Category: Shoegaze

Sons of Morpheus - The Wooden House Session

psychedelic rock / garage rock / stoner rock

Swiss psychedelic blues rock trio Sons Of Morpheus deliver a scorching hot slab of desert rock with this six track EP. Opener 'Doomed Cowboy' is a gritty piece of music, heavy on the jams and gloomy in nature. From then on, the trio takes you on a jam fueled trip where CCR meets Karma To Burn. 'Loner' is a solid rocker and 'Nowhere To Go' is a smashing piece of modern day, old fashioned grunge music. By the end, the so-called "Never Ending Version'" of 'Slave' aims to get you into a blues loaded state of trance. So if you're into raunchy jam driven blues rock, this is a must-have.

The Wøøøh - Music For Weddings And Funerals

experimental / jazz / drone / ambient

Ormo Records

I don't know what kind of weddings and funerals the members of free jazz quartet The Wøøøh usually go to, but I do know that my family would run and never return with this kind of stuff. Not that it's bad, on the contrary. My family just isn't into intense jazz music. I'd never invite them to a Yodok III gig, for example, which is probably the closest reference I can mention. The first of the two tracks on this album is a lengthy anthem, opening with drones and vague melodies before bursting out in a frenzy of free jazz fueled chaos. The second varies on a similar theme. Both are baffling, that's fore sure.

Clouds Taste Satanic - Evil Eye

doom / stoner rock

American instrumental stoner doom combo Clouds Taste Satanic have never disappointed and they seem loyal to that tradition. Their new album, 'Evil Eye' contains two twenty minutes lasting anthems, the title track and 'Pagan Worship'. With titles like that, I think it's obvious what to expect: occult driven doom metal, loaded with psychedelic solos and gut wrenching riffs. Fans of acts like Earth, Bongzilla and Pelican will certainly appreciate these lengthy narrative tunes. I know I do. Like I said, these guys never disappoint. 'Evil Eye' is simply the next step in the elaborate sonic world they create, and a brilliant one as well.

Experiment#508 - Light Is Lunacy

drone / ambient / experimental / noise

Attenuation Circuit

A strange and often uneasy album, 'Light Is Lunacy' balances on the edge between experimental ambient and industrial noise. The atmosphere is dark. The music is loaded with eerie soundscapes and impending drones. Yet, the tracks on this album are surprisingly varied. There is the occult driven opener 'Summoning The Madness' or the minimal 'Gnostic Prayer'. There is percussion and ear drum testing drones. 'Firestorm' is harsh and unforgiving while closer 'Obelisk' feels like being locked up in a nuclear facility, waiting for the inevitable. In all, this is a remarkable set of haunting noises.

Itai - Awake / Asleep

electronic / techno

Gary Numan meets Author & Punisher, that was my first thought when I listened to the six tracks on this abstract electronic techno album. Well, techno might not be the correct term. I think I prefer the phrase "harsh synth pop" for most of these tunes, including 'The Greatest' the impending 'Asleep'. Don't expect repetitive beats and lame vocals but instead prepare for mechanic soulsearching and a massively futuristic sound. My personal favorite here is the friendly 'Adream', a neat downtempo tune. But, as usual, I recommend checking out the entire EP. This is an interesting approach to modern day electronic music.

Folian - Ache Pillars

drone / doom / shoegaze

Apneic Void Sounds

Hailing from Portland and inspired by everything between Nine Inch Nails and Neurosis, one man project Folian comes up with a doom-loaded take on shoegaze. This four track EP can be seen as a successful crossover between Jesu and Slowdive with its sluggish tempos, its subdued but emotional vocals and its walls of guitars. 'Ghost In The Flesh' is a stunning piece of music. Closer 'Where All This Dust Comes From' is my favorite, a long and slowly developing drone-gazer, reminiscent of acts like Nadja. In all, this is an interesting EP, one which every droner out there should check out.

Phillip Wilkerson – Sublime Silence

ambient

This American artist has already released an immense amount of work since he started composing ambient space music. Phillip Wilkerson had several collaborations with other ambient artists like Litmus0001, Silvie Walder, Mystified and the very underrated French ambient artist Lucette Bourdin (1954-2011). Phillip Wilkerson is together with Jourdan Laik the duo behind the deep listening project Time Being.
The spacey soundscapes of Sublime Silence make you feel like driftwood floating without any hesitation into an ocean of relaxation and peace. With soft guidance the music takes the listener towards the borders of immense

equanimity. Those twenty minutes of Sublime Silence contain healing and reposeful sounds which are welcome in this over-stressed society we live in. If you are into this kind of meditative sound creations, there is a lot to discover from this artist on his Bandcamp page.

Sílení – Long Forgotten Bowers

ambient / dark ambient

Eighth Tower Records

If you are curious and longing for a dark ambient trip like you never had before, Sílení could be the treasure you’ve been looking for. This release on Raffaele Pazzalla’s (a.k.a. SONOLOGYST) Eight Tower Records label contains nine outstanding pieces of ambient and dark ambient soundscapes. The project Sílení is in fact the alias of the Portuguese musician Valter Abreu, some may recognize his name from his progressive black metal project Necromanther.
The strange, capricious creations on this digital release are spellbinding soundscapes which evoke mysterious paths of unknown and hidden awareness.

Dark and melancholic moods change into spacey ambient tonalities, sometimes kittenish, other times filled with doom. The world of Sílení is covered with alienated sounds and moods. This is an excellent piece of work. Dark ambient lovers, if you listen to Sílení’s Long Forgotten Bowers, you will get hooked. We sure did!

Empty Chalice – Mother Destruction

dark ambient

Toten Schwan Records

‘The preparation of Mother Destruction was attended by a person who ‘no longer exists’and which is not mentioned in any passage…’ are very strange introducing words that accompany, this Italian dark ambient release in the press folder. The brain behind Empty Chalice is Antoninne A. The weird atmosphere of this recording spreads death, doom and melancholic darkness. The tracks are build up with grim soundscapes mixed with noisy samples, industrial vibrations and ritual ambiance.
Antoninne A. had some guests featuring on the album. Ashtoreth (Peter Verwimp), Rare Form and Kurgan Hors were able to lift

Mother Destruction above standards in this genre. The album is a varied piece of work caught in a deep haunting, emotional prison. Sacrifice and dedication are translated in penetrating sounds and choruses. The nightmare never seems over in this pungent journey of hellish fires.
Another quote from Empty Chalice: ‘… the lost ones are retracing the path of the oldest fairy tale: coming home’. Well, we did come home and we still feel home between the moods and vibes of this wonderful dark ambient recording.

NIMH – Beyond The Crying Era

dark ambient

Winter Light

The Winter-Light label has a special gift and sharp nose for talented electronic artists, devising unusual and out of the box sound architecture. Nimh is an avant-garde, deep ambient, industrial electronic project formed by the multi-instrumentalist and sound designer Giuseppe Verticchio. His distorted drones mixed with dark ambient blasted unexpectedly and without mercy through our headphones. The enormous sound waves made us gasp for air and left us speechless after the first track.
Beyond The Crying Era is a selection of dark ambient and experimental tracks recorded

over a ten year period. Nimh is active since 2001 and has already more than twenty physical albums released. Sound chasers will be pleased and excited with the multi-layering of soundscapes, field recordings, voices and the experimental manipulations of samples this album contains. The sustained drones create darkened and emotive moods. Beyond The Crying Era is an outstanding soundtrack for a SF/horror movie that does not exist. It’s time to dig deeper in Nimh’s music history. Speaking about a discharge!

Anantakara – Momentum Lapses

dark ambient

Anantakara, is a Belgium based project from Philippe Wauman. His meditative music is more than just ambient. He prefers to call himself a sound calligrapher who engenders a blend of ambient, electronica, neoclassical and ethnic jazz. Philippe Wauman is also member of the Belgian ambient trio Aerodyn.
The music has a calming effect without entering the path of flatness. The combinations of jazzy tunes and different approaches in adding diverse electronic sounds make this album an interesting piece of work. Slow repeating rhythms deliver a tension, high enough to grasp the listener into

the world of Anantakara. We’ve noticed psychedelic influences appearing in the mysterious structures of the tracks. The eight adventurous ambient pieces on Momentum Lapses are filled with a variety of lovely compositions and moods. Rumors told us that this album will be released on CD in the future. Anantakara stands for “ to make infinite” in Sanskrit. In some way this album does.

Serge (1-6)
Patsker (7-11)

Amp - Entangled Time

21/2/2019

ambient / post rock

Sound In Silence

The high quality label Sound In Silence release the brand new album by London, UK based duo AMP. Formed in 1992 by Richard F. Walker, AMP has been cooperating with an impressive list of artists so far, including members from bands like Flying Saucer Attack, Part Chimp and Loop. You can find an extended list on the bandcamp page.

In recent years, Amp became the duo of Walker and and Karine Charff. 'Entangled Time' is their first studio record since 2011 and the first release on Sound In Silence since their collection of live recordings 'Switched On And Live', released in 2016.

The album contains five tracks and delves in the world of electronic music, shoegaze, post rock and ambient. Opener 'Drifting' is a slowly meandering ambient track with minimal shoegaze or dreampop vocals. Fennesz comes to mind here and so does Loveliescrushing. With droning bass lines and heaps of guitar effects, Amp creates and minimal but often overwhelming sound. If you add electronic beats, resembling acts like Gas (Wolfgang Voigt), you get a gloomy dancefloor filler, which is exactly what 'Will-O Dreams' is. Unexpected beats but nice.

For excellence in minimalism, you have to check out 'Opal Tears', a slowly meandering blend of drones and soundscapes. The album closes with an extended remix of 'Will-O Dreams'. Sixteen minutes long, repetitive and immersive. If any song deserves the sentence "Dancing With Tears In My Eyes", it's probably this one. The almost industrial beats beneath the wailing guitars and lingering vocals of Charff will certainly get you in a state of trance.

Neat album, and another one of those must-have gems from Sound In Silence.

Serge

Brieviews 58

29/1/2019

Split/Cross - Rise Of Discontent

hardcore / grindcore / crust

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Shipwreck Karpathos - Deviations

15/12/2018

shoegaze / alternative / electronic

Shipwreck Karpathos is one of those bands that you simply love, but you don’t know precisely why. The intrinsic and majestic poetry that seems inherent to their sound makes you float through the infinite ages of a cosmogony that is designed by their music using a highly versatile sensibility, easy to follow, but hard to passionately rationalize. And to define their splendidly peculiar style – especially this album – is no easy task, since they make use of a wide range of elements, that creates labyrinths of inextricable sensitivity on the translucent oceans of your conscience, never limiting themselves to established musical ideas, or easily predictable formulas.

Deviations is an interesting, effective and visionary work, since it is filled by remixes of other artists; so, what we have here, basically, is the creative nucleus of Shipwreck Karpathos, adorned on the exterior sonorous features of its composite musical layout by harmonies conceived by a versatile team of artists. The final result is, indeed, intriguing, unpredictable and ostensibly amazing.

The album has an abundant and splendid virtuosity, that reluctantly and subtlety reclaims in the diagram of its eloquent qualities the highlight of its rapturous and organic impulses: the third track – Bring Down The Sky (Metavari's Prelude Redesign) – is an intermittent, but poetic, serene, delusional and profoundly dense rhapsody, that effectively makes your sensibilities to drive high on the dispersive energy of its ambivalent, but pungent mordacity. You are simply submerged drastically into an abstract universe of sagaciously obliterated parameters, that doesn’t respond to ordinary sequences, nor feel the reality as a cohesive diagram of emotions.

Although by the middle of the album, the sound becomes more homogeneous, the primary qualities of the work are not affected. The perfect soundtrack for an endless dream that never seeks the arbitrary paradigm of a coherent layout, Deviations is an interesting experiment in sound, that definitely stands out for its audacious, stable and pure creativity. A formidable mosaic of effectively playful and transient musical dispositions, Deviations certainly deserves to be highlighted by its lucid originality, and sensationally graceful musical style.

Wagner

Mesozoic - Earth Alone

27/11/2018

post rock / dream pop

While publishing the reviews written by Wagner and Patsker, I played this new album by Townsville, Australia based one-man post rock act Mesozoic. I remembered his sound from his 2014 album 'Welcome, Girl. Our Second Sun Shines for You', while Wagner took care of 'We Create Because All Will End'. Both of us were quite impressed by what Owen Davis had produced so both albums came highly recommended. Now Mesozoic returns with 'Earth Alone', firmly following his own path within the world of slow and atmospheric music. This new album shows a matured sound, and once again I'm hoping for a full-band performance in the near future but that probably won't happen.

The album opens with 'Synodic' which rather quickly sets the tone: strong, potent post rock, laced with ambient soundscapes. The track seems to doubt between being a full song or a mere intro but that doesn't spoil the fun. On the contrary. It promises good things to come. 'Always The Same' is one of those good things. Mostly thanks to the subdued vocals, this songs balances between post rock and dreampop. Someone is a Slowdive-fan, I guess. Yet, this first real highlight is the single 'Suns', a classic post rock anthem, honoring the blissful tradition of the genre. Someone is also a God Is An Astronaut fan, I think, but that's perfectly fine.

'The Earth Alone Will Outlast Us All' is a lengthy track with vocal samples and heaps of atmosphere. This is pretty much how blind people watch movies, and I suggest you close your eyes while playing this song. A strange and warning story will unfold while the lingering guitars guide the way. So far, this album already shows plenty of variation, and then there is 'Sidereal', a downtempo electronics tune that nudges more towards Boards Of Canada than to Explosions In The Sky. This one too seems to doubt between being a full song or a tweener but most of all it's just a nice tune to listen to.

The second part of this album continues Mesozoic's typical post rock sound. 'Wax' is another one of my favorites here, often reminding me of A Swarm Of The Sun. With the last track, that ambient tune '/Wane', Mesozoic seems to hint towards Cocteau Twins, which might explain the elements from shoegaze and dreampop in the album. Yet, for the most part, this simply is an excellent post-rock record, containing all the right elements and coming with a decent dose of variation. I can only recommend this one to all you post-rockers out there. Mesozoic is a strong force and one that deserves to be heard.

Serge

Brieviews 52

6/9/2018

Sleep FUSE Subscription Series

Ashtoreth - Ciuthach

drone / ambient / folk

Ashtoreth joins the Sleep FUSE subscription series with an enigmatic one track EP, based on a Scottish folklore creature myth of the Ciuthach. This 23 minutes lasting track follows the same path as most of his releases, which is a good thing of course, especially if you love droning vocals, eerie soundscapes, field recordings and atmospheric ambient. As always, Ashtoreth invites the listener on a dark, somewhat haunting sonic journey, either through vast forests or you own imagination. That choice is yours. Recommended? Undoubtedly...

Zer0 れい - an overview

electronic / ambient/ synthwave

Afterglow 20XX

More experimental sounds from Belgium, this time with Zer0 れい . This music delves right into the eighties, inspired by old movie and video games soundtracks. The result is an unusual and somewhat eerie approach to so-called vaporwave; It's synth music, but coming at you in a gritty, raw and somewhat way. But what would you expect from a project from the same guy who gave us the harsh noise of Unholy Analog Noisemachine, Crucifix Eye and MxCx. This EP contains six songs, none of which being suited for radio stations. It's strange, but with minimalistic synth tunes like 'Pariah', this an become quite interesting.

Midihack

Released in June, 'Midihack' can please me a lot more than 'Afterglow 20XX'. The EP opens with 'Mods', a track that takes me right into either Mr Robot scenes or apocalyptic fun fairs. The EP shows a bit more, or more distinct, rhythms, making it a tad more digestible. However, don't expect some easy listening new age, this stuff is still rather dark, reminiscent of the gloomy, experimental side of eighties synthpop. For me, this is one of the most surprising releases of the year, with excellent synth tunes like 'Komatsu Subzero' and 'rax2'. So if you're hungry for something different, you might want to check this out.

Slipstream 20XX

The most recent effort by Zer0 れい begins with a sharp intro before the vaporwave kicks off again. Gradually, over the three releases i can hear this act evolving as the whole becomes more musical and varied. Here, some of the old noise exploits of the artist comes shining through, appearing in mostly harsh tracks like 'Anticipation' and 'Suspension'. But you can also fill the dark dancefloors with tracks from this album, including 'Broadcast' or 'Ossuary 20XX'. In all, this album is a lot tenser and heavier than 'Midihack' but still an excellent example of what musical experimentation can lead to.

Xasthur - Aestas Pretium MMXVIII

acoustic / folk

Legendary black metal act Xasthur is now an acoustic three-piece and I guess the black metal scene just has to deal with that. 'Aestas Pretium MMXVIII' contains five songs, all fully acoustic but still containing some of the aesthetics and technicalities of extreme metal. My favorite remains the opener 'Against Your Will'. I think old fans might have a problem with Scott Conner's clean vocals but then again, this is not black metal, this is "doomgrass", something between American folk music and the dark abyss that is extreme metal. My suggestion? Try it out, it just might be your thing now.

Black Market Heart - Who Put A Knife Through Your Heart?

post punk

Founded by Spencer Robinson (The Wolf Spiders, The Lords of Altamont), Black Market Heart delves deep into another dark side of the eighties, that of post punk and new wave. Their debut EP delivers three short tracks which might best be described as grinding version of Joy Division or a minimalstic version of Sisters Of Mercy. 'Can't Live On The Other Side' immediately got me hooked. 'Under the Ivy' brings Bain Wolfkind to mind, especially in the vocals. Finally, 'Silver' invites me to those dark dancefloors again. So, new wavers of all ages, there is still hope. Check out this gem!

The Lautreamonts - Who Are You Wearing

post punk

A more melodic yet experimental version of post punk comes from Brazilian act The Lautreamonts, and what a version it is. In opener 'The Adequacy Waltz' alone acts like Cinema Strange, Dead Can Dance and Dresden Dolls came to mind. 'Who We Were' is a fantastic track, nudging towards shoegaze and dreampop. Yet, there is more than that, I ever hear a tad of grunge in 'The Ones He Wore' and closer 'Black Sabbath' is exactly what you'd expect, a surprisingly enigmatic cover. I often found myself thinking "damn, this is good", not only from a personal standpoint but also as far is overall quality is concerned. This is high quality postpunk, destined to reach high peaks in that scene.

Ennui - End Of The Circle

funeral doom

Non-Serviam Records

Yes, a new funeral doom album. As a huge fan of everything slow and torpid, I can only be ecstatic about that. Hailing from Tbilisi, Georgia, Ennui keeps the funeral doom tradition in high regard, resulting in this crushing album. Three songs, seventy minutes of high quality music, quite similar to Esoteric, Shape Of Despair and Evoken. The atmospheric approach here is astounding, perhaps capable of gaining some fans in the post-post scene as well, if they appreciate growls and fierce black metal passages. But in the end, this is a perfect funeral doom album that will mostly and undoubtedly please the fans of the genre.

A Shoreline Dream - Waitout

shoegaze / dreampop

Shoegaze combi A Shoreline Dream continue their series of single with a new five-track, titled 'Waitout'. With a vast wall of jangling guitars and subdued vocals, this trio sets another step into their remarkable journey. If you are a fan of acts like Cocteau Twins, Slowdive and Ride, you might want to check out these dream-like anthems. The ballad 'Barnum' is probably my favorite track here while 'New York' will undoubtedly appeal to fans of danceable anthems. But eventually, I guess all of these tracks are certain highlights in the career of a band that honors that beautiful sound of shoegaze.

Rude Audio - Rude Redux

electronic / house / synth

Hailing from London, UK, Rude Audio delivers some neat dance tunes for late night clubbing and chilling. The tags on bandcamp mention the term "Balearic" but I'm not very familiar with that so I'll have to go with how this music makes me feel. Well, opener 'To The Sun' is a minimal house track which brings me to imaginary beach clubs. 'To The Half Moon' rings out the dub. 'Rumble On Arab St.' does something intriguing with eighties synths and sequences and 'Pipeline Dreaming' gently wobbles on. Eventually, the Rich Lane remix of 'To The Half Moon' reminds me of lengthy car drives in Grand Theft Auto or Miami Vice. Nice? You betcha!!!

Idle Hands - Don't Waste Your Time

hard rock

Well, since we're diving into eighties revivals, why not check out the heavy metal corners? Hailing from Portland, Oregon, Idle Hands honors the early sounds of bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. Yet, there is also a sense of goth rock present. 'By The Way Of Kingdom' brings bands like Killing Joke or Sisters Of Mercy to mind while ancient rockers like Boston or Toto aren't that far away either. That combination is interesting, to say the least. My personal favorite is 'Can You Hear The Rain', yet all track here are good old fashioned dark hard rock songs which all rockers should give a chance.

Lower Automation - Shoebox Companion

math rock / alternative rock / experimental / noise rock / punk

It's been a while since a band reminded me of Belgian's finest, Evil Superstars. Chicago based trio Lower Automation does something frenetic and deranged with punk, math rock and noise rock. Parts Dillinger Escape Plan, parts Sonic Youth and parts Jesus Lizard come at you with high velocity and with the sonic insanity of Melt Banana. This six track EP is as dynamic as a rhino stampede, even without twisting the distortion button on their amps. 'Tethered' might be the most radio friendly songs here but it's not radio friendly at all. So I guess you have been warned. If you like punky musical chaos, you need this.

Serge

Alone on the Moon - Spectra

27/8/2018

progressive rock / post rock / shoegaze

Spectra is the most recent album released by American progressive/ stoner/ shoegaze group Alone on the Moon, from Houston, Texas. Forty minutes long, the record has eleven tracks: Say Again, Scatterbrain-ed, Pool of Tears, Kings, Bishops, and Pawns, Bright Bite Wound, Some Day It'll All Go Dark, Suicitation,
Spectra, The Digger, Naked Lady Park and Small White Object. With gracious, diligent and strong guitar lines, that really incorporates the tenacity of its flexible and indulgent, but methodic and pungent musical elements, Spectra is a gracefully proverbial album, exceedingly technical to a certain degree, although without losing the quintessential volatilities of its monumental effervescent soul.

The salutary creative provinces upon which the melodies easily flow seems to voluntarily depart from the vicinities of an infinite realm of innocent, intrinsic and spontaneous serenity, that persistently embrace the shadows of its sonorous descendant highlight. The style of the group is intelligent, vivacious and quite remarkable, for sure, and its strongest virtues are cohesively dense, expansive and abrasive guitar lines, that drags to the epicenter of its sentimental horizon the lugubrious hemisphere of a purely dimensional strategic space, that comprehends on the placid melodic reverberations of its titanic sonorous possibilities the ostensibly sensible, but lucid graciosity of an indefinite diagram of musically entangled vertical parameters, easily configured by the band.

Unfortunately, the album presents some fragile issues, although they don’t compromise the general competence displayed in the work. The melodic variations are not strong nor distinctive enough to avoid a modest degree of monotony, and the general uniformity of the sound – added to its superb, but excessively disdainful level of musical technicalities – makes the album somewhat too predictable, sometimes resembling more a recorded guitar lesson than an actual art album. Nevertheless, I do have to say that the musical groundwork is beautiful, and Alone on the Moon has all the necessary qualities to surpass the current limitations presented by their latent, but stagnant style.

Alone on the Moon is a band that concentrates an expressively sensible amount of talent; indeed, the group have a tremendous potential, that overlooks all of its relatively insignificant deficiencies. They just have to let their natural virtues flow out of their creative musical axis, and the magic will just naturally happen. They have to learn only not to worry so much about technical grievances. Besides that, they are very close to be qualified as the next marvelous act on the underground scene.

Wagner

Brieviews 49

31/7/2018

Naut - Raise The Lights

post punk / new wave / goth rock

Heading from Bristol, Naut decided to ignore all current trends and to look back to the dark eighties. Now, this five-piece comes with a baffling debut EP, containing five pitch black goth rock tunes. Influences from bands like Sisters Of Mercy and Killing Joke run rampant and come with the overwhelming energy of post punk acts like The Jesus and Mary Chain. Song like opener 'Disintegration' and 'I'm Here' are destined to fill dark dancefloors everywhere. My personal favorite here is closer 'XVI'. It makes me curious and hungry for more, but for now I'm sure that this EP will be an excellent addition to every post punk / goth rock collection.

Kurokuma - Dope Rider

doom / sludge

Sheffield doom mongers Kurokuma return with a two track EP, based on the Dope Rider strip from High Times in the 70s. The artwork comes from Paul Kirchner, the creator of the strip. The music is another slab of severe psychotic sludge doom, five and eight minutes long. Part 1 also showcases something industrial, reflected by repetitive, almost methodical drums. Part 2 simply continues to slow but brutal pummeling. Fans of bands like Conan, Dopethrone and Yob can easily trust Kurokuma to deliver the monolithic riffs and fierce vocals they crave so much. So if you want your sludge metal as destructive as a wrecking ball, this EP should do.

An Evening With Knives - Fade Out

post-metal / doom / alternative rock

Several months after the release of 'Serrated', Dutch heavy rockers An Evening With Knives unleash three songs that did not make the album because of the limited space on the vinyl. Yet, these songs were to important for the band to be ignored. Opener and title track 'Fade Out' deals with the death of Marco’s father due to Alzheimer disease. It's a long, heavy and cathartic lamentation, showcasing the darkest side of this band. The other two songs follow that example, be it a bit shorter. They all walk a similar path as the songs on 'Serrated', and thus would also fit perfectly into every sludge, doom and grunge collection. These guys are growing steadily, that's for sure.

Soho Rezanejad - World Breathes People

electronic / ambient / experimental

Silicone Records

An alienating two track EP that will leave you confused and entangled, that is what Soho Rezanejad delivers. Subtle electronics, minimalist drones, gloomy soundscapes and her vocals come together in two lengthy modern day folk songs. I can't help but think about a mix between Zola Jesus and Diamanda Galas, be it a bit less creepy than the latter. Yet, there is emotion, there is fear, mourning, wonder and hope in these two tracks. There is a mystifying atmosphere, one that borrows elements from dark ambient. Yet, above all perhaps, this is a unique piece of work, reminding me of an act like Dark Ensemble. Recommended only for eternally wandering souls.

The Man Within - The Man Within

post rock / post metal / stoner / sludge

In today's post rock scene, new bands pop up like mushrooms. Würzburg residents The Man Within are one of those newcomers. Mostly, that first effort comes with a low production and a careful introduction in what the band really is capable of. Yet, here that results in a full-blown post metal album with seven outstanding tracks. Most of them, including 'Mount Santo', my favorite 'Institution' (that rolling bass is hot!!!) and the massive 'Limitless' can easily entertain audiences far and wide. Although firmly rooted in the post-scene, elements from sludge metal, psychedelic rock and stoner rock are never far away. A great introduction, now let's hope they can confirm this in the near future.

EITR - Hädanfärden

dark ambient

Nordvis

The new brainchild of Nachtzeit, the man behind ambient dark metal project Lustre, comes up with an interesting dark ambient album. Although playful at time, this album takes us back to the mysterious and dark age of the Norse gods. Early in 'Drömmarna' acts like Mortiis (on Cold Meat Industry) and Wongraven come to mind. Synths, soundscapes and dreamy melodies guide the listening on a musical tour of medieval Europe, so it seems, highlighting in 'Löftet' and 'Tårarn'. Strangely, the title track 'Hädanfärden' has an X-Files OST feeling about it, which isn't bad, on the contrary. Fans of old school medieval dark ambient can easily appreciate this album.

Breakfast At Midnight - Breakfast At Midnight

alternative rock / hard rock / grunge

Belgian hard rock duo Breakfast At Midnight proves that two is enough to create heaps of noise. On this debut EP they blast seven tracks through our speakers, beginning with the heavy rocking 'Kidi Coke'. From then on, the rock doesn't seem to stop. Inspired by anything between Tool, Queens Of The Stone Age and Stone Temple Pilots, these two feed an everlasting fire. Most tracks drive on sheer energy but in 'What I'm To Say' and in '1813', the band delves deeply into the Pearl Jam version of grunge rock. Here, the vocals are excellent and clean while the other tunes contain heaps of aggressive screams. Not that I mind, this is pure rock 'n roll: raw, rough and heavy.

Goat Sperm - Voice in the Womb

black metal / death metal

Inferna Profundus

Grab onto something now because Ukrainian trio Goatsperm is about to unload a hellish, chaotic and vulgar EP, loaded with orthodox black/death metal. 'Voice In The Womb' contains three tracks, each one being a pummeling piece of extreme metal, as dark as Satan's butthole but with an ambient breather here and there. Somehow, this trio manages to combine atmospheric passages with sheer metallic terror, something that might indeed make a lot of banging heads turn their way in the near future. Besides, 'Into The Deep Waters Of Catacombs' is one of the fiercest black metal tunes I've heard this year. If you're a self-respecting extremist, you need this.

Teksti-TV 666 - Aidattu Tulevaisuus

krautrock / shoegaze / punk

Svart Records

What would have happened if Ramones used My Bloody Valentine's guitar effects? What would a punk rock cover album of Neu! songs sound like? Well, Finnish six piece Teksti-TV 666 might have a decent answer for you. 'Aidattu Tulevaisuus' delivers six high-octane krautrock tunes with the raw energy of punk and the immersive nature of shoegaze. I admit, it is something different from the usual slabs of rock 'n roll that appear here but 'Turbo-Mondeo' and 'Aidattu tulevaisuus' can easily get your behind shaking. My favorite here is the somewhat slower 'Rauhankone', which might be described as a down-to-earth space rock track. Recommended? Hell yeah!

Vitor Joaquim - Impermanence

ambient / electronic / experimental

Hailing from Porto, Vitor Joaquim is a sound sculptor and visual artist, active around the strange borders between soothing ambient and otherworldly noise. This new album, 'Impermanence' contains seven tracks, revolving around repetitive soundscapes, almost subconscious loops and immersive musical textures. Here and there vocals samples have been added to increase the narrative nature of the music. That, along with the minimal soundscapes, makes the title track my favorite here but I'm sure that every fan of decent ambient music can appreciate these sounds. Obviously, this comes highly recommended.

Han - Tuning the Invisible

ambient / drone / experimental / noise

An even more noisy and experimental variation on ambient sounds comes from Han, a project by Vitor Joaquim and Emidio Buchinho. This album revolves around live improvisation and real time processing, which results in something severely unusual and highly experimental. Yet, behind the gritty freestyle on the guitar, beautiful ambient loops lurk. These seven tracks are weird, immersive in one way, yet restrained and peculiar. Somehow this album feels like the early days of drone experimentation, when artists were exploring the other possibilities of their instruments. In all, this is an interesting release to dive into, but only for experienced avant gardists...

Serge

Brieviews 43

21/5/2018

White Hills & Der Blutharsch And The Infinite Church Of The Leading Hand - Desire

krautrock / psychedelic

White Hills

Here is an interesting cooperation to kick off this edition of Brieviews. Two interesting psychedelic music acts got together for a jam session and created this immersive summer meditation, a five track trip towards the gloomy site of the psychedelic sixties. I like the level of variation that this cooperation has generated. There is blues, shoegaze and - naturally - a big dose of psychedelic krautrock, all combined into songs that make every post-goth and neo-hippy happy. My favorite is 'Desire' but I'm sure that all of these tunes will end up in my day-to-day playlist. I suggest you do the same.

Der Blutharsch And The Infinite Church Of The Leading Hand & Derniere Volonté

psychedelic rock / krautrock / neo folk

Derniere Volonte

Or how about this collaboration. Once upon a time, these two acts were genre-colleagues but gradually their sounds moved away from one-another. However, together they have recently released something pleasantly surprising. On this EP, they come up with four lo-fi songs, once again borrowing elements from krautrock, shoegaze and vintage electronica. This stuff immediately brought a big smile to my face, not because it's joyous music but because I am listening to pure and authentic jamming fun. 'L`Arc En Ciel' even flirts with synthpop, absolute brilliance. Recommended? Utterly!

Pink Cocoon - Alienation

doom / blues

website

We're not done psyching-out yet, we're just gonna add some doom blues to the mix, courtesy of Canadian trio Pink Cocoon. On the cover you can see a man worshiping an amp and that should tell you everything you need to know about this demo. The EP contains six songs, all hypnotic examples of heavy psychedelic music, complete with mind altering guitar solos, feedback, groovy riffs and trance inducing drum work. Pink Cocoon will get you levitating on massively immersive doom blues, there is absolutely no doubt about that. Fuck, I love this. This is going on repeat for a while and I'll do the rest later...

JK Flesh – Wasplike

techno

Inner Surface

There's no denying that Justin K Broadrick has had a massive influence on the world of music. Napalm Death, Godflesh, Jesu... They're classics in their respective genres. And then there was also Techno Animal and JK Flesh, Broadrick's dancefloor invitations. Well, with this 'Wasplike' EP, he no longer invites you, he drags you by the neck and lets the distorted beats punish you to extacy. This four track EP is a wild techno adventure, fueled with noise and drones but mostly pumping harsh and abrasive, especially in 'Mindprison'. So you have been warned, this thing will get you shaking your lazy ass...

Moloch - The Other Side

electronic / darkwave

Do you ever wonder what the next retro craze will be? We've had stoner rock revivals, psychedelic revivals, even new beat seems to be coming back. But as far as I'm concerned the next big craze is eighties horror soundtracks like this EP from Polish electronic act Moloch. Imagine the Knight Rider theme taking a dark turn and you'll get close to what this act delivers. Personally, I can 't get enough of this. If you are a sucker for eighties synths or old school EBM, you will absolutely adore this, I promise you. I also urge you to check out 'The Vatican Cellars', which brings you more of the same awesomeness. I'm a fan now...

Burning House - Tracer

shoegaze

This EP by British shoegazers Burning House is either an application for or a tribute to the legendary 4AD label. Just look at that cover and tell me it doesn't remind you of Dead Can Dance or Cocteau Twins? Musically, this brings everything that you used to love about shoegaze and dreampop into today's alternative rock scene. In four fantastic and intense tracks, this trio delivers pure reverb galore, complete with the high-octane drums and introvert vocals. The Jesus and Mary Chain often comes to mind and so does A Place To Bury Strangers. So yeah, this comes highly recommended...

Eye of the Destroyer - Violent By Design

death metal

To be released in the beginning of June, this two-track single by New Jersey death metal act Eye Of The Destroyer is the follow up to their full-length 'Starved and Hanging', released earlier this year. What I like about this EP is that it's not about speed. The two tracks here are slow. However, what they lack in tempo, they definitely make up in brutality. Although short, only three minutes long each, these monstrosities will undoubtedly get you headbanging and making weird hand gestures towards the sky. My personal favorite is the title track but rest assured, both these tunes will fuck you up hard...

Alexandre Navarro - Imaginations

ambient / downtempo / post rock

An interesting and original EP by French guitarist/soundscapist Alexandre Navarro, 'Imagination' brings me some much welcome chill-out tunes. I think this guy has been listening to Plaid and Boards Of Canada a lot, something I can only applaud, obviously. On these five tracks, I hear something similar; downtempo electronic music, calm and soothing but not too goody-goody. The level of variation is perfect, aided of course by a range of sounds and instruments. This really is nice stuff, stuff that makes me curious about future musical escapades by mister Navarro...

Valyria - Into the Dying of Time

death metal / power metal

Back to the heavies, this time with Canadian power death metalers Valyria and their latest EP. What to expect? Well, imagine the blend of everything in the history of melodic death metal since Children Of Bodom, Evergrey and Nevermore. The EP opens with an intro which leads way for a massive array of flashing guitars, pounding drums and a combination of power metal vocals and death growls. I guess it's needless to say that the bombast and energy blasts from the speakers and that the whole thing is a mesmerizing whirlpool of extreme metal galore. If you like your metal bombasic as fuck, you need this...

Anthony - Get Over U

americana / alternative rock / indie

On a somewhat calmer side of the musical spectrum we find Anthony, of Ceremony fame, and his four track EP 'Get Over U'. This might be one of the poppiest, cheesiest and most bittersweet things I have ever reviewed for this website. The songs here are lo-fi indie tunes about love and heartache, inspired by acoustic rock and post-punk. Somehow the Lemonheads and Blind Melon come to mind but also flashes of Pixies, Beatles and the entire jangling-guitar scene in England. Closer 'I Hope I Never See You Face' is my personal favorite here, and certainly a message towards some people...

Eyes on the Machine - Eyes on the Machine

stoner metal

Polderrecords

Et voila, another Belgian band enters the already immense stoner rock scene. Eyes On the Machine is a band from Aalter, inspired by the likes of Tool, Mastodon and "Mike Patton's Crazy Bands". The stuff on this EP sure is crazy. It's also quite unpredictable but for the most part, this rocks the fuzz out of your underpants. With groovy riffs, a drummer that possibly wants to strangle you and a vocalist who swallowed a hydrogen bomb, Eyes On The Machine make stoner blues metal sexy again. There will be a lot of ass shaking and headbanging going on in Belgium this summer and I can' be happier about it...

Brieviews 39

28/3/2018

These Brieviews have been written by Serge. If you like what you read here, be sure to check out his book, 'Cecilia's World'. It's about music, life and love.

Owl - Orion Fenix

doom / post metal

Zeitgeister

Owl, the solo project of Valborg frontman Christian Kolf, delivers an overwhelming piece of music. Post metal, ambient and doom meet and alternate in one massive track, clocking off at 22 minutes. The track was written and recorded in eighteen hours over three days, which definitely explains the organic flow of the whole thing. In a way, this track feels like a concept album, revolving around dark and haunting emotions. Calm ambient and modern classical passages make way for intense pieces of doom inspired metal and vice versa. For fans of decent narrative music, this is certainly a must-have, and that includes sludge metal aficionados.

Stonemule - Dystopian State

metal / hardcore

Polder Records

Speaking of sludge metal fans, they might as well throw their ears at these noise makers from Koksijde (Belgium). What Stonemule delivers is a massive blast of hardcore infused stoner metal, laced with grunge and doom and flirting with the extreme. How they do that? Well, first of all by a solid background of drums and bass, then by face melting riffing and finally by having three vocalists showing of their respective talents in singing, growling and screaming. The result is quite impressive, a blast of sheer energy. Eventually, they top it off with excellent musical skills by flashing some delicious solos. Nice work.

Ritual King - Earthrise

psychedelic rock / doom

When Planets Collide

Speaking of delicious guitar work, here is the new EP by English stoner rockers Ritual King. On 'Earthrise' they come up with three energetic songs. 'Ideology', 'Tides' and my personal favorite 'But Anyway' are uptempo psychedelic blues rock tunes that seem to come right from the early seventies. The jam-calibre is very high on these, making them all perfect candidates for live performances on sun lit (and probably smoke filled) music festivals. I wouldn't be surprised to see these guys appear on Desertfest, Up In Smokes and everything else stoner rock related in the near future.

Wykan - Solace

psychedelic / doom

A strange and bewildering piece of psychedelic doom metal, inspired by both old school doom and black metal, this debut by Canadian act Wykan is certainly something special. On one hand you get the classic riff worship, supported by methodical drums and clean vocals. Yet, on the other hand, there is that cold, eerie and vile atmosphere of extreme metal, enhanced by screams, growls and occult imagery. Needless to say perhaps but this EP is so varied that it almost sounds like a split-release. This is intriguing, to say the least and I am already extremely curious for what this act comes up with in the future.

Soft Science - Undone / I Don't Know Why I Love You

shoegaze / dream pop

Test Pattern Records

Hah, I doubted this single for exactly four seconds. I didn't know what to think about the jangling guitars at first, but then, when the rolling bass and the propelling drums came in, I became interested. Then the vocals of Katie Haley and I was sold. Now, Soft Science has a place in my shoegaze folder where it appears alongside acts like Belly, The Cranes and Slowdive. 'Undone' is my favorite here but 'I Don't Know Why I Love You' is in no way inferior. Both are energetic dreampop tunes, there is very little else to say about that. So get them, on April 6, if you're a shoegazer. Of not, check it out as well.

Maff - Melañiña

shoegaze

Then, where you're in a good shoegazing mood, you certainly have to give Chilean collective Maff a listen. I remember being rather impressed with their 2015 album. Now they return with a five track EP, blending shoegaze, dreampop, post rock and noise rock into another heap of delicious atmospheric rock tunes. In fact, opener 'Act 2' might soon prove to be one of my favorites in that genre. I love those howling, lingering guitars and that almost industrial beat. And then there are still four more awesome tunes to go. So yeps, shoegazers of all ages, you definitely need this one.

Nostalgist - Disaffection

post punk / new wave

Some more eighties inspired music comes from Seattle residents Nostalgist. Their music reflects the dark corners of that era, the one where The Cure, Killing Joke and Joy Division ruled. However, Nostalgist has also been listening to bands like Deftones and Alcest and they're not afraid to throw some distorted guitars into the mix. The result is a brilliant EP, containing six gloomy tracks which perfectly combine these two styles, or eras. Actually, I'm quite impressed by this effort. I didn't know this kind of awesomeness was still being made today. I'm sure that the old school goths will easily appreciate songs like 'Pendulums' and 'Present Tense'. Highly recommended !!!

Amusement Parks On Fire - All The New Ends

alternative rock / shoegaze

Saint Marie Records

English art rockers Amusement Parks On Fire return with a three-track EP which is as simple as it is brilliant. Opener 'All The New Ends' blends post rock with britpop as only the British can. 'Temporal Rinse' is a drone ambient creeper Godspeed! You Black Emperor wished they had recorded. Finally, 'Infernal Flame' picks you up and drags you to the dreampopping dancefloor where you will gaze at your shoes for what feels like hours and hours. To be honest, apart from the name I didn't really know these guys. Now I'm a fan. They only needed three songs to convince me, isn't that neat?

Grift - Vilsna Andars Boning

neofolk

Nordvis

Hailing from the lonesome woods of Scandinavia, Grift delivers two enigmatic neofolk songs. This Swedish poet/songwriter has been around since 2011 with several albums and a split-record with legendary act Drudkh.

On this two track, he comes up with two acoustic songs. I think fans of acts like Sol Invictus, Wardruna and Darkwood can easily appreciate these stripped down folk sounds. 'Bortom Berget' is my favorite on this two track, a solid neofolk track about nature and culture.

Giovanni Verga - Sylphic

experimental / ambient / noise

Unexplained Sounds

A more haunting and otherworldly musical view on solitude and loneliness comes from composer/experimentalist Giovanni Verga. With field recordings, no-input mixers and other kinds of sound manipulation, Verga created an alienating ambient adventure, on that delves deep into the avant garde. The line between music and incomprehensible noise is very thin. There are howling wolves, industrial soundscapes, vocal samples and mysterious drones but there are also tiny hints of melody. And obviously, there is this allover gloomy atmosphere which makes you imagine alien worlds and underground tales. Awesome

TRI:.OBYTE - STAR ⠃⠊⠗⠞⠓ KIC 8462852

ambient / noise / experimental

Speaking about sounds from alien worlds, this album certainly is an interesting one. With a mix of dark ambient, cosmic noise and tales about UFO sightings, this album takes you to new dimensions. I can easily see this music as the soundtrack for new episodes of the X-Files, or any other sci-fi series for that matter. Opener 'Some Kind Of Reflective' is haunting ambient gold and the rest of this record graciously follows it example, except maybe 'Visitation'. This one doesn't just take you to outer space, it places you right on the operation table in one of those abduction stories. This is a great release, certainly recommended.

Bloodkry - Dark Paradise

dark ambient / drone

Even more darkness comes from Finland, where Bloodkry reveals a new EP. 'Dark Paradise' contains four tracks, beginning with the hypnotic title track. I love the percussive elements in this one, it feels likes descending into an underground industrial complex. 'My Shelter' is a bit more friendly, melodic but also glitchy and unusual, like a post rock track that's falling asleep. 'Nowhere' is my favorite track here, a genuine dark ambient piece that brings many of the great names to mind. Closer 'Don't Forget Me' eventually comes up with repetitive industrial beats, along with hypnotic drones. Awesomeness.

Kloob - Remarkable Events

ambient / electronic

Dani Kloob has been making music for twenty years, from underground dance tunes to atmospheric ambient. With this album, he seems to investigate where ambient turns into dark ambient, balancing on the edge between the two. The result is an immersive ambient album, minimal but rich in both sound and atmosphere. 'Remarkable Events' is a perfect album to play late at night, warmly tucked in bed, reminiscing about your life. It will guide you into pleasant and adventurous dreams. I can't pick out a favorite track, because that's a hard thing to do with this kind of minimal music but rest assured, this is definitely worth your time.

Widow's Peak - Graceless

death metal

Right, time to blast some relentless death metal through my speakers. Here is Canadian horde Widow's Peak and their suffocating debut EP 'Graceless'. That title fits the load quite well. This thing is raunchy, filthy and gore, a blend of death metal, hard & grindcore, complete with deep growls, harsh screams and pig squeals. Fans of Aborted or Cattle Decapitation will undoubtedly get a hard-on from this stuff. I don't but I'm old, don't mind me. I know for sure that contemporary death metal, deathcore and metalcore fans will absolutely adore this. So, if you are one them, you'll have to check this out. Period!

Cult of Extinction - Black Nuclear Magick Attack

black metal

Sentient Ruin

We end this edition of Brieviews with one of the most menacing, unpredictable and chaotic releases I have heard in a while. German extremists Cult Of Extinction release a thunderous tape, loaded with a filthy and vulgar mix of death, black, grindcore and whatnot. Quite often driving on inhumanly fierce tempos, this four track aims for nothing less than your rotten soul itself. The result is a massive cesspool of noise, hammering and screams that will drain the last bit of hope for humanity out of your miserable life. I think I made myself clear. This comes highly recommended only to the most seasoned extreme metal heads out there.

Serge