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Brieviews 58

29/1/2019

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Split/Cross - Rise Of Discontent

hardcore / grindcore / crust
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Pennsylvania trio Split/Cross is seriously pissed off. Formed by members of The Human Race Is Filth and Bittered, Split/Cross delivers eight ferocious tracks, ranging from blackened crust punk over sludge doom to grindcore and even the harsh industrial sound of Nailbomb (in opener 'Blindspot'). That level of variation is not only very welcome but also gives the EP the feel of a concept album. The concept here being "fuck politics, fuck religion, fuck society, fuck humanity", something like that. Fact remains, this eight track is a tremendous kick in the nutsack, aggressive and raging, thus recommended!

Wan - Gammal är äldst

black metal
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More fearsome aggression, this time from Swedish black metal quartet Wan. Formed in 2009, Wan have one mission: hail Satan in the most vile, raw and old school way possible. This five track EP is exactly that. Without any form of compromise, Wan unleash their grinding sound, bases on ear piercing riffs and murderous drums. If you are one of those people who wander through record stores, feeling nostalgic about the nineties and its harsh, gritty and chaotic sound, you definitely need to check out this EP. No doubt, Satan will be extremely pleased with this offering.

BufferState - Anthropy

grunge / alternative metal / progressive rock
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Hailing from the city of Ghent BufferState delivers a very decent mix of stoner rock, alternative rock and metal. Although this is a mix that has been done before, BufferState does manage to create something rather exciting, something you need to listen more than once to fully appreciate. Inspired by bands like Tool, Deftones, Opeth and Alice In Chains, this is one of those Belgian bands to keep an eye on. Perhaps not on this EP but one day they will write and record and huge hit in the alternative scene, I'm certain of that. So, get your hands on this rocker so you can  later tell your friends that you were a fan from the very beginning.

Doomcult - Life Must End

doom
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Dutch one man act Doomcult returns with a good old fashioned doom metal album. Inspired by everything between Trouble and Mournful Congregation, this act delivers an interesting take on the age old genre. In a way, you might compare most of these tracks to funeral doom, slow, melodic and dark. Yet, the vocals are rough, without really grunting, something near sludge doom and those in Cathedral, for example. The result is a satisfying piece of doom metal, highlighting in songs like 'Sulphur' and the cool rocker 'Ashes'. Don't expect anything earth-shattering but an excellently executed set of slow heaviness, which is certainly good enough for me.

Hey Life - Masquerade

alternative rock
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Ever wondered what a good version of the Spin Doctors would sound like? Well, here are French funk rockers Hey Life and their surprisingly infectious debut EP, 'Masquerade'. Opening with the butt-shaker 'Likeholic', this five track is pure pleasure. Although this delves deep into the funk and groove rock of the nineties, there is a high Michael Jackson level in this music, combined with heavy rocking guitars. 'One More Dollar' is one of those tunes that can every festival goer on his feet and shouting 'hey, hey, hey' along with the music. Yeah man, this is pretty darn cool.

Geostygma - The Die Is Cast

death metal
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Here is a lesson in dealing with an album I do not like. French death metal combo Geostygma delivers furious modern day death metal with deathcore elements, tempo switches and pig squeals. Those things are not my favorites. I simply don't like it. However, I do recognize influences from bands like Aborted or Dying Fetus and I do hear that everything on this four track EP is executed to perfection. Within its scene, this definitely is a band to keep an eye on. They know what they're doing and how to maintain a certain quality. The fact that it's not my cup of tea is not Geostygma's fault. Recommended? Sure, if you're into this stuff.

Two Trains Left - Sorry & Pathetic

punk rock
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We're still in France but with something more catchy and listener friendly. Two Trains Left is a relatively new band in the French punk scene, delivering the lighter side of the genre. Think Blink 182, Sum 41, Paramore or Green Day and you're pretty close to what Two Trains Left sound like. Rapid pop punk with melodic grooves and heaps of energy, plus the possibility of having a few fan favorites, that's what you can expect. Besides, while many punk rock bands drown in onesidedness, these dudes manage to be quite diverse and varied. So, punk rockers, put this in your ears and shake that booty.

Liya - Listen

electronic
Blind Mice Productions
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Right, enough with the guitars for now. Let's check what the electronic scene has to offer. Hailing from Israel, singer songwriter Liya comes up with a four track EP, titled 'Listen'. While opener 'Holding On' is a radio friendly EDM track, Liya mostly loves to wander in the regions of synthpop and darkwave. 'No Meaning' showcases that brilliantly and the enigmatic 'Always About You' is a possibly fan favorite. Trip hop act Monophona comes to mind here, which surely is a huge compliment. In all, this is highly enjoyable synthpop, suitable for fans of everything between Depeche Mode and Eurythmics.

I Ya Toyah - Code Blue 

electronic / darkwave / EBM / Industrial
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Another interesting piece of electronic music comes from I Ya Toyah and her in-your-face album 'Code Blue'. With hypnotic beats, harsh synths and gritty electronics, I Ya Toyah brings a somewhat listener friendly version of acts like Atari Teenage Riot or Ambassador 21 and I think Lords Of Acid fans might also enjoy these tunes. Elements of electronic dance music meets with old school industrial and drum & bass, all accompanied by strong vocals. This album contains ten tracks, all coming with a familiar electronic sound but also with some unusual twists and sounds. So yeah, this might be an interesting album to check out if you're into pungent electronics.

Wozniak - The Space Between The Trees

shoegaze
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Hailing from the beautiful city of Edinburgh, Wozniak comes up with a captivating six track EP, loaded with elements from dreampop, psychedelic rock, postpunk, post rock and shoegaze. Yet, for an EP, this thing is quite long, thanks to the massive and mesmerizing track 'Deceiver'. In all, there is forty minutes of pure shoegaze bliss to be found here, from the gloomy opener 'Slacker' onward. So I guess this thing could count as an album and in that case, 'The Space Between The Trees' is a highly promising dreampop album, somewhere between Slowdive and The Jesus And Mary Chain. Shoegazers: you know what do.

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Deep Space Destructors - Visions from the Void

13/12/2018

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psychedelic rock / space rock
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I don't feel so good, probably flu or something. As a token of their empathy, my neighbors decided to start drilling holes in the wall again. Those fuckers have been doing that on a regular basis over the course of a year now. I have no idea what they're doing. Yet, I'm not the complaining type. I look for solutions. Luckily for me, there are two huge Magnat speakers and a mailbox full of awesome music to overrule the neighbours' noise. After all, it's easier to cope with a headache from loud music than a headache from drilling holes in the wall. So I downloaded this album by Deep Space Destructors, twisted the volume know and flew off into the galaxy.

Formed in 2011, Finnish space rock combo Deep Space Destructors have played gigs allover their country. They also released plenty of albums and EP's so far and it seems that their journey is far from over. Their latest effort, 'Visions From The Void' contains five tracks and comes in an interesting array of colored vinyls, plus  digital. So you have plenty to choose from, and if you're a space rock fan, I see absolutely no reason why you should not purchase this album.

This is one of those albums that feels like an EP, even though the average track length is over eight minutes. Inspired by acts like Hawkwind, Eloy, Camel and so on, these Fins come up with elaborate instrumental passages, along with some splendid vocal krautrock parts. That sound already highlights in opener 'Psyche Remade', a near perfect space rock song. Another absolute highlight is 'Tyhjyyden Mantra'. I just love the saxophone solo here.

Perhaps in today's scene, Deep Space Destructors could be compared with a mix of Monkey3, Caudal, Øresund Space Collective and Ozric Tentacles. Yet, as a song like 'Floating' proves, this music can easily stand its ground on any atmospheric music festival. I can easily imagine this band playing Dunk! festival and taking everyone on an epic journey, especially with that brilliant closer 'From The Void'.

So yeah, space rock from an intensely high quality, that is what you get here. You can even download the album for free, but I'd suggest you give these guys some credit and some digital cash. They deserve it. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to twist the volume knob some more and drill space rock holes through walls and skulls....


​Serge


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Toska - Fire By The Silos

28/11/2018

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progressive rock / progressive metal / post metal 
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Fire by the Silos is an album released in the beginning of the month by British instrumental progressive metal group Toska. Sixty four minutes long, the record has nine tracks: The Herd, A Tall Order, Abomasum, Congress, Fire by the Silos, When Genghis Wakes, Ataraxy, Prayermonger and The Heard. An interesting album, that reveals a mature, proficient and very technical band, Toska doesn’t have any fears when experimenting with distinct sounds, synchronicities, cadences, dissonances and interchanging rhythms, interweaving all those elements in a very interesting musical mosaic, with a majestic degree of experimentalism that really makes them an extraordinary musical act, that definitely doesn’t know what a comfort zone is, since their main musical disposition is to disrupt them all.

With an intelligent, diverse and unconventional musical identity, that departs from exceedingly original premises, the music of Toska is bounded by audacity and opulent doses of vertical, dissolute and flexible creativity, despite the fact that their sound is prominently heavy, and they never retreat in the slightest degree the ferocious nature of their music. Nevertheless, I do think that Toska is a band that works better as a live act (but this is just speculation, I never had the privilege of seeing them playing). While their sound is powerful and full of qualities that make their style to be quite exuberant and consistent, Fire by the Silos is a very extensive album, that eventually becomes repetitive, and highly fractured by hazardous levels of predictability and monotony – although these deficiencies, in a general evaluation, doesn’t harm the album in any way –, especially when you fully acknowledge the anatomy, the dynamics and the general propensities of their musical diagram.

Despite their apparent flaws, I must say that Toska has some abrasive and coherent virtues, that definitely consolidates wisely the sensibilities of their style. With rude and tempestuous, but also expansive and serene harmonies, they advance vigorously towards experimental territory with more bravery, tenacity, cohesion and graciousness than most bands do, with a level of creativity and security that is definitely above the ordinary standards.   

But I feel they pushed some of their most organic and vital musical elements too far on this album, revealing too much of them. When the album finishes, you feel saturated, without the curiosity or the need to listen to more of their stuff. Toska has to learn to leave the audience with the “I want more” taste, that is the basic premise of conquest. Of course, this is only my personal evaluation about Fire by the Silos. But, like I wrote some lines above, I do feel that they are the type of band that simply sounds perfect in a live performance, being Toska one of those acts that are just made for live concerts, rather than records. Despite this observations, I should point it out that Fire by the Silos – regardless of minor deficiencies – is an interesting, aggressive, pungent and exhilarating record, that elaborates dispersive and severely dilacerating atmospheres, that makes universes collide, in the rapturously extreme dissonances that falls over the strenuous harmonies of their elegant and very abrasive sound, with versatile dispositions that definitely makes Toska one of the most promising acts in their genre, active nowadays in the contemporary underground scene.  


Wagner

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Halocraft - Chains For The Sea

27/11/2018

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post rock / progressive rock
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Chains For The Sea is an album released in November 11, by Greek post rock group Halocraft. A little more than forty minutes long, the record has nine tracks: Under the Waves she Sleeps, The Daughter you've Always Wanted, Vertigo, the Desire to Fall, Chains for the Sea, In Orbit, Those who sow winds, It has Awaken, False Vacuum and She speaks of stars. With beautiful, passionate and delicate harmonies, this album is marvelous, despite the fact that, after some time, becomes relatively predictable. Nevertheless, there is a genuine beauty and a wonderfully poetic fragrance, deeply attached to its virtuous melodies, which definitely makes this interesting and gracefully expressive work totality worthwhile of your time, despite some minor and obvious limitations. 

With a progressive layout embellished by gracious and creatively majestic guitar lines – albeit moderately inclined to a hyperbolic, but genuine melodic pretension – there is a wonderful degree of vivacity gravitating around the sensational axis of a colorful musical conjuncture, that balances towards the fertile density of its own sonorous anatomy. The sound of the band is fundamentally organic, and reorganizes its own volatile proclivities according to a very intuitive pragmatism.

The gracious, calm and delicate vividness of its colorful harmonies is the most exceptional element present on Chains For The Sea, although the group rapidly tends to lose its moderation, and to be excessively dispersive in the continual development of a revolving musical tissue, that converges to an indefinitely expansive atmosphere generated primarily by guitar driven melodies. Nevertheless, what we have here is a very decent and cohesive result, that not only understands the logic of its own vicissitudes, but displays an elaborate set of vividly poetic sonorous tonalities, that are profusely elongated with its own infinite methodic layout, that never seeks the end of its own personal universe of fragile melancholy. The final track is a vocal track, that closes in an elegant and elusive style this graciously crafted work.  

While Chains For The Sea is not a magnificent album, the work has strong qualities, and a satisfactory level of originality, vigorously displayed by the enthusiastic sincerity of its musical synergy. Departing from audaciously pungent and creative virtues, highlighted by a sensibility that seriously seeks the splendor of its own introspective serenity through the waves of formidable and delicate symphonies, this album definitely is a captivating sonorous experience. Despite the fact that the group eventually disperses its musical grace by undertaking a drastic, severe and excessive dive into its qualities, extending them too much beyond the boundaries of virtuosity, and sacrificing their triumph by making a sound that eventually becomes too homogeneous, Chains For The Sea remains an interesting work to be delightfully appreciated, despite its minor deficiencies. 
 

Wagner

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Brieviews 54

25/11/2018

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Syrinx - There Is Distance Between Us

drone / ambient
Sombre Soniks
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It feels so good to see English trio Syrinx return. Sombre Soniks releases their first album since 2011 and it's a gem. 'There Is A Distance Between Us' is one long sonic meditation, fifty nine minutes long. It opens with slowly meandering drones and soundscapes, quiet, at times impending. Calmly, a whole story develops, carried by mysterious sounds and eerie atmospheres. I guess it's safe to compare this album to artists like Troum, Vidna Obmana or Rapoon: gloomy ambient soundscapes best to be enjoyed with eyes closed and mind open. This certainly is a nice comeback.

Mule Skinner – Airstrike 

death metal / grindcore
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Formed in 1990, Mule Skinner is a death/grindcore band from New Orleans USA.  Airstrike is their comeback album, twenty three years after their debut Abuse. Their heavy neck breaking underground grindcore works addictive. Time has passed but the sound of Mule Skinner is still crushing skulls and bones. Deep venomous vocals and high speed riffs blowing even your wall paper away. The bass tunes have a very important contribution in this recording. Airstrike is an album with evincive grindcore. Thirteen songs of blasting power. Highly recommended to fans of Terrorizer and the early Brutal Truth.

Stone Wired – Habitual Discomfort

death industrial / dark ambient
Exabyss Records
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Stone Wired is a project of Mortum (Gyorgy Turoczy), released on his own Underground Death Ambient Label From Hungary, but active in the USA. The sinister deep industrial sounds work like a suffocation machine. Stone Wired explores the boundaries of dark ritual music. Harsh electronics are used to make the listener aware of the habitual discomforts of life. The artist has already released dozens of tapes and cdr’s. He creates sounds and noise with other aliases like Human Vault and Odour Sonour too. If you like dark and obscure underground electronics, Stone Wired will be your perfect guide.

I Am Waiting For You Last Summer - Together

post rock / ambient / electronic
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Russian act I Am Waiting For You Last Summer is one of those bands who explore genre boundaries without limitations. Loved and respected by electronic, ambient, downtempo, post-rock and alternative pop communities, these Russians have played over 200 shows allover Europe, including Dunk! Now they come with a sweet and enjoyable three-track EP, 'Together'. The three songs are short but they will warm up your day and bring a smile to your face with their. It's Explosions meets Plaid or Mogwai meets Boards Of Canada but most of all it's gentle, soothing music that deserves a place in your collection.

Brad Couture - Strung - Vol. I

ambient / classical
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Brad Couture delivers another beautiful breather in a rough and busy world. For that, he only needs a piano and a tiny bit of electronics. The two songs on 'Strung Vol.1' are short minimalistic piano pieces, 'Pleiades' and 'Radial', coming with a strong feeling of melancholy. It's easy to imagine vast wintry landscapes or scenes with broken-heart people while listening to this music. If you are a fan of cinematic ambient and slow piano melodies, you don't want to miss out on this one. Put these two tunes in your winter-playlist and the darkest of seasons will shine a little brighter this year.

Comatose Vigil A.K. - Evangelium Nihil

funeral doom
Non Serviam Records
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Seven years after 'Fuimus, non Sumus...', funeral doom trio Comatose Vigil A.K. return with a new album. 'Evangelium Nihil' contains four tracks, four monolithic pieces of funeral doom metal, containing all the ingredients that make this genre so attractive. Slow, torpid music, driving on droning guitars, sluggish drums and deep growls. Fans of the band and fans of Esoteric, Evoken, Shape Of Despair and so on can easily trust Comatose Vigil A.K. to deliver the sonic burial they crave so much. This album is a walk in the darkest and deadliest labyrinths of the human soul, one which every funeral doomster will adore.

Dxvxdxd Sxlf - Of Wolves & Men

gothic rock / alternative / metal
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Dxvxdxd Sxlf (read, Divided Self) is a French band with a lot of symbolism and a lot of influences, from literature about madness and insanity to dark rock bands like Moonspell, IAMX and Deftones. Their first effort is a four track (+ four unplugged versions) EP which is quite hard to comprehend. Opener Under The Gaze Of Christ' seems influenced by gothic metal and melodic black metal but suffers from rather unfitting vocals. These vocals perform better, more powerful on the groovy doom/post track 'Dreamer On Ecstasy' and the gothrocker 'The Path'. In all, this is an interesting EP, not a smasher but a nice introduction to a band that is still finding a solid sound.

Shelther - When Comes The Flee

drone / ambient / folk
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Here we go again, a drone/ambient release by a member of one of Belgium's many (sludge) metal bands, something that almost always sounds interesting. Shelter is the solo project from Lethvm's drummer Antoine Matthys. With 'When Comes the Flee' he delivers a one-track EP, lasting over thirty minutes and bathing in atmosphere. Armed with a guitars and a bunch of effects, Shelher steps into the same forest where Ashtoreth, Stratosphere, Syndrome and CHVE wander. Opening with folkish guitar plucks, this track grows, evolves and narrates, beautifully honoring this tradition of Belgian drone ambient. Brilliant piece, highly recommended!

Temple Music - Εποχές Vol. II

dark ambient 
Sombre Soniks
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Alan Trench returns with two new pieces of sonic meditation, good for a total of over forty minutes of droning soundscapes and cosmic ambient. 'Summer Dominoes' is a lengthy sound exploration, evolving in an almost unstable manner. Minimalism certainly is the keyword here, even the term 'I-Dose' comes to mind. This is music to meditate to, thus perhaps my favorite of the two. Track two, 'Laughing In The Tower' is more complex, darker and also noisier. Here, haunting voices appear, along with vague melodies and eerie soundscapes. Yet, if you want your music to narrate strange adventures, you need this one.

Hey Life - Masquerade

alternative rock / funk rock
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What would happen if Jamiroquai and Queens Of The Stone Age crawl into a studio? Well, French rockers Hey Life might come close to that. One part of the band is hooked on alternative rock while the others have the funk floating through their veins. The result is this uplifting five-track EP, loaded with energetic rock songs for the whole family to enjoy. It's not every day that Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pulp, Rage Against The Machine ànd Michael Jackson come to mind when I listen to an album. For some reason, these songs are infectious and sheer fun. Dancing is recommended, smiling is obligatory. 

Rosalyn - Single Mother

indie / dreampop
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Rosalyn was born right after the release of  'Heiligenstadt', The View Electrical’s sophomore album. Vocalist Frédéric Aellen wanted to create something more intimate and acoustic so he locked himself up with a guitar and a laptop. The result is a four-track EP, moving into the regions of dreampop, slow/sadcore and indie pop. In a way, the songs here are bittersweet pop songs, powerful enough to entertain people in front of a stage but intimate enough to guide emotions in a lonely bedroom. My favorite here is the piano version of 'Rusty' but I'm sure many people will adore these melodies.

I Hate Models - Spreading Plague 

industrial / electronic
Perc Trax
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Let's finish this set of Brieviews with something completely different. It might look like a death metal album but don't get I Hate Models wrong: this is nutkicking industrial hardcore techno, or something like that. I guess you can compare this to Horrorist meeting Combichrist making it perfect for acid rave-caves and gothic industrial parties alike. Hell, even rhythmic noise freaks can get their much needed shots of electronic aggression. The single comes with a remix and an extra track, 'Martial Order'. So put on your dancing boots and stomp the night away.



​Serge (2 & 3 by Patsker)
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Ok Seas - Ok Seas

15/11/2018

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indie rock/ experimental rock
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ok seas is an album released by an eponymous indie rock British musical act, from Portsmouth, in early October. Only forty-three minutes long, the record has twelve relatively brief tracks: sad synth, huh, chime guitar, organ bells, short #15, clap drum, tremolo robot, player piano, yamaha sigh, sure sure, big spiel and bow arp. With simple, but charming songs – despite some limitations – ok seas is a decent album, fluid and somewhat melancholic in tone, majorly influenced by the poignantly affluent commonalities of slow and sentimental indie rock. 

While definitely not fabulous nor original, the work certainly has decent qualities. Departing from a conventional layout – with some passages clearly looking as fragments arranged to compose a mosaic of dissonant cadences –, the virtual elasticity of the harmonies is a common resource constantly inserted over its intuitive latent sequences, agglutinated in the downward periphery of its sensitive sonorous contingencies, worn out by some restrictions. It’s also easy to perceive a concentrated, tough soft melodic structure, and a very cohesive sonorous identity, that is delicately tied together to propitiate a sensible artistic unity to the work. With a musical technique that is gracefully efficient, the dilated harmonies fulfil its colorful dispositions with sincere and profoundly melancholic exasperations, as the melodies walk away throughout the axis of its linear platform exposing the solitary sensibility of its ordinary fugacious splendor. 

Definitely, the album is more strictly valuable by the stability of its precise technique, than anything related to its creative elements, that are drastically more limited and predictable, resenting itself to a composite layout of sameness. Nevertheless, ok seas is a listenable album, good, decent, emotional, that will not aggregate too much on your personal musical universe, but has some qualities that extracts in the calmness of its musical atmosphere a discreet level of beauty, that has produced a handful of songs, good enough to please enthusiasts of soft indie rock.

A modest album with good melodies, ok seas – as a band – needs to become more versatile and audacious. They have demonstrated some good qualities on this album, but they have to learn how to expel monotony, and efficiently, to surprise their audience with more pungent and unpredictable tunes. They already proved with this record that they are good doing calmer and flavored sentimental cantilenas, but an entire album of emotional soft songs can be too tedious to hold it out for forty-five minutes. Definitely, they have to aggregate other elements into their music, as they have talent and potential to convert their work into a more dynamic and versatile art.  


Wagner

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Tangled Horns - Superglue for the Broken

7/11/2018

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alternative rock / stoner rock / grunge
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One might wonder, "what's in the Belgian waters?" Bands and releases are popping up by the minute here. A rock band in that corner, a noise act over there and a trip-hop act in another place, it never seems to end in this little country. To answer that question: I don't think it's in the water. It's what Belgians do with that water. We turn it into beer, another thing we have been doing for ages, and pretty damn good too. It's a magical chemical process, turning ingredients into something almost otherworldly. The same goes for our music industry, people come together and create magical chemistry. 

Another one in the never-ending tsunami of Belgian releases is 'Superglue For The Broken' by Antwerp residents Tangled Horns. Influenced by rock music of all ages, from the psychedelics of the sixties & seventies to the raunchy grunge scene of the nineties, Tangled Horns invite the listener to a wicked ride of their rock 'n roll rollercoaster. In short: 'Superglue For The Broken' is a groovy-ridden powerhouse that can get any rock 'n roll heart beat a little faster.

Of course, these days you can't write and record a decent rock album without adding a heap of influences. The most obvious reference on this album is Alice In Chains, whose sound shines through in opener 'Shadow (A Personal Piece Of Darkness)' and in 'The Timeline Is A Noose'. Loaded with groove and power, these two tunes can easily get any rock party started, and metalheads will join in on the fun.

Other bands that come to mind include Soundgarden, Kyuss, Queens Of The Stone Age and The Foo Fighters. That surely makes one interesting list. But, even if it's all in good fun, Tangled Horns also show a well-thought out, mature sound. It's not a bunch of youngsters messing around in a rehearsal studio. It's five bearded dudes paying tribute to the one thing that kept them living their lives the way they do: alternative rock.

'In The Now' clearly shows that. Along with the aforementioned songs, this is my favorite here, a strong rock song that aims for a spot in the grunge-classics lists. On the noisy, gritty 'Beautiful Flaw', Faith No More even comes to mind, combined with either Led Zeppelin or Brant Bjork. Yes, I can easily imagine these tunes rolling over big, crowded meadows next summer. I can see people dancing on 'Destination Tipping Point', go nuts on 'Magnificent Maniac' or make sweet love on 'Icebound'.

So if you're looking for a groovy, versatile and immersive rock album, you should really give this one a change. Once again, a local band proves my point about this country's musical underground (read 'Belgium Rock City' - Dutch only). Naturally I will recommend this to every fan of decent rock music. 


​Serge

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Bienwolf - Blasphemy Alley

1/11/2018

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progressive rock / experimental rock
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Blasphemy Alley is an album released in early September by progressive rock group Bienwolf, from Pune, India. A marvelous and thoroughly sensible album that catches the listener from the beginning, this is an unbelievably strong, marvelous and gracious rock album, energized to the fullest by a deeply inspirational and creative authorial sound. The first song, Vampa's Lore, begins with a wonderfully dense piano, that immediately takes over the melody by storm, and you feel inherently compelled to listen to the whole work until the end. Despite being excessively concise – with only thirty one minutes, that feels like only five –, the album has a powerful musical strength, that becomes evident by the solid cohesiveness of the songs. The exceedingly majestic originality of the music, with a smooth, reflexive and serene sound that grows from the sincere, but lunar melancholy of its notes, makes every song on this record a treasure with its own charismatic flavor.   

Probably one of the most marvelous albums that I’ve ever heard, Blasphemy Alley is humanely poetic, and the melodies flow naturally, like the rain after a hot afternoon; you just expect it to happen, but not with such a vast, tempestuous and astutely atypical grace. With fragility, patience and a rational flavor that adds a sensational splendor to the musical surface, the group really has made some simple songs, with a glorious level of creative sensibility, that really strikes the listener at an emotional level, with a genuine, reliant and formidable sense of artistry, that reflects a superb level of audacity, that keeps modest and discreet at the insight of its own unquestionable greatness.   

With only five songs – Vampa's Lore, Catch 22, Masquerader, Descent and Simbelmyne – the only bad thing on this album is the already mentioned conciseness. Nevertheless, this is easy to solve, after the album was finished, I’ve started to listen to it again. It’s easy to notice that the general style of the group is simple, but the eagerness and objectivity of its melodies contrasts highly with the astonishingly marvelous level of profoundness and fearless, unbound and gracious creativity of its rhythmical procedures. Penetrating the human graces of the heart without being overtly romantic nor sentimental, Bienwolf has really conceived one of the most glorious and inventive albums in modern independent rock history. 

A fantastic album that opens and understands new possibilities for the genre without disrupting its basic premises, nor exhausting the fortunes of its artistic sonorous signature, Blasphemy Alley is a wonderful, sincere and splendorous work of art, that deserves and has all the necessary qualities to make history.   


Wagner

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Slow Crush - Aurora

1/11/2018

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alternative rock / post punk
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Aurora is an album released in the end of September, by Belgium alternative rock band Slow Crush. Almost thirty-five minutes long, the record has eight tracks: Glow, Drift, Tremble, Shallow Breath, Aid and Abet, Collide, Beached and Aurora. Already in the first song, the fabulous, fantastic and thunderous Glow, the band struck precisely the epicenter of the most dense, infamous and great standards of melodious heaviness, with powerful guitar lines and absolutely furious drums, eager to completely destroy and dilacerate all the decadent patterns of normality. With a formidable level of sonorous audacity that highlight their authorial musical strength, Slow Crush is an exceptional band, that goes directly to the point, and knows how to make a great record, with a somewhat simple, but efficient musical formula. 

Despite the fact that the band rapidly alternates to a more modest, quiet and sentimental tone, the sound of Slow Crush can generally be qualified as moderately aggressive and rude, but even then, delivers with candid and methodic proficiency its sincerely humane sonorous graciosity. The album delivers mostly splendid cantilenas, with more quiet, poetic and charismatic passages, where the extensive serenity of an emotional density hits the harmonies, favoring quite a balanced and versatile musical universe to the audience, that certainly will be surprised all the way through, as the album isn’t monotonous nor predictable. The subtle change in tone from the tracks at the beginning, that are more aggressive, contrasts brightly with the rest of the album, that is definitely more philosophic, dense, emotional and serene – though this mood interchanges occasionally –, and the unexpected element is one of the greatest triumphs of the group. 

With a marvelous sonorous style, that definitely enchants by the fragrant tenacity of its beauty, the flavored and colorful harmonies that Slow Crush delivers in Aurora are generally quite slow, aggrandizing and simple, but in the end, the group showcases all the beauty, elegance and effervescent grace of its marvelous sonorous tonalities, that juxtaposes the sentimental placidity of its musical nature,  with its more hostile – though filled with the emotional contrivances of a lyrical sensibility – perceptions of the world. 

In the end, Aurora reveals itself to be a very good and majestic album. With a very personal, precise and characteristic style, the group has definitely conceived a very peculiar work of art, that deserves to become a reference in the alternative underground rock scene. 



Wagner

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Pijn - Loss

1/11/2018

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rock’n’roll / hard rock/ noise rock / experimental
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Loss is an album released on October 26 by British hard rock act Pijn. Sixty-six minutes long, the record has eight tracks: Denial, Detach, Distress, Blanch, Blush, Unspoken, Squalor and Squander. With a very flexible degree of artistry, the musicality of Pijn goes to both extremes: it can be furiously aggressive and dangerously brutal, as well as expressively calm, melodic and majestically virtuous. This is already noticeable in the first two songs: Denial is a virulent anthem of hazardous and protuberant aggression, while Detach is a serene and soft serenade of introspective melancholy. The album in general has a proverbial density that speaks for itself, although it is very accessible on the sensibility of its methodic and direct easiness, as well as playful and modest on its scale of ambitions.

While the album seems redundant at first – at least in the longer songs –, the musicality of the group, though appears to be simple, is profoundly rooted in a coherent style, that explores systematically the fugacious elements of the melodies, while delivering a deliberately generous and cosmic flamboyant eccentricity to the more dispersive virtues of its placid tonalities, formally engraved in a graceful nostalgia, that easily comes out of sound. Trying to recover lost time in the primordial vicinities of a life that is no longer there, the occasionally almost minimalist style of Pijn is a free deliverance of joy. In the course of this fascinating musical journey, it becomes more than that: a vivid celebration of life, that personally undertakes a realm of sincere melancholy to rescue the genuine golden elements of rock’n’roll, with the firm resolution to compose in a singular piece of paradise the purity, the liberty and the glory that became lost in the sands of time, though they are never restricted to this genre in particular. Their creativity is limitless and boundless. So much so, that in the process of delivering the sound, they develop their own eccentric, playful and peculiar style.   

While the heaviness of the guitar lines is the element that mostly stands out, the adherence of precise notes extending its anesthetic poignant devices in the occasional reverberations of latent melodies never divides the sensibilities of its dramatic soul. They patiently, but anxiously highlight the proverbial qualities of the album: as Loss evolves, the salutary epicenter of the music becomes more philosophic, serene, diluted and dense, although the music itself becomes lighter, digressive and effectively dispersive. 

Occasionally, you will hear awesome screaming vocals, in slow passages delivering the color of agony and despair, in the style of post-hardcore and straight edge; although the album is mostly instrumental. Given its extensive length, the record is somewhat subjected to a certain redundancy; but the sound in general is very sober, somber and delightful, able to satisfy anyone who is expecting the unexpected, with a very clean dose of melancholy, anger, hostility, despondency, acceptance, conformity and exhilaration. Not in this particular order, of course. But be positive that you certainly are going to deeply enjoy Loss.  


Wagner

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