Merchants Of Air
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • Albums
    • Concerts
  • Interviews
  • Giveaways
  • Playlists
  • Shop
    • Merchants Of Air releases
  • About us
    • About Us
    • Writers Wanted
    • Logos and banner
    • Advertise
    • Mailinglist

Bearstorm - Americanus

7/7/2015

Comments

 
black metal / southern rock
Grimoire Records
facebook
Picture
My street looks like a battlefield at the moment.  Since the roadworks started yesterday, nearly all of the trees have been cut down and destroyed, leaving piles of debris, wood and leaves lying around everywhere.  The old pavement looks like a warzone, complete with bomb craters.  It looks like an apocalyptic vision of our future.  Enter 'Americanus' by Bearstorm to accompany that vision with deafening blackened post-everything, the perfect soundtrack for the view outside my window.

Bearstorm was born in 2008, founded by metalfans with backgrounds in classical music and jazz.  This would already be an interesting combination but there's even more.  Other genres like country, post-rock, sludge and old hard rock are also incorporated.  There's not a lot of country music audible, which isn't really a bad thing.  I really don't want to see people line dancing at a black metal concert.

Because yes, this is mainly a black metal album, filled with haunted screams and highly progressive and technical music.  The band themselves call it 'blackened southern deathprog'.  From a metal standpoint, you can compare them with a mix of Opeth, Krallice, Iron Maiden and The Shining.  Furthermore, I wouldn't be surprised if jazz fans can appreciate this album, maybe not the vocals but definitely the music.

The album opens with 'Glacial Relic \ Riparian Forest'.  Immediately the band shows their abilities and their experience as musicians.  Complicated guitar riffs and song structures guide a fierce, brutal voice.  Tempos continuously change, along with intensity and power.  'Little Portals to the Greater Sadness' opens with vintage hard rock riffs and suddenly turns into an awesome musical maze.  'Why we can't have nice things' drives on a fantastic stoner rock riff.

It's impressive to witness all these different influences and elements thrown together into a bleak and grimm black metal atmosphere.  Beyond the musical crafsmanship, Bearstorm clearly knows how to grab you by the troat with their massive sound.  Somehow they managed to create a highly convincing soundtrack for the formation and history of North America.  From the torpid brutality of plate tectonics to the sheer violence of American war, genocide and exploitation, everything is perfectly present on 'Americanus'.

The album last for 36 minutes and is a crushing piece of complex, progressive music like you've probably never heard before.  Fans of the bands I've mentioned earlier in this writing really can't go wrong with Americanus.  These fans usually are musicians themselves by the way, enjoying a concert of album by being mesmerized by the incredible ingenuity the band possesses.  All I can do to end this review, is suggesting to check out this epic piece of music.  It really is quite stunning what these guys are capable of.


Serge
Comments
    subscribe to our newsletter

    Genres

    All
    Acoustic
    Alternative
    Ambient
    Avant Garde
    Avant-garde
    Black Metal
    Blues
    Children
    Classical
    Country
    Crust
    Dark Ambient
    Dark Jazz
    Darkwave
    Death Metal
    Doom
    Dream Pop
    Drone
    Drum & Bass
    Dub
    Dubstep
    EBM
    Electro
    Electronic
    Ethereal
    Experimental
    Folk
    Folk Metal
    Funk
    Gothic
    Grindcore
    Grunge
    Hardcore
    Hard Rock
    Heavy Metal
    Hip Hop
    Hip-hop
    Idm
    Indie
    Industrial
    Instrumental
    Jazz
    Krautrock
    Martial
    Math Rock
    Metal
    Metalcore
    Neo Classical
    Neo-classical
    Neo Folk
    Neo-folk
    Noise
    Noise Rock
    Noise-rock
    Nu Metal
    Nu-metal
    Opera
    Pop
    Post Metal
    Post Punk
    Post Rock
    Progressive
    Psychedelic
    Psytrance
    Punk
    Reggae
    Rock
    Score
    Shoegaze
    Singer/songwriter
    Sludge
    Soul
    Southern Rock
    Speed Metal
    Stoner
    Symphonic Metal
    Synthpop
    Techno
    Thrash
    Triphop
    Trip-hop
    World

    Archives

    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015

Find us on

facebook
google+
twitter
tumblr
​
minds

About Us

Contact
FAQ
Logos and banners
© COPYRIGHT 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.