room to grow as musicians and as a band. I curious to where this leads to.

False Flag - EP

crust / hardcore

Here is a pulverizing three-track EP from Indian extreme music horde False Flag. Although the lyrics seem to be philosophical in nature, the music here is a scathing blend of crust punk, hardcore and black metal. Yet, in all their ferocity, they also leave some place for melody and variation, which is a huge plus in this genre. Now, don't get me wrong, this music will still torment you to the point where you can't take it anymore but I'm 100% sure that every fan of extreme punk will adore this. I mean, if both Oathbreaker and Exploited come to mind in only three songs, we're dealing with something promising!

Scarlet Phantom - Singleness

progressive metal

Haiming from Saint Petersburg, Russia, Scarlet Phantom delivers some interesting metal instrumentals. Although the music is based on black and death metal, you can easily classify this as progressive metal. Personally, I'm quite fond of this, partially because of its instrumental approach. It's as if Meshuggah, Opeth and Dream Theater gather in a recording studio and everybody keeping their mouths shut. I like that and I will definitely recommend this album to all you metalheads out there. If you want something refreshing, varied and impressive, you'd want to check this out.

Akadama Bros - Sunshine

hip hop / j-rap

Adaadat

And now for something completely different. We don't often review hip hop albums here but this one is neat. Akadama Bros deliver some decent and well varied J-rap. "J" stands for Japanese, should you not know that. On this 12", you get some well varied tunes, each obviously driving on hip hop beats and raps. Yet, they also seem to throw in some different influences, ranging from classical music over dubstep to indie, dub, noise and post-rock. The result is something intriguing and quite often surprising, reminding me of anything between Manu Chao, Cypress Hill and Xzibit. Hip hop yes, but rather enjoyable.

Build Buildings - Glass EP

electronic

Audiobulb

website

New York electronic music producer Build Buildings returns with a massively enjoyable EP, containing four new and well varied tracks. Opener 'Hebei Victory' is a brilliant blend of Autechre and Miwon while follower 'Honey Locust' brings Plaid to mind. So yes, downtempo electronics with heaps of microsounds, clicks, soundscapes and poly-rhythms, exactly the way I like my electronic music. 'Glass' is an odd ambient tune which could have been on Aphex Twin's ambient collection. Finally, there's a song called 'Cecilia' which is my favorite here, a slow but immersive piece of old school electronic music. Awesome EP.

Vantablack Warship - Abrasive Pulmonic Speak

black metal / metal / death metal

Back to the extremes where we find a pulverising hybrid between black, thrash, death and hardcore. Vantablack Warship hails from Canada and deliver some in-your-face riffs, some methodically tormenting drums and a bunch of fierce screams. The endresult is an intense and overwhelming album. Fans of bands like Gallows and Everytime I Die can surely find some fingerlicking good tunes on this one, like the brutal headbanger 'Blood On The Mat' for example. With short but abrasive songs, Vantablack Warship are certainly making a name for themselves and soon metalheads from around the globe will be onboard.

Mist of Misery - Fields of Isolation

black metal

Black Lion Productions

Swedish atmospheric black metal act Mist Of Misery has been around for a while and have always delivered high quality music. On this EP that is no different. In fact, with eight songs and over half an hour long, this EP is a sonic blackened adventure on its own. Unfortunately, I don't think I have a lot to say about this EP. It's top level extreme, depressive, atmospheric and somewhat progressive black metal and it would fit perfectly between your Dimmu Borgir, ColdWorld, Summoning and so on. If you're a fan of Mist Of Misery, you should already have gotten this EP. If not, check it out.

Hundred Year Old Man - Rei

doom / post metal

A harsh and somewhat chaotic blend of doom, sludge and post-metal, coming at you with severe intensity, that is what English sextet Hundred Year Old Man delivers. If you are into bands like Isis, AmenRa, Cult Of Luna and so on, this EP would definitely not misstand in your ever growing collection. 'A Year In The North Sea' is probably my favorite here, a dark and noisy piece of music that serves as a breather between the two massive slabs of slow musical aggression. For the record, closer 'Rei' is a brilliant piece of sludge doom, and I don't say that very often. So yeah, this comes highly recommended.

Obscene - Sermon to the Snake

death metal / thrash metal

Indianapolis based quartet Obscene claims to have been influenced by all the greats in the metal scene, including Death, Morbid Angel, Edge Of Sanity and Asphyx and yes, I have to admit, I hear all of them in these four tracks. Not that Obscene does not have their own sound. With thick riffs and deranged vocals, these guys deliver some good old fashioned death metal, something I can only applaud. Songs like 'Shadow Burial' and 'Blood Moon Rats' can easily make you bang your head and scream along. So yeah, this is some sick and twisted stuff, suited only for the seasoned death metal fans and thus recommended.

Nordheim - RapThor

folk metal

Hailing from some ancient forest in Canada, Nordheim simply wants to play folk metal and have fun with it. And there is no better description for this EP. This is a fun folk metal album with titles like 'Boobs And Bacon' or 'I Wish You Were Beer'. I guess all you can do is join the party, grab a beer and scream along with these tunes, just like you do when you listen to bands like Ensiferum, Finntroll or Korpiklaani. Although, I have to say, Nordheim take their black metal influences quite far and quite ferocious too, raging at high speed. So yeah, perhaps you should drink a bit more while listening to this awesomeness.

Project Renegade - Cerebra

alternative metal

Female fronted alternative metal from Greece, and I must admit that the first band that came to mind was Lacuna Coil, even before I actually listened to the songs on this EP. Although that reference still stands, I'm very glad I discovered this band. The music is interesting, laced with some mild electronics and it comes with excellent vocals by frontwoman Marianna. Opener 'Pressure' surely has hit potential, especially in the alternative charts. 'Natural Born Killer' grooves and crawls and 'One Of The Crowd', my personal favorite, is an irresistible headshaker. Buy this, it's awesome.

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Brieviews 32

7/12/2017

Usually, the Brieviews are Serge's work. Since the beginning of the series, Serge has been writing all these little reviews alone (except for one by Eline and a 'Paul Grindings'). Yet, things change and we're happy to announce a cooperative edition of Brieviews. Wagner sent in five and the other ones are written by Serge. I'll leave it up to you to guess who wrote which review. I hope we can see many more of these coming up soon. I guess I will since I only recently told the other writers that they could write brieviews as well.

The Human Race Is Filth - Human Exposed

grindcore / crust

York, Pennsylvania duo The Human Race Is Filth debut with a butchering blend of grindcore and crust punk. Although THRIF is new, bandmembers Paul & Kasey have been playing together in Bittered, Mans Plague and Police State. Now, as a duo the seem more relentless and destructive than ever. With thick, doomed-out riffs and pummeling drums, the duo brutally assaults the establishment, our current "leaders" and the state of our world as it is. So no, this is not a jolly, goody-goody album, this is a severe kick in your nutsack and a bloody intense debut. Recommended? Obvious-fucking-ly!

Professor Electric - Gleam of Murder

psychedelic rock / blues / stoner

On to Las Vegas, Nevada, where we find Professor Electric and his one-man fuzz rock machine. Blues, psychedelic rock, stoner rock are being blended with a gloomy eighties industrial feel. Acts like Om, The Residents and Bain Wolfkind come to mind, along with today's heavy psych rock scene and even Rob Zombie. And this is just one man, imagine Professor Electric forming a band and hitting the road. With groovy blues rockers like 'The Evil Poon Saloon' and 'Gleam Of Murder', psychedelic jams like 'Sexual Tyrannosaurus' or doomed out stoner tunes like 'Melting From The Morphine', this album is simply awesome.

Seas of Years - Three Horizons Away

post rock

An effervescing idiosyncrasy of starving, but calm and levitating melodies swears to an infinite ocean of time a formidable conflagration of creative harmonious contingencies. The sound is beyond exceptional, and everything that revolves around your ears bears the scope of an infinite storm of peaceful eternity.

With precise and overly diluted, but poetic guitar lines, Three Horizons Away is an imaginative and surreal glorious panorama of exponential beauty. Despite its brevity, the sonorous sincerity expanded through the brave, but serene vastness of splendorous rhythms redirects the soul through a journey of ascendant and pure reality. The continual universe promulgated by its linear and constant propulsion of peripheral sounds exhibits the greatness of it’s fantastic, but discreet style, as a different pattern of sensibility.

Diary Of My Misanthropy - Leviathan

post rock

A full, energizing and pure post rock work, with profoundly melancholic, but genuinely organic sonorous vicissitudes, upon which formidable and lucid guitar lines comprehend the painful vicinities of incisive and latent harmonies, that revolves around a mysteriously ancient, but poetic silence. A monumental transformation of conscience reveals itself at the grandiloquent axis of serene melodies, that not only impress by the brutal honesty and sincerity of its audacious beauty, but also by the infallible ordination of its salutary sonorous manifestation, that opens an omniscient pattern of authentic intuitive creative algorithms over the impatience of its notes. With a striking, but overwhelming simplicity, the sensitive calmness of this work is a delightful experience, that makes this brief, but majestic masterpiece a glorious necessity for all enthusiasts of the genre. Leviathan is definitely a precious and marvelous state of the art work, highly recommended.

Man Against Mankind - Lift Off

post rock

A brief, but poetic immersion towards a recrudescing world of ethereal conflagration, Lift Off ably leads the listener towards a more introspective and interior version of himself. A calm, serene and minimalistic quasi-operatic work that derives the essence of its intrinsic value through the vastness of its sincere and genuine sonorous evaluation, this EP by Man Against Mankind is a rude, but decisive filtration of translucent harmonies eager to revolve around the undermining capacities of reality, determined to descend over a spirit of pure sensibility. With seriously experimental overtones, the audacity of the musician’s style is an experience that reflects the authentic rapture of his creative spirit. With plausible sonorous features that expand the antagonistic principles of its abundant qualities without renouncing the splendor of a glamorous simplicity, Man Against Mankind deserves to be comprehensively inserted in a more singular musical category, given the fact that its aura of original sensibility is highlighted by the fantasy of harmonies impossible to forget.

Infernus Presence - Ice-Cold Souls

black metal

An interesting EP, with a full atmospheric layer of enormous grandiosity, the hazardous and afflictive anxiety that comes out from the imperial harmonies of this grotesquely delightful sound replicates with precision the endemic agony and the intense features that characterize the genre, and its sinister overtones. With a somber expectation that announces an imminent conflagration of unraveling proportions, the melodies that strikes the tissue of infinite possibilities simply reaches a level of splendor that eagerly evolves to a planetary dissension. Perfect as the soundtrack of a really macabre movie, Ice-Cold Souls drives at the core of its majestic opportunities the real lancinating devices exceedingly genuine to the genre. Undoubtedly, it’s a marvelous example of how graceful, dense, subtle and evasive the tempestuous sonorous tissue of atmospheric black metal should be.

Cisza - If it is True What the Prophets Write

black metal / death metal

A majestic and very powerful metal work, with traditional elements brilliantly inserted at the core of the songs, If it is True What the Prophets Write is an elemental journey through the most sincere qualities of an intriguing style, that seems somewhat crossover.

Despite some moments of more generic harmonies, the group displays an intelligent and passionate singular style, that interestingly revives at the heart of its vibrant molecules an amalgamated version of metal. The human virulence of death metal intertwines the efficiency of its brutal coalescence with the furious fastness of black metal, in a sidereal conflagration of melodies, that exhibits fatally hostile harmonies, also abundant in sensible thrash metal intensities. Definitely a memorable work, If it is True What the Prophets Write is a curious and refreshing EP, that deserves to be highlighted at the center of the underground scene.

Yin Waster - Staying Awake, Out On The Rocks

indie / psychedelic / alternative

Somehow I always enjoy these lo-fi bedroom recordings. They showcase a sense of melancholy and solitude and, especially in this case, they showcase the joy of playing music on your own. Yin Waster is Griffin Mang who plays and records sweet, introvert and somewhat psychedelic pop, folk and rock tunes in his bedroom. I think bands like Radiohead have been influencing most of these songs and 'Open 24 Hours' somehow reminds me of Coldplay but in a more honest, introvert way. My favorite is the untitled closer, a song that harbors both joy and melancholy but in a very minimal way. This is nice...

Aleksi Susi - 83 EP

electronic / downtempo

Speaking about something being introvert and nice, here is the new EP by Finnish synth-composer/singer-songwriter Aleksi Susi (Alexanred, A:S:Örchestra, 2 Wolves, Scent of Flesh...). The songs on this EP are electronic downtempo folk songs, a bit gloomy but not completely covered in darkness. Yet, I found it hard to compare this music to other artists. I still do. I mean, Diary Of Dreams comes to mind, but without the gothic overtone. There also seem to be references from the electronic scene of the eighties. My favorites are the two first tracks, especially 'The World Has Changed'. Unusual but nice.

Marginal - Total Destruction

crust / grindcore

Transcending Obscurity

Fucking shitfuck, did I just become a crust/grindcore fan or what? I mean, I wanted to add this album to Brieviews because quite usually these albums are rather one-sided and there is just not much to write about them. I also wanted to promote these guys because they're from Antwerp. But when I started to play 'Barbarians', I was in shock. Here was a perfect industrial sounding crust punk tune blasting through my speakers. Fast, delirious, harsh and intense, just what we need. So I continued listening. 'The Violent Way' is another of my favorites. These guys have just turned crust and grindcore in one of the most immersive pieces of extreme music I've ever heard.

I mean. I know some of these guys. I often see them at gigs but I have never talked to anyone of them and now they present me with one of the most impressive albums in Antwerp (and the world, or as we say "the parking lot") today. Fuck yeah this comes highly recommended.

Fuck On The Beach / Terlarang - Split

grindcore

Whooaaarg

While Marginal came up with impressive and immersive grindcore, this split is definitely something else. Fuck On The Beach from Japan and their colleagues Terlarang from Malaysia deliver a bunch of ill-natured, incomprehensible and deranged grindcore and powerviolence songs to make your eardrums implode. This is utter chaos, raging tempos, collapsed lungs, unintelligible screams and sheer noise. It seems to go on forever, which for a grindcore fan is absolute heaven. So yeah, I would recommend this split album to fans of the extreme but don't come complaining to me if you go insane, ok?

Dirge - Alma | Baltica

post metal / drone

Division Records

French veterans Dirge come up with a massively atmospheric album, based mostly on soundscapes and haunting instrumental passages. Furthermore, I can clearly hear a bunch of industrial influences, especially in the slow but repetitive rhythms. While this one will undoubtedly please fans of drone doom and post metal, I also urge fans of old school "Cold Meat" dark ambient to check this out. This album builds a perfect bridge between these genres. For drone aficionados like me, this is a late but certain end-year list candidate, dark, intense and atmospheric. In other words: perfect.

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Brieviews 31

5/12/2017

Cryptae - Cryptae

death metal

Two guys from The Netherlands, one being the drummer for Dead Neanderthals, wanted to try their hand at death metal. So they got into a recording studio, made heaps of noise and barfed the result on bandcamp. That result is a think, chaotic and brain scattering array of riffs, drums and growls, with the sole intention of decapitating its listener. This is probably what the Dutch call "teringherrie". It's relentless, confusing, intense and harsh. Does that make it recommended? Well, only if you're a seasoned extreme metal fan. If you're not, you might want to stay away from this. It's just not safe...

Clckws - Counter Clockwise

punk / hardcore

Inverted Grim-Mill Recordings

Speaking of things not being safe, here is the debut EP by Zoersel residents Clckws. With fierce, rabid and foaming female fronted hardcore punk, this quartet might want to shake hands with acts like Oathbreaker soon. I mean, the music is as energetic as a Tesla coil and frontwoman Eva barks out her soul with sheer intensity. On this EP they throw eight songs in your face, each one being a severe attack on your sanity. The 17 seconds long 'Blow Up The Boiler Room' almost feels like a Napalm Death song and, like everything else here, this is another brilliant example of "Brutal Belgium". You've been warned.

Lump Hammer - Lump Hammer

sludge metal / noise rock

On the other side of the Channel, more specifically in Newcastle upon Tyne, we find another noise-dragging combi, named Lump Hammer. Think Godflesh on meth, think Napalm Death on LSD, think Conan in a basement instead of a recording studio. These tracks are slow, massive and brutally intense, like a steamroller with spikes driving over your private parts. Something like that, I don't know. All I know is that each second of this EP is a gigantic hammer-blow, driving on swampy guitars, harsh screaming and tormenting drums. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go murder something...

Pile of Priests - Tenebrous Labyrinth

death metal

Nope, we're not slowing down on the intensity on this edition of Brieviews, not yet. First, I'd like to crush your cheeks and eardrums with this magnificent set of progressive death metal songs by Pile Of Priest. Somehow it seems that this trio gets better with every release, and this time their evolution results in a highly interesting EP. With the speed of Krisiun, the progressive nature of Death and the melodic approach of Edge Of Sanity Pile Of Priests should be on their way to the top of the death metal industry. Besides, the EP contains three thrash metal covers, which are all delightful assaults on your neck muscles.

Horror God / Techne - Split

death metal

Lavadome

Horror God

Some more death metal, less progressive and more destructive than the previous one. For this compilation, Horror God and the retiring Techne delivered four blasting tracks each, mosty fast, accompagnied with deep, evil growls and a decent dose of technicality. Fans of bands like Immolation, Suffocation, Gorguts and Autopsy should definitely consider getting their hands on a copy of this split. The tracks by Horror God are simply murderous while Techne adds a dark, mysterious and downright haunting atmosphere to the whole thing. Nope, death metal adepts, there is no reason not to check out this album.

Diary Of My Misanthropy - Leviathan

post rock / post metal

After all that brutality, I need something to calm my nerves and strangely enough I found that with Czech trio Diary Of My Misanthropy. On this EP, the band comes up with a fantastic approach to post rock and post metal. Fantastic because it contains elements from doom and the icy cold atmosphere of depressive black metal. That, and the complex, almost jazz like drums, really make this EP a standout in today's post-whatever scene. Yep, I think this is one for the future but we can only know for sure when we see these guys perform. I sure I hope I'll be able to experience this live one day.

Noydem - A Time Will Come

alternative rock

Another great example of excellent modern day rock music comes from French band Noydem and their impressive EP 'A Time Will Come'. With immersive, catchy alternative rock songs, this guys once again proves how good that country can rock. A decent bunch of rock history comes to mind when I listen to songs like 'Welcome Home', 'Stay' or 'A Place To Live', including Velvet Revolver, Incubus, Foo Fighters and Audioslave. My favorite track is 'Bring Me Down', a potential smash hit but then again, all these songs have a certain hit potential, especially in the alternative music scene. So check it out, this definitely rocks!

Clint Maedgen - cmradio.tv #1

electronic / alternative / experimental / trip hop

Time for something completely different. Clint Maedgen is an American electronic music composer, singer songwriter and visual artist who comes up with weird but infectious pop tunes. One this album you can find eleven experimental and lo-fi trip hop songs. Sometimes Prince comes to mind, sometimes it's Archive-ish and again sometimes I'm reminded Tricky's weirdest moments. Oh, and Ween. Yet, it all comes in a whole different, somewhat silly setting, not necessarily suited for the biggest of festivals. Recommended? Sure, if you like the unusual and absurd regions of the musical universe, you need this

Ric Gordon - Standing Here

indie / alternative rock

Hailing from Kansas City, Ric Gordon delivers another EP is vintage acoustic rock songs with this new EP. It's a welcome deviation from all the heavily distorted guitars I have been through in the past few days. The songs on 'Standing Here' remind me a bit of acts like Lemonheads, R.E.M. and perhaps the Pixies. Indie rock, folk and Americana are the main influences but you can also find a touch of post punk and alternative rock. My favorite track here is 'Rise Above' but I'm sure every fan of good old fashioned acoustic pop rock can easily enjoy this whole EP.

Misto - Helios

post rock

In April I discovered the talented Italian one man post rock band. Now he returns with a beautiful full-length. In six tracks Misto easily manages to keep the listener interested. Opener 'Buried Under Remote Lands' is a brilliant post rock tune, reminding me of God Is An Astronaut while 'Polemic Guy Wants To Fight' seems to combine space rock with punk rock. This is just awesome, daring and inventive. Title track 'Helios' is an instant post rock classic and everything else is just breathtaking. Nah, for real, 'Helios' is simply a perfect and well varied post rock album, one I will be listening to a lot this winter.

Necrodancer - Void

black metal / "funeral grunge"

Lost Pilgrim

French/Belgian horde Necrodancer comes up with a filthy, rough and raunchy approach to evil music. The band claims they play "funeral grunge" and yeah, why not. There is indeed something grungy about this whole thing, like in Nirvana being buttfucked by Satan himself. But for the majority, this album is a punkish version of old school black metal, resulting is heabanging blasters like 'The Necrodancer' and 'The Turning'. So if you want your music pretty and clean, this album will do very nasty things to your sanity. However, if you are one of those filthy, rotten souls who like ass sounds nasty and vile, you need this.

Malefic Levitation - The Ancient Plague

black metal

Sentient Ruin

More putrid insanity comes from Fresno, California evildoers Malefic Levitation and their obliterating debut EP. After a short intro, the duo rages on with chaotic black metal with the melodic sense of a dead rat. For real, this is brutal stuff, often alternated with skull crushing doom metal passages. Yet, most of it drives on pounding blastbeats, insane guitars and haunting screams. As a black metal fan, what else could you possible want? Forget about atmospheric passages or inventive folk stuff, this music represent a set of axes thrown to your head at hitting the spot each and every time. Awesome.

Wren/Slabdragger - Mothers Of The Beef And The Magic Of Invention

sludge metal / doom / krautrock

Holy Roar

Slabdragger

Wren

This is so cool, Slabdragger and Wren releasing a split where the first turns Frank Zappa's 'Muffin Man' into a psychedelic sludge metal experience while the other krautrocks and post-metals the hell out of Captain Beefheart's 'Electricity'. Not only that, but they make it look like fun too, like they had a hell of a time recording these two tracks. So, obviously, you need to check this out. I think it is already my favorite split release this year.

Stefano De Ponti | Eleonora Pellegrini - Physis

ambient / experimental / noise