Well, we knew this was about to happen one day.  As soon as drone music became rather common, some death metal band would incorporate it into their own style.  After all, the metal genre is widely known for its open mind and urge to experiment.  So it shouldn't really be a surprise that there is now a drone-death metal band, combining two seemingly irreconcilable genres.  Get ready for a strange but wild ride through the world of Autokrator.

Autokrator hails from Paris, France. The music their spawn is quite unique, not only because of the bizarre combination of drone and death metal but also because of their thick, chaotic sound.
Imagining a Sunn O))) - Napalm Death hybrid might get you somewhere in the vicinity of the music Autokrator has created.  But then there's even a lot more.

The album opens with 'Act 1 - The Tenth Persecution', an intensly heavy downtuned piece of metal, reminding me of some old grindcore bands.  This almost inhumane sound is present throughout the entire album.  Guitar riffs, bass and vocals are covered in a thick layer of fuzz and the drums are sometimes barely audible.  The latter often erupts into a chaotic array of blast beats.  Yet, that's not all.  

Autokrator seems to know a few things about the strange world of underground music. At the end of 'Act 2 - Exsuperator', there's a pretty neat piece of dark ambient that sounds like it comes from an experienced dark ambient producer.  Somehow I get the feeling this is something natural
for this French band, suspecting a past in the scene of slow horror music.  In 'Act 4 - Autokrator'
the ambient even evolves into martial industrial, reminding me of acts like Rome or Triarii.  This is
an excellent addition to their sound and a welcome variation from the sheer noise we hear on most other tracks.

Of course, doom metal is never far away.  In fact, 'Act 3 - The Filthy Pig of Rome' is slower than most other songs, resulting in a convincing piece of drone doom.  Another genre that seems to be very present is the industrial havoc of bands like Pitch Shifter or Godflesh.  The methodical and repetitive aspect of this genre adds more uniqueness to the overall atmosphere and sound.  ' Act 7 - Imperial Whore' combines both genres into one stunning piece of work which is quite sick. This actually has little to do with metal, this is power violence in a metal outfit.

The chaotic noise which Autokrator has created is indeed very unique and quite gutsy.  There is a very thin line to cross before it all turns into uncontrollable musical rubble and I can understand that some people might frown upon this and gently put it aside.  The music has the same intensity and the same pushy nature as power electronics and harsh noise.  In that aspect I can imagine this being awesome on stage and I'd really like to witness that one day.

So I don't know about you, but I like this album.  Yet, I basically like anything that deviates from the rest, especially daring crossover styles.  I have no idea who I can recommend this album to.
Drone doom fans might find it too fast, grindcore fans might find this too slow, metalheads might find it too weird and dark ambient fans might just hate the guttural vocals (although the samples are cool).  So I'll just recommend it to anyone who wants something new and out-of-the-box once in a while.  This is sick stuff and a welcome variation on any shelf.



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Give Praise Records

Time to speed things up a little bit and wake up.  Give Praise Records sent us another split, this time by two bands from Boise, Idaho (USA).  This is one for the hardcore punkrockers among us, showing some fierce drums, intense guitars and pissed-off vocals in perfect 'core' tradition.

Hummingbird Of Death combine thrash metal, punk and hardcore into five short but intense songs.  'Holding Down The Fort' is my favourite on this split, sounding like punk rock with blast beats.  This sheer speed is present throughout most of the songs.  Only 'People want you dead' is a tiny bit slower and comes quite close to actual punk rock.  

Yet, for the main part, this is extreme fastcore that will probably blow your head off, and so are the songs the Raid delivered.  There is not a lot of difference between the two bands, making them perfect for this kind of split.

Raid features two members from Septic Death.  Their three songs are also extremely fast punk songs which barely avoid becoming absolute chaos.  I can imagine the moshpits in front of the stage and the skaters a bit further, all going absolutely berzerk on these intense songs.  

So if you're into punk, thrash and grindcore, you really should check this out.  This is an excellent addition to any hardcore collection and quite a decent piece of work to wake up to...


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Is there a desert in Spain?  If so, that's exactly where you can find Elephant Riders, jamming away in perfect stoner rock tradition. The releases I'm about to review today include the latest single and a reissue of their 2014 album 'Supernova'.  After this album came out, drummer Antonio Correa parted ways with the band.  He was replaced by Dimitris Aggelidis shortly after but such a line-up change always has its effect on the evolution of a band.  Anyway, at this moment it looks like Elephant Rides are finally on their way to stonerstardom. 

Challenger

'Challenger' is the newest single by this band, actually an improved re-recording from a song that appeared on a previous demo.  The song 'Challenger' is a very enjoyable, high-energy stoner rock song with enough power to get any party started.  Catchy riffs, pounding drums and a great and raspy voice fill the room and heat up the air inside.  'Lone Wolf' is a whole lot slower but it's not really a ballad.  This is just a very strong downtempo stoner rock song.  These two songs are very good examples of what this band sounds like today and they surely make me hungry for more.

Supernova

The full-length 'Supernova' was the official debut for this trio, filled with groovy riffs and a whole lot of fuzz.  Musically, they can stand next to bands like Truckfighters or Fu Mancho but judging from this album, they still had a long way to go.  The album opens with solid rocker 'Dressed In Black', a high energy rock song that could stand perfectly on any Desert-fest like stage.  'Escape From Planet Earth' brings more stoner goodness with excellent vocals.  I actually like these vocals a lot more than the ones in many other bands.  

'Animal Eyes' makes me doubt a little.  On one hand it's a slow song that sounds like it's written in the very beginning of the band's history but by the end it becomes a great psychedelic anthem. This is a feeling I have with several songs on this album.  Though it's really good and highly enjoyable, they show a band that still has to evolve and grow into their own sound.  Roughly I could say that these are quite generic stoner rock songs with a flash of genius shining through sometimes.

That being said, don't think that 'Supernova' is a bad album, not at all.  'Vultures' is an excellent song that shows a more than decent knowledge in songwriting.  'Poor Lonely Joe' shows the blues side of Elephant Riders and is quite a beautiful song.  'The End Of The Road' is an immense vintage hard rock ballad.  So there's a lot of capacity in this band, a lot more than 'Supernova' shows.  Like I said in the 'Challenger' part of this review, Elephant Riders is growing and evolving.  I hope they're writing new songs and if they are, I'm quite curious about them...


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With all the modern day technology the black metal genre has been evolving in the past few decades or so.  However, somehow the genre, or at least the highly atmospheric or experimental version, has lost its malignancy.  Many black metal bands don't really sound that evil anymore.  In fact, some of them are now considered 'art'.  Luckily for the old school fans there is still a number of bands that reach back to the archaic, primitive version of the genre.  For them, I'd like to present Plage, a quartet that really sounds as they come straight from the nineties.

Plage is a German/Danish band, formed in 2011 by Exord and Blizzard and completed by Vrede and Zorn a year later.  This album is their first full-length, after a sold-out demo in 2013.  Plage delivers the complete package.  Corpse paint, blast beats, fericious guitars and spiteful screams.  This is about as primitive and filthy as black metal can get.

After a short, frightful intro, the band opens with a mid-tempo song, preparing the listener for the sickness and malice that is about to happen.  'En Hedensk Kriger' is actually the most varied song on the album, containing the intro, a mid-tempo part, clean pagan vocals, screams and the typical blast beats.  In that aspect, I guess it's my favourite on as well.  'Ihjelslår' is another one of those awesome blackened anthems.

By we're not done there yet, there's a lot more sickness to come.  'Your Gods Fall' incorporates the old punk influences of Marduk and Beherit, but quickly brings out the sheer speed that this genre is known for.  There's also a bit of melodic metal, mainly in 'Chained by Flesh' but even there it's hidden beneath a raw, glacial sound.  'I Am Death' is a brutal, aggressive and ferocious black metal track, barely avoiding to drown in complete chaos but oh so epic.

After a few listens 'Den Kristne Stank' (the album) truly opens up and shows a pretty damn good old school black metal band with enough variation with within the sick sound to keep it interesting for the entire duration, and maybe even for a few consecutive listens. I named just a few of the eight songs on this album but they're all very strong.  Somehow, I truly believe that Satan himself coem over to watch Plage play live once in a while...



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A few years ago, when I still played live with my noise-project, I opened my set with the words 'Everyone Is Wrong Because Everyone Is Right'.  I'm not sure if people thought about that sentence.  I just wanted to point out that there is a huge difference between truth and opinion. Very few people seem to understand that.

Anyway, enough about me.  We're here to present a pretty nice debut from Swiss rockers Eighty-Twelve.  This trio got stuck in the nineties and make intelligent indie-rock in the vein of bands like old Radiohead, Manic Street Preachers, Buffalo Tom and Dinosaur Jr.  Once again, this is one for the summer festivals where the weather is hot, the beer is cold and the girls wear tiny shorts and lumberjack shirts.  Right now, I actually long for a greasy hamburger but let's ignore that for a while.

'Everyone Is Wrong' opens with a solid rocker, named 'Shock The Wave'.  Powerful guitars, lively drums and a touch of melody bring out the sun.  I don't know why, but songs like this always sound sunny and pleasant.  On 'Rodeo' I suddenly notice the brilliant vocal lines.  These too breathe this melodic but rough atmosphere that was extremely present in those days.  This song reminds me of bands like Weezer of even Blur.

What strikes me most about this album is the intense nineties feel.  This is the music I listened to when I was studying, locked away in a tiny student room and often feeling very lonely.  This lonely feeling is present in many of the songs, including 'Drive Until...' and the somewhat jazzy 'On The Road'.  It's funny that the travelling-related songs are the loneliest ones.  'Highway Highland' for example is beautifully eerie, reminding me of South San Gabriel.

But these guys can rock as well.  'Mr J.' is an amazing song and so is 'Eleven'.  This mix between modest rock and outbursts of distorted energy makes 'Everyone Is Wrong' a very varied album while still being loyal to this unique nineties sound.  In fact, Eighty-Twelve managed to blend all these influences into their own distinct sound.  It's very refreshing to hear that this music is still around and still as powerful as ever.

'This Party' is another great song with the power to put a smile on my face.  In fact, I've been having nostalgic flashbacks throughout the entire album.  I've been listening to this album for three consecutive times now and I think I'm going to stop writing about it now.  Right now I really want to be on the warm grass of a festival area, enjoying this kind of music (and that hamburger).  This is going right into my 'nineties rock' playlist.  I don't care what year it is, dates a wrong...

Buy this (I yell while I run to the food-tickets booth)


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'L'océan de lait' translates as 'the ocean of milk', and there lies the story behind this modest but beautiful piece of music.  It's inspired by Hindu cosmology, where this sea of milk is churned by gods and demons in order to release the nectar of immortal life, named 'Amrita'. This ocean is said to have given birth to the goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity.  This mythical atmosphere is perfectly represented in the music, a strange blend of sounds, completely made with here own voice.

Yuko Katori is a composer from Tokyo, Japan.  Although her musical studies were mostly about writing vocals for operas and experimental contemporary pieces, in recent years she started to create digital acousmatic music..  The result, or at least one of the results, is this one-track e.p. and it's an interesting piece of work.  Somehow you can compare it with a blend of classical music, traditional Japanese music and experimental ambient.  Yet it remains a minimalistic and intriguing bit of sound design.

Fans of ambient composers like Eno, Glass or Laraaji will definitely embrace these estranging bells and soundscapes and this mystical atmosphere.  It's like a quiet dream in an otherwise stressful nightmare.  It feels unreal but soothing, alien but familiair.  So give it a shot if you're into decent ambient, you just might like this song as much as I do.



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All hail to the power of the riff!  Once again we're facing an amazing throwback into the ancient era of doom metal and once again an Italian band shows us the way into the fuzzy underground of the slowest member of the metal family.  With lyrics influenced fantasy literature and crushing riffs, we're being treated to a psychedelic and occult trip into mysterious realms.  Oh, how I love those realms.

Kröwnn hails from Venice, a city that is widely known for its canals and its romantic atmosphere.  In fact, Venice constists of 118 seperate islands.  I didn't know that yet and it's not really important for this review but it never hurts to learn something, right?  Besides, it makes me imagine this band reheasing on one of these islands.  They must be responsible for many tremendous waves in the water and cracks in the houses with their massive, bass filled riffs and their pounding drums.

Because that's exactly what you can expect from Kröwnn, solid doom metal, similar to deities like Black Sabbath, Pentagram and Saint Vitus.  However, they don't just stay in the ancient ways.  At times the also remind me of bands like Type O Negative, Electric Wizard or Cathedral.  So in that aspect, this is a high quality mix of pure doom.

Of course the riff is the central element in the music on Magmafröst and that's what the main part of this album constists of, long instrumental passages of heavy guitars, guided by pounding drums.   Vocals are actually quite rare and only present if they can enhance the music.  Somehow they sound like a mix between Ozzy and Peter Steele.  Yet, as they're not the most important part of the music, they're mixed somewhat into the background, enhancing the mysterious sentiment.

I love the sound of the bass guitar of this album.  In some bizarre way it sounds (to me) as if comes from the mud beneath this beautiful city, bursting out in rhythmic belches from the belly of earth. In 'To Minas Morgul' for example, the bass growls like a beast from ancient mythology.  This song is probably one of my favourites on this album but it's pretty hard to choose since they're all very strong and epic anthems.

Sometimes as in 'Sleipnir' or near the end of 'Wölfhunt' the tempo goes up, crossing the border between doom and vintage hard rock.  However, the thick layer of fuzz always and almost continuously maintains the gist on this album.  It's remarkable that a quite elementary riff can become such a massive weapon, but it really moves the listener and make this such a pleasant album to listen to.  So kudos to Kröwnn, you have impressed me and I hope you will impress many more people with this stuff...


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p.s. The outro is brilliant !!!

Give Praise Records

Ready for eleven minutes of brutality, chaos, gore and musical filth?  Well, then you should get your hands on a copy of this disgusting little split album.  On the other hand, this is quite an experimental grindcore split and maybe even one of the most varied I've heard in a while.  I know, I don't often listen to grindcore but I do know the genre is mainly known for its in-your-face attitude and its raging speed.

Total Fucking Destruction from Philadelphia (USA) combine punk, grindcore, metal and hardcore into some very weird but highly destructive tunes.  The highly convincing DIY punk-attitude, combined with a decent sense of humour makes their four songs on this split the most surprising ones.  Songs regulary shift tempo and vocal range and even have a melodic aspect, which is quite an achievement when you realize none of the songs lasts over two minutes.

Fubar, from The Netherlands, take their grindcore a bit more serious and come up with five crushing songs in a fierce tempo.  Their flashing guitar riffs, thundering blast beats and guttural vocals have already wrecked stages, audiences and speakers far and wide and on this split it's no different.  Fubar belongs on the foreground of today's grindcore scene.  

I know, this split is only eleven minutes long but that short amount of time is more then enough to leave the listener behind with a severe whiplash, several broken bones and loose bowels.  The split blasts through the speakers at an immense and intense speed while still holding a decent amount of variation.  For many people, this is just sickening noise but for grindcorefans this is perfect sickening noise...



Serge

Oh well, since we're exploring the edges of the world of metal today, we might as well include a decent amount of doom and sludge. After all, a good portion of fuzzy downtuned guitars and brutal growls about the evil an discomforts we experience in our daily lives, keeps us sane for a little while.  Or at least, I hope so, otherwise this town might be in trouble after today's writing session is over...

Saturnine is a all female band with members from four different cities in Italy.  Since their foundation in 2010, the band has suffered several line-up changes which, along with the distance between the cities, slowed them down a bit.  Yet, with this latest full-length, their second after a demo in 2012, will hopefully set them on the right track again, including a lot of stops on a lot of stages worldwide.  

This quintet incorporates all the necessary ingedrients to make 'Mors Vocat' a crushing album.  Monolithic riffs with a lot of fuzz, battering drums and a hellish voice blast through my speakers with a lot of intensity and a lot of respect towards the tremendous history of the genre.  Opener 'Mors Vocat' for instance is a very strong vintage instrumental doom track with a powerful modern-day sound.  

Maybe comparing them with a blend of Electric Wizard and Gallhammer comes closse to what Saturnine sounds like but these women have clearly found their own, disctict style.  I'm quite sure many doom fans will fall for this one and for it's bewitching sound.

From there on the steamroller is set loose and about to crush anything that stands in its way.  'Moloch' drives on a simple but highly effective guitar riff, reminding me of Winter's 'Servants Of The Warsman'.  The vocals on the other hand, bring back the eerie atmosphere of bands on old Candlelight and Osmose Records releases.  This combination of forceful doom and almost blackened vocals make this album stand out in the enormous pool of sludge bands these days.

The cumbersome sound of Saturnine is actually quite mesmerizing and has an almost hypnotic effect on the listener.  I can't help but shaking my head almost constantly to this slow but energetic tempo.  I also enjoy the guitar solos, especially in 'Fangs in the Flesh' which is quite rare because I've never been a big fan of solos, only if they enhance the quality and drive of the song. Here they do, and they are fantastic.

'Crimson Sand' brings out an other element, a raw version of old melodic doom metal like Paradise Lost in their early days.  This way Mors Vocat is quite varied for a sludge/doom album and that's something I can only applaud.  By this song I honestly have to mention that I'm starting to be blown away by this effort.  This is one of the best doom albums I've heard recently. Even for a doom fan like me this stuff is highly surprising and refreshing.

The album continues with this brilliant, vintage doom sound and these scary vocals and it never loses its intensity.  The uptemo passages bring a perfect amount of variation to songs like 'Bones and Regrets' or my favourite one, 'Empire of Guilt'.  And it didn't even mention the psychedelic aspect of the music, capable of bringing the listener in a state of trance.

Saturnine continuously succeed in impressing me and I'm not saying that because all members are women.  In fact, I haven't even looked at their pictures yet because I think the music has to speak for itself before the image of a band becomes important.  That being said, I'm sorry for several male artists in this genre, these girls have enough power to blast them right off stage.


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Sometimes when I receive an album in my mailbox, and I'm talking about the physical edition of both, I get immediately interested.  Not just because I want to hear the music but also because of the beauty of the artwork and mainly because of the effort, money and time the artists have spend to send us a copy.  'Elsewhere' by Animal Version came in today and I couldn't wait to play it.  Funny thing is, the CD got send from a town near our headquarters. In fact, me and my wife regularly visit the historic fort next to the adress where it came from.  The postal service didn't even stamp it.  So Adriaan, you're welcome to come over and collect the envelope if you want.  You can use it again.  But I'm keeping the CD...

Animal Version is an experimental rock band from Edegem (Belgium) featuring former members of Minus45degrees, Johnny Unstoppable and several other bands from Antwerp.  'Elsewhere' is their debut, recorded at Antwerp Music City by Martin Furia (Bliksem, Dans Dans, Vanderbuyst...).  Although you somewhat have to get used to their sound at first, this is an excellent progressive rock album that will hopefully open a lot of doors for this band.

The seven songs on this album are complex pieces of rock music, experimenting with the sound of Tool and Deftones and blending it with the complicated song structures of Dream Theater or Opeth.  Somehow they balance on the edge between rock and metal music with very strong riffs and brilliant vocals.  Yet, in all their progressive experimentation, Animal Version never forgets to 'rock'.  Furthermore, they're not afraid to pour in some electronics here and there and effect to enhance a freakish atmosphere.

What strikes me most in this music, is the continuous shifts in tempo, intensity and atmosphere.  It seems like no ten seconds on songs like 'Octupus' are the same.  This opener might put the listener on a wrong track at first, opening quite jazzy and slow.  However, after a few minutes this song blasts and rocks, and has me it its grip.  'Sonic Silhouette' opens with a similar progressive jazz intro and then suddenly raises the tempo to headbang-calibre.  These complex structures make this an extremely varied album.

The bass guitar seems to a very important instrument in the music of Animal Version.  In stead of mixing it to the background, it got a prominent place.  The strong supporting role of the bass in 'Silverback Disco' and 'Black Bone Serenity' somehow reminds me of dub and reggae, although this music has nothing to do with those genres.  The similarity lies in the convincing and lively drive of the bass, which forms a strong foundation for the layers of guitars.

'A Zest-like Zero' could in some way be seen as the ballad of this album.  It's a lot slower and less intense than the other songs, which by the way doesn't make it one-sided, at all.  This is simply a very strong progressive rock anthem.  At least for a while, until the tempo goes up and we're suddenly listening to an amazing heavy metal meets post-rock thing.  This wide array of influences is present throughout the enitre album, coming up with a lot of pleasant surprises.

'Dialogue Infinity' is an awesome closer for this whimsical but excellent album.  This song often comes very close to being a metal version of breakcore by incorporating electronics and hyperactive drums.  Yet here too is plenty of place for elaborate slower passages and some in-your-face rock 'n' roll. It ends the album with a hint toward the furthur evolition of Animal Version and hopefully a bright future.

I'm going to finish this review by advising you to check this thing out.  These are seven extremely varied songs, capable of remaining interesting for an hour.  That is not always the case with this kind of progressive and experimental music but Animal Version clearly nailed it.  This is complex rock music at a very high level, showing very experienced and well-attuned musicians.



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We keep on dwelling in the old school for a while, this time with some crushing death metal by Finnish aggressors Sotajumala.  The bandname translates to 'Warlord', so now you should be able to imagine what this music sound like.  These are eight brutal battles from an endless war.  With highly effective weapons like death growls, pounding drums and intense guitar riffs, these warlords shatter everything in sight, except when you're a member of an audience, then they will overwhelm you with a stunning performance.

I have no idea what the vocalist is growling about by the way.  All the lyrics are in Finnish, although you can't always tell that.  The deep, guttural vocals by Mynni Luukkainen give the music an extra aggressive touch, even though there's already plenty of aggression to be found.  For some reason I'm always glad when I hear the old school death metal vocals in stead of the modern day metalcore version.  They simply have a lot more power.

From the very first tones of opener 'Saattajat' I'm reminded of a lot of old school death metal bands like Benediction or Gorefest. Regular shifts in tempo where high energy blasts alternate with slow, crushing passages bring me right back into the g(l)ory days of the genre.  In 'Veljen viha' they show a bit of their melodic side, proving that they're not only brutal maniacs but also experienced musicians.

All the right elements are present.  'Kuolemanmarssi' could actually be a tremendous thrash metal anthem, completely with amain guitar solos and an annihilating tempo.  This song is immediately followed by 'Elävänä omassa haudassaan', almost turning both songs into one.  Here too the thrash elements are clearly present but in a sick, almost blackened approach.  

Every single moment of this album is an insolent slap in the listener's face, keeping him firmly into it's grasp and crushing every last bit of energy out.  Yet, still this band is full of surprises and you actually never really know what's coming next.  'Riimit lihan säälistä' for instance is quite a surprising song.  It differs from the others in some ways, including vocals and high level almost industrial dissonance.

One thing is very certain however, any death metal fan should check this out and will probably embrace this band immediately.  After all, there's years of experience in this band.  'Raunioissa' is their fourth full-length, showing an evolved band that knows a thing or two about writing decent metal songs.  So yes, I can only recommend this album if you're into that genre.  If you're not, Sotajumala will probably annihilate you.  You've been warned...


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Nine o'clock in the morning, rise and mosh, my dear friends.  It's time to get into overdrive and have some fierce metal blasting through our speakers.  Let's warm-up the muscles in our necks and prepare for some serious headbanging. At least for a little while, twelve minutes to be precise but these are twelve damn good minutes.

Corpsia is a trio from Londrina, Brazil, founded in 2012.  Being fans of old school thrash metal bands like Slayer, Metallica and Motorhead, they started writing their own songs.  Their plan was to recreate a modern day version of the genre and they succeeded, that's for sure.  The four tracks, actually three tracks and an intro, breathe the 'loud and proud' atmosphere of the eighties and nineties and I'm quite stunned by the result.  

After the bizarre intro the e.p. opens with 'Warfield', a brutal mid-tempo metal track with a tremendous 'hey - hey - hey' atmosphere.  I'll explain: I can clearly imagine an audience going berzerk, raising their fists and shouting 'hey' whenever the snare drum hits.  The song drives on very powerful riffs and a fantastic voice, a bit rough but perfect for this kind of music.

'Hail' raises the tempo, even to the point where the drums have an industrial feel, as if Anthrax meets Ministry in Machine Head's rehearsal room. Titletrack 'Order From Chaos' thrives on the same elements while even raising the level of intensity.  This is also the songs with the most shifts in tempo, proving the excellent musical craftsmanship on this trio.

So if you're into thrash and death metal, this clearly is your thing and I can only recommend checking it out.  These are well trained thrashers, capable of setting any venue on fire.  I hope to hear and see more of this brilliant metal soon.  This will start a lot of moshpits and trigger tons of stagedivers.


Serge

It's a strange day today.  I got up quite early after a night with very little sleep.  The weekend has been quite exhausting and I don't really know why.  So today I will respectfully ignore the heavy stuff in our inbox and focus on some soothing sounds.  Maybe everybody needs that once in a while, a flash of mindfullness in an obtrusive world.  So thank you Bruno Bavota for sending me this beautiful piece of classical music.

Bruno Bavota is an Italian pianist and composer.  Mediterraneo, his latest full-length, has actually nothing to do with the sea.  This album is about love, harmony, dreams and warmth.  According to the biography, the album was recorded on a dark night as an emotional experiment for the composer.  Later it was represented during a tour in Japan.  The emotions he must have felt during the recording session are clearly present in the music, as it is dreamy and warm, a bit like I imagine a summer night in Italy.

Mediterraneo opens with 'Interlude', which immediately sets the tone for the entire album. For the main part, these are gentle piano ballads, sometimes accompanied by violin or soundscapes.  This combination makes 'Hands' and  'Alba' amazingly beautiful tracks. However, also the piano-only songs are excellent.  Often the fade-out between one note and the next shows so much musical craftsmanship that the music almost becomes something magical.

'Who Lives, Lives' is a very strong piece of piano music that seems to represent a state of solitude.  I can imagine that the composer felt lonely at times in this recording experiment and has captured that emotion brilliantly.  This 'naked' feel is present in many songs.  'The Night' and title track 'Mediterraneo' also breathe this atmosphere.  The latter even reminds me how the word 'meditation' is present in the title.  This is indeed some very meditative music.

In a way this album reminds me of the music by people like Olafur Arnalds, Nils Frahm and Sebastian Plano but without the clear presence of electronics and percussion.  Like the previously mentioned composers, Bavota knows how to turn classical inspired music into something that sounds very modern and very warm.  This talent seems to have sparked a new interest in classical music, finding new listeners everywhere.

I love every second of this album, which at times almost moved me to tears, and I honestly recommend it to anyone who looks for a save haven in this stressful world and to anyone who listens to acts like A Winged Victory For The Sullen and similar artists.  This is a brilliant piece of work and extremely welcome on a day like this...



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Haunter Records

Excelling in minimalistic electronic music isn't an easy task. Sometimes, a lack of variation makes a release quite boring and onesided.  Luckily there are some artists who find a way to avoid wearisome sentiment and create something very interesting.  In fact, electronic music has had an amazing history and evolution, not always resulting in something satisfying but surely as omnifarious as music made with analog equipment.

Somec is Giovanni Napoli, an Italian modular synth artist.  After a tape release earlier, this is his second effort in the form of a 12" and brought to you by the quite versatile electronic music label Haunter Records.  As far as electronic music is concerned, this e.p. is a great variation from the stuff I've been listening and reviewing before.  This is broken techno, defunct electronics and danceable noise at it's most surprising and refreshing.

The album opens with 'Drone DPO', a strange blend of electronic percussion, minimal ambient and noisy techno sounds.  The slow rhythm and soundscapes remind me a bit of trip-hop but in a harsher, creepier version.  At the end of the album we get a remix from this track, which is bit more danceable but also a whole lot darker.  'Exclusive Disjunction' incorporates the same atmosphere, a harsh form of trip-hop but a very nice one.

'Incertezza' sounds like an opening track for 'MD Discount', driving on a continuous beat and a sound that reminds me of old modem sounds. 'Skan' is another short track, incorporating a weird electronic jazzy sound. 'MD Discount' brings out the drones and again some odd percussion.  Of all the tracks, this is the noisiest one, moving far away from generic techno or ambient.  

In all this is a pretty interesting album because it takes us back to the age of synth pioneers while still holding on to modern day rough sound.  It's really difficult to classify this music but I guess it mainly moves within the experimental techno scene.  So there is some beauty to be discovered when you dig into this stuff.  Check it out, you just might find yourself tapping along with the minimal rhythms on this one...


Serge

Sombre Soniks

We all know that Japan is the place to be when it comes to noise music but I don't think I've ever heard dark ambient coming from there.  As they say, there's a time and a place for everything, and today seems to be the perfect time to dwell in the obscure regions of the Japanese underground.  It's not really a surprise that this release has reached us from Sombre Soniks.  This label knows something about dark ambient.  They have surprised us with great releases before and this one is no exception.

Coma Centauri is a Japanese sound artist and writer.  This music is meant to guide a short story which he will release in the near future.  The story seems to have a strong oceanic theme and is influenced by Lovecraft.  So does this music, word and sound will fit perfectly together.  'Wayward Pharos' indeed sounds like wave after wave of soundscapes, like the deceptively gentle tide of tenebrous water.  'His Faithful Specter' is a perfect example of this wavy sound and a splendid dark ambient track.

It's these soundscapes on which this album thrives and quite frankly, there's little more than them.  In 'Eidolon' a hint of percussion lies beneath the layers of sounds and a creepy voice fades in once in a while.  The effect is almost hypnotic, able to bring the listener in a state of trance.  'Reverie' brings out a bit more percussion, including some deep kicks and a menacing gong.  However, the main part remains a collection of drones and lengthy ambient sounds.

This deep, impending atmosphere is present throughout the entire album.  It reminds me of acts like Atrium Carceri or Raison D'Etre.  An 'Eastern' influence seems to shine through constantly but not in a way you can point it out.  This element brings a highly convincible touch of mystery to the tracks. However, it also strikes me how Come Centauri manages to blend bright and dark ambient within a similar theme and a similar sound.  Most of the songs are very dark but 'Hollow Being' is a beautiful deep ambient track, drifting away from the darkness the other songs breathe.

So there you have it, another brilliant dark ambient release by a very talented artist. You might wonder, 'are there bad dark ambient albums'?  The answer is 'yes', I heard a lot of uninspired sounds in this genre but this one clearly isn't.  Wayward Pharos is a high quality ambient album with plenty of variation, almost hidden beneath a thick layer of atmospheric layered sounds.  The result is stunning and of course comes highly recommended...



Serge

Well, here it is: the most anticipated album of 2015 for me. Pure Fucking Trip Metal. Not my words, they're No Joy's... So should all you Stoner Metal or Psychedelic Doom fans jump on this, based on that description? 

No. And yes. No because No Joy are a happy-go-lucky bunch of girls and guys known for their pranks, so that description might not fit the bill for die-hard metal guys. But a big yes because No Joy is just one of those bands that are just so irresistible it is pretty much impossible to ignore them. Ever since their 2010 debut Ghost Blonde the band has been consistent in bringing us a brilliant mix of shoegaze, dreampop, indierock and psychedelica with some punky, surf and metallic infusions. 

More Faithful is a very weird album because even though it might be their most accessible so far, the psychedelic dial is turned all the way to 11. You could easily hear these songs being played on the radio stations, but even then you'd go 'wow this is some pretty far out stuff!'. But then again it's not just psych stuff just for the sake of doing psych stuff. It feels it just flows out of Jasamine (guitars/vocals), Laura (guitars), Michael (bass) and Garland (drums) effortlessly.

Recording (partly, some of it was recorded in Brooklyn), mixing and overdubs were done in an old farmhouse in Costa Rica and you can tell a lot of effort went into making it sound absolutely spot-on. Everything sounds brilliant: it's vibrant, buzzy, fuzzy and warm and it really rocks when it needs to rock. Especially worth mentioning are the gorgeous vocal harmonies; in every track there are delicately layered vocals and choruses. Jasamine might not be the world's best singer, but I can't think of any other dreamy voice that would fit so well to the music. 

Another result of the Costa Rica environment is that it gives the album a lovely laid-back feeling, even in the faster, heavier songs. Just listen to the official single 'Everything New' and tell me that isn't to die for. The warm fuzz of the guitars and the fantastic vocal harmonies.. Definetely the popsong of the year so far. I'm on my 4th listening of the album while I'm writing this, but to be truthful, I was sold after the first couple of notes. 

Do like me, open your hearts to No Joy. It doesn't matter what your taste in music is, just give it a shot and you'll probably end up just as smitten as I am. And if you're into that whole 'Nugaze' thing and you haven't heard No Joy yet then what are you waiting for?? Album of the year already? It's a bit early but the bar is set. High. Very high.

Very, very high...


Bjorn

Usually we don't really write about EDM releases, mainly because none of us have a background in house, techno and trance music.  They do enter our mailbox though and I often check them out to see if there's anything I can write about them.  Yet, still a lot of them get lost in the huge pile of reviews we still have to go through.  However, once in a while a release pops up that grabs my attention and inspiration comes when I start listening.  So I decide to write about it and see where it will lead us.

In this case, it leads us to some caves at the borders of Belgium and The Netherlands.  These caves have been the scenery for illegal dance parties for decades and it looks like they still are.  I've been to some of those parties, or raves, in the past and it was magical, an experience I will never forget.  Dutch DJ SHLTR draws his inspiration from these strange nights and turns it into highly atmospheric dance music.

There's three tracks on this e.p., each of them driving on continuous analog beats and minimal percussion.  Over these basic elements an array of drones and soundscapes float quite freely, creating a dreamlike sound that has the power to get a lot of people on their feet.  The tracks really sound like little journeys through space and remind me of acts like Gas (Wolfgang Voigt).  

Somehow, it seems like this music was created especially to play at those illegal cave parties.  The wideness of the sound on this e.p. is perfect for the mystical acoustics of these underground dwellings and I'm sure they will add a touch of magic to those nights. Moreover, this music is a decent variation of the stuff I usually listen to, so I'm going to listen to it again and maybe dance a little bit in my man-cave...


Serge

bandcamp

Did you notice how much I love doom metal yet?  I don't really know why but of all the metal genres this is probably the one that aligns best with my usual mindset.  So when I founded Merchants Of Air, I was pretty certain that I would discover a lot of awesome doom metal bands, and I was completely right about that.  Just click the genre 'doom' in the list on the right of this screen and dwell into the wonderful world that doom metal really is.  But before you do that, check out Il Vuoto.

Il Vuoto is an Italian doom metal band, formed by Matteo (who also plays in black metal outfit Chiral).  The music on 'Sea Of Emptiness' can best be discibed as funeral doom metal with some post-rock influences.  The latter is mainly based on the elaborate instrumental pieces of highly atmospheric music.  There's two songs and an interlude on this album.  The interlude is a pretty nice but short piece of classical music, with piano and violin.

The other two tracks are huge soulcrushing anthems that remind me of bands like Esoteric, Shape of Despair and even a bit of Nortt. Extremely slow guitar riffs and methodical drums deliver a pitch black atmosphere.  Include some bizarre vocals and deep death growls and you have a brilliant piece of depressive music.  Il Vuoto also incorporate the layers of drones and soundscapes that make post-rock so interesting, especially in 'L'Essence Of Nothingness'.  

Besides being able to write very strong doom songs, Il Vuoto also proves they're excellent musicians.  The pieces of acoustic guitar and piano are beautiful.  They give the e.p. the necessary amount of variation. So, yes, this is a fantastic doom e.p., promising a great future for Il Vuoto.  This effort makes people like me hungry for more and I can only hope a full-length will be in the making soon, along of course with a tour, passing my town (or country, or neighbouring country, I'll travel for this one).  


Serge

We're in France, or better, we're listening to two French bands.  Each of them with their own distinct sound, firmly rooted in the early days of the doom metal genre.  This split is available on 10" vinyl and I recommend checking it out if you're into any of the bands I'm about to mention in this review.  It takes me way back into my childhood when I played records by seventies rock bands on an old pick-up record player.  

Northwinds opens the split with 'Witchcoven'.  The song begins with an acoustic guitar and a hint of psychedelica.  However, halfway through, this song turns into a great seventies inspired rock song, reminding me of bands like Deep Purple, complete with strong, clean vocals and the organ sound in the keyboards.  This band from Paris is mainly inspired by bands like Saint Vitus, Trouble and Candlemass and it's no surprise that this song breathes a similar atmosphere.  

Marble Chariot hails from Bordeaux and brings us the track 'Darkness Descends'.  This track too is a huge throwback into the ancient version of doom metal.  It's a bit slower than the previous one and issues a heavier sound and a deeper voice that somehow reminds me a bit of Danzig or Morrissey.  I know these two aren't always popular people but don't let those names keep you from getting your hands on this split.  This 'Darkness Descends' is a very strong doom metal song with a lot of variation and a solid sound.

In all, this is a very interesting e.p. that shows two different bands playing their version of old school doom metal.  Powerful, monolithic riffs blast through my speakers and deliver a gloomy atmosphere on an otherwise beautiful spring day.  This is an excellent e.p. and a welcome addition to any doom collection, that's for sure.



Serge

Who would have thought that doom metal still had the power to surprise me.  For a genre that's mainly based on a slow tempo and monolithic riffs, several bands still manage to create something unique and highly versatile.  Every metalhead knows that there's a lot of variation in the genre.  After all, Candlemass, My Dying Bride, Conan and Electric Wizard differ a lot from each other and the sludge genre has surely had a huge impact on that multiformity in recent years.  

Today I'd like to introduce Pendulous, band from Los Angeles.  This American city was also the birthplace of doom gods Saint Vitus and many other bands.  So it's no wonder that Pendulous has a serious background in doom metal.  Even more so, they manage to incorporate the diversity of the genre in only one album and include even some more influences.  So get ready for an amazing ride with a highly talented band.

The album opens with some spoken word, guided by clean guitars and minor drones.  In fact, this is one of the longest intros I've ever heard.  Yet, in perfect doom tradition, the following songs are even longer.  'A Faltering Will' immediately reminds me of My Dying Bride.  Melodic doom with clean vocals and grunts bring me right back into the nineties.  The tempo remains crushingly low but the song has a splendid drive and a brilliant atmosphere.

Then, suddenly, in '40 Years' the blast beats and black metal riffs appear.  This is one intense beast of a song, the fastest on this album.  Once the blast beats and the brutality fade away, this song starts reminding me of some old school goth rock bands, right before a lengthy instrumental post-rock passage comes up.  The influence of post-rock is very present on several of the remaining songs on this album, which makes 'Hibernal Sun' an amazing track.  Here too spoken word pasages are used.

'Closure' returns the old school doom metal sound and incorporates the same strong vocals as 'Pendant World', which is actually an excellent dark rock ballad that Anathema could have written.  The album closes with another piece of spoken word, this time accompanied with piano and beautiful post-rock elements.  It's a perfect closer for a brilliant album like this one.

In all, I can honestly say that this is one of the best doom metal albums I've had the chance to review for this webzine.  I'll end this writing by once again expressing my hope for a live performance anytime soon.  On stage, this music becomes absolutely magical if played as convincing as through my speakers in my living room.



Serge