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

Three Way Plane - Your Kingdom, My Life

5/7/2017

Comments

 
alternative rock / noise rock
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
I think this is the first time I have to write a review again. I wrote this one a few months ago, in May to be exact, but apart from the title and the embedded bandcamp link, the whole thing somehow disappeared. That has never happened before. But it's ok, 'Your Kingdom, My Life' by Greek alternative rock band Three Way Plane is a stunning album.
Why? Well, because initially, Three Way Plane is a post hardcore band but over the years, they have evolved into something more interesting, adding elements from grunge, noise rock and alternative rock to their sound. Furthermore, they have never been afraid of experimenting, which is always good.

Opener 'Inner Warfare' is my favorite track in this album, a dissonant, pounding piece of noise rock that somehow sounds like a world class alternative rock song. It takes the weirdness of their previous effort and turns it into rock greatness. About that previous effort, I had this to say: "If these Greeks can manage to put as much variation and weirdness into forty minutes as in six, they're well on their way to become something that will surprise and disturb audiences everywhere."

So did they? Hell yeah, they did. Another prime example of Three Way Plane's genius is the highly immersive 'A Waltz For Unity & Love', which incidentally was the single I reviewed earlier. Today, I absolute adore this bluesy stoner noise grunge tune. I think it's was an excellent idea to put this on the full length. It shows perfectly what this band stands for: excellent music, regardless of genre restrictions. I for one can only applaud that. In fact, I have been applauding these guys so hard that they ended up in my book. 

Then, there is the punky 'Get Off Your Hands', a song that will get a large part of the audience off their feet, or banging their head. Just to show you a bit of the level of variation this album contains. You know, maybe it's a personal thing, but when I look at the alternative rock scene, bands like Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Therapy? have been the defining ones, but somehow, Three Way Plane is a defining one too. I really hope the future of alternative rock music sounds somewhat like this.

You want post psychedelic kraut funk? Listen to 'Xepiasakos Theme'. You love that old Faith No More weirdness? Try closer 'Psychic Changes'. You want post metal? You got it. Fact is, Three Way Plane are so diverse and divergent that it's impossible to categorize them properly. All I know is that is a highly recommended album, one that surprise and stun you on many occasions. Check it out, and then check it out again because it might need to grow on you for a while but it's definitely worth it.


​Serge

Comments

Brieviews 22

31/3/2017

Comments

 
Picture
Picture
check out our store

Lynhood - Septembre

ambient / experimental / shoegaze
Atypeek
Amazon
bandcamp
Picture
Lynhood is the solo project for French bassist Chloé Della Valle, founder of the Grenoble label. Lynhood is also a very interesting take on ambient, drones, noise pop and shoegaze. Armed with a bass guitar, her dreamy voice and a loop station, Lynhood creates textured pop songs with a gritty edge. That now results in this four track ep which at times is extremely melancholic. While opener 'Tree' is a gentle tune, 'White Emperor' is a tremendous tearjerker, gloomy and deeply introvert. In all, this ep is not an easy pill to swallow but certainly one worth the effort. It's simply another interesting take on drones and ambient. Try it out...

Duality - Archeology

metalcore / metal
facebook
Picture
French metal act Duality come up with a complex but immersive take on progressive metal and metalcore, a genre I'm not always a big fan of. However, the three songs on this ep are laced with oriental influences, unusual vocal lines and tantalizing electronics, which make this thing a lot better than I expected. The songs are quite slow but still contain heaps of energy and grinding riffs. My personal favorite on this ep is 'Osiris', an intense piece of work that will often surprise the listener. I suggest you check it out, musical surprises are always a good thing as they open your mind for new things.

Never Train - Dnar

hard rock
Inverse Records
facebook
Picture
They call it "street rock", but I think the term "hard rock" will fit the band very well. I mean, uptempo rockers with a dirty edge and plenty of power, both in the riffs and in the vocals, that spells hard rock in my book. Never Train, a band from Finland, does nothing really new but they did record three highly convincing pieces of good old fashioned rock 'n roll. There is a little bit of Skid Row in here, a dash of Ramones and even a touch of Guns 'n Roses. So this just can't go wrong. Opener 'First We Live' is my favorite. 'Hope In Youth' is a rocking dance floor filler and closer 'Dnar' is simply an uplifting piece of old school hard rock. You might need this...

Dominique Charpentier - L'attente

classical / ambient
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
The email that contained this ep, also contained the words "It's a piano solo album", which is probably the truest thing I have ever read. On this ep, there is a piano and ten massively experienced fingers who gently help the instrument reveal its dreams. The five short pieces on this ep are soothing and minimal classical pieces that can lighten up every day. I don't care what genre you usually listen to, dear reader, but I strongly urge you to purchase this album. Music like this should be in everybody's collection. Everybody needs moments like these, moments to meditate and look into their own soul. This album can help you with that...

Vautour - Vautour

drum & bass / industrial metal
facebook
Picture
With the energy of a metal album, French electronic act Vautour comes up with six massively energetic pieces of industrial music. Fans of Chase & Status or Pendulum will undoubtedly embrace this thing. There are references towards hardcore techno, dubstep, drum & bass and breakbeats but also towards rock and metal, be it a highly electronic form If you ever see a moshpit forming during a drum & bass gig, it will probably be while Vautour is playing live. In all, this debut is an interesting piece of work, one which will definitely get your dancing boots on. I can see good things happening for this act in the future.

Moonlight Prophecy - Eternal Oblivion 

progressive / thrash metal
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Philadelphia's Moonlight Prophecy is a Progressive, Thrash and Neoclassical Metal project from multi-instrumentalist/songwriter Lawrence Wallace, and that is pretty much all you need to know before getting your hands on this stunning ep. Mostly instrumental, this three-track is loaded with shredding riffs, epic guitar solos and a massive drum sound, all coming with a gloomy atmosphere. People have said that this compares to Nevermore meets Testament and I'm not going to disagree with that. Fans of epic, technical and immersive metal can easily trust this project to deliver the goods. So yep, recommended as hell, this one...

Era 9 - Warrior

nu metal
Soundcloud
Amazon
facebook
Picture
This single by Montreal based rock band Era 9 is a very nice appetizer for their upcoming album (planned to be released in May). This song seemingly blends influences from Linkin Park, Paramore, Lacuna Coil and even Skrillex and throws them into one immersive piece of music. The result is a possible hard rock charts hit, a song that would do perfectly well as a Wrestlemania tune, for example. So yes, it's worth to check this out. I'm already curious for the upcoming full-length and if you're into anything that smells like nu metal, you should too...

Electric Floor - Fader

synthpop / new wave
Vipchoyo Sound Factory 
Amazon
facebook
Picture
With elements from indie rock, new wave and synth pop, this trio politely invites you to the dancefloor, especially if you are a fan of Echo & The Bunnymen, Psychedelic Furs, The Cure, Human League and so on. These five tracks seem to come directly from the eighties but will just as well please fans of modern day indie rock. Opener 'Bluedive' and the gloomy 'Borderland' are my favorites on this five track but all the songs are worth your attention. So yes, for a nostalgia trip, this is definitely a highly recommended ep and to be frank, I'd rather go see these guys on stage than Depeche Mode.

Headless Horseman - 47009

techno / industrial
47
facebook
Picture
Speaking about invitations to the dancefloor, this one is something for the discotheques and dance festivals around the globe. Headless Horseman delivered a four track ep, loaded with beats and eerie soundscapes. Yet, instead of the regular 4/4 beats, this act gives the whole thing an industrial touch, reminding me of acts like Imminent, Sonar, Morgenstern or Synapscape. The opener, 'Widow's Peak' is my favorite here, along with the Scorn-like dark dub track 'The Day She Vanished'. So yeppers, for a techno record, this is a bloody good one, one that will find the way to my playlists quite often from now on.

Lonely The Brave - Diamond Days

alternative rock
website
Amazon
facebook
Picture
British band Lonely The Brave delivered a nice four track ep, named 'Diamond Days'. On this ep, the band comes up with small rock anthems, seemingly influenced by alternative rock, indie and post rock. Opener and title track 'Diamond Days' is a possible fan favorite, an intelligent rock anthem that would fit perfectly well in today's alternative rock community. 'Two Heads' is a bit heavier and 'Collider' is another awesome anthem. The ep closes with a nice version of 'The Rat', originally recorded by The Walkmen. In all, this ep might not be earth shattering but it's definitely a nice addition to your collection.

Misto - Infinite Mirrors

post rock
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
This debut ep by Italian one-man post rock act Misto has been released last year but it only reached us a short while ago. Usually, when that happens, the release ends up in the pile of albums-we-don't-have-time-for but this time I'd like to make an exception. Why? Well, this is a very nice six-track ep, containing some gentle post rock tunes. This certainly is one of those ep that would perfectly fit in your massive post-rock playlists, there where Explosions, Godspeed, Mogwai, Caspian and Astronaut also roam. So go ahead, download these tunes help me in hoping that Misto will form a band and tour soon...

Grave Plague - The Infected Crypts

death metal
Give Praise Records
Redefining Darkness Records
facebook
Picture
On to the extremes then, courtesy of American death metal horde Grave Plague. Their sole goal is to resurrect the old school version of death metal and on this two-track ep they do exactly that. With a sound that reminds me of something between Dismember and At The Gates, this quintet blasts two ferocious slabs of vintage death metal through my speakers at a very high paste. The whole thing is quite short but powerful enough to demolish a small suburb. So if you're into grinding riffs, sick grunts and pulverising tempos, this one should have a spot in your collection. Period.

HaatE - Crystal : Farewell

dark ambient / black metal
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Italian black ambient act HaatE returns with a mesmerizing and hypnotic ep, one that has everything it needs to be a solid reference to this dark and mysterious genre. Although mostly rooted in dark ambient, there are elements from black metal and the whole post-black/rock scene. The end result is a sonic journey that never disappoints, never gets stale and continuously contains this cold, eerie and haunting atmosphere. I can only recommend this thing to all you dark souls out there. For people like you, this music is comforting and calm while it's dark and scary for others. Great work, a must-have.

Kolfskop - Cambozola Superster

experimental rock
facebook
Picture
The weirdest ep in this edition of Brieviews comes from Belgian trio Kolfskop. These guys from Ghent once had an idea about how music should sound, threw that overboard and started experimenting, influenced by Zappa, Waits, Beefheart and Primus. Now, they come up with this strange ep, one that has the words "avant-garde" written all over it. Nonetheless, this thing comes highly recommended because it's something you just don't hear very often anymore. Oh, and it's all in Dutch, but don't let that stop you. After all, plenty of Belgians are musical geniuses as well as completely mad.

Eli van Pike - Herzschlag

gothic / industrial metal
Darksign Music
Amazon
facebook
Picture
A German-American cooperation, deeply rooted in the dark industrial metal scene, that has got to be interesting. And it is, certainly for fans of bands like ASP, Oomph, Wolfsheim and so on. This single contains the gothic rock song 'Herzschlag' and a bunch of EBM/industrial/future pop remixes. Personally, I would have preferred one or two other songs on this single, just to add a touch of variation, but nonetheless, this is an interesting example of today's gothic scene. So I guess the choice is yours, and I strongly suggest checking this single out. If you like it, why not get the whole album?

Fork / Göttemia - Indre Enfold

punk
Kraftpest
Fork
Göttemia 
Picture
And we end this edition of Brieviews with two bands from the Norwegian punk underground, bands that have been playing live and touring for years and became quite good friends. Fork comes up with two energetic punk songs, nudging towards alternative and noise rock but still raunchy enough to please hardcore punks. Göttemia adds three aggressive punk tunes to the mix, perfectly capable of getting that mosh pit started. Both acts seem to do exactly what they want, which obviously is in perfect punk tradition. So, punk of all ages, check this out. You'll love it.
Comments

Hyenas - Deadweights

14/3/2017

Comments

 
post metal / sludge / hardcore
Pelagic Records
Amazon
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Picture
check out our shirts
Well well, here seems to be the perfect soundtrack for a day like this one. People and things have been annoying me all day long. Schoolkids in the store, stuff that keeps falling to the ground, Belgian car drivers, Dutch car drivers... Damn, I wish I could lock all of them up in some kind of cave and blast this pummeling album by German hardcore extremists Hyenas at full volume. That'll fucking teach them.

For the record, I suppose none of those people who annoyed the shit out me have ever heard of this band, since they probably only listen to what our mindnumbing radio stations throw at them. So, for them, this whirlpool of aggressive riffing, skull splatting drums and ferocious vocals would make a perfect torturing device. For the season hardcore, post metal and sludge fan, this absolutely is a must-have.

'Deadweights' is a rather short album, but as far as brutality, raunchiness and raw energy goes, these twenty six minutes are more than sufficient. In eleven songs, Hyenas present an intense slab of distorted guitars diven noise, resembling bands like Everytime I Die and Norma Jean. So for those interested in extreme and filthy punk, songs like 'Smoothtalkers', 'Homeostatis' and 'Ambiself' will definitely get you into the pit. Buy it, now.


Serge

 
Comments

Jagged Vision - Death Is This World 

6/3/2017

Comments

 
sludge / stoner metal / hardcore
Fysisk Format
Amazon
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Picture
check out out t-shirts
A few days ago, I had a weird dream. It took place in ancient Egypt, but it was different. In my dreams, the Egyptians had discovered the power of sound. Instead of gigantic walls, they kept enemies at bay with massive speakers, blasting out a harsh, pounding noise. Whenever an enemy tribe would approach, the sheer power of the sound would just blew them back to where they came from. The bouldering noise was too much for their puny little bodies to bear. Heads exploded and the ones that got away had become deaf for the rest of their lives.

I don't think it's a coincidence that this dream appeared the night after I first listened to this album by Norwegian steamroller Jagged Vision. With their blend of stoner metal, thrash metal and hardcore, these guys easily blast through walls, and probably your sanity too. From opener 'Betrayal' to closer 'Palehorse', this album is an intense assault on your eardrums. That opener is one brutal mothersludger too if you ask me, drenched in thrash metal riffs and with the energy of a supernova.

The level of aggression is extreme, the riffs and pounding drums seem to come from everywhere while the harsh, brutal vocals bash you down. 'I Am Death' even takes things a little further, borrowing elements from the black metal scene. Perhaps that is why that song is my favorite one on this album. 'Feeble Souls' is another mindboggling piece of work, something between Kylesa, Mastodon and even Arch Enemy.

I know, this is not death metal, but believe me, young death metal fans might piss their pants in sheer distress when they listen to this album. It's aggressive and brutal enough to compete with that scene. Others will quickly start banging their heads to powerhouses like 'Seven Seals' and 'Forlorn'. I can easily see this music cause moshpits, stage divers and crowdsurfers everywhere. So yes, if you like beat-down music, this surely is your thing.


​Serge
  
Comments

Brieviews 21

4/3/2017

Comments

 
Picture
Picture
check out our silly stuff

Ibyss - Hate Speech

industrial metal
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
When several media refuse a release because it's 'too provocative and problematic', Merchants Of Air puts it on top of a new edition of Brieviews.That's exactly what happened with this conscience-kicker from German industrial horde Ibyss. Inspired by Godflesh, Nailbomb, Ministry and Treponem Pal, these guys blast out an intense and heavy heap of distorted guitars, pounding drums and brutal vocals. So to hell with mainstream media, this shit is the shit. I mean, this isn't even a political ep, but one that simply wants to tell you to use your common sense and not be an asshole. Besides, it rocks!!!

Primal Age - A Silent Wound

metal / hardcore
Deadlight Entertainment
facebook
Picture
Some more kicks in the brain come from French vegan aggressors Primal Age. This ep is rooted deeply in the hardcore and metalcore scene, which obviously results in fierce riffs, tormented vocals and a wide array of murderous tempo changes. Fans of everything between Kickback, Hatebreed and Arkangel will easily adopt this killer into their collection. Fans of Slayer should check out the last song, which is a tribute to Jeff Hanneman in the form of a medley with his best riffs. So yes, this is a short but firm assault on the muscles in your neck, but by now you should already be used to that...

Angus Black - Live From The Cellar

stoner rock / psychedelic
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
The band name looks like a tribute to both AC/DC and Black Sabbath, something which might get old hard rock fans immediately interested. So good choice there, but how is the music? Well, not that much AC/DC but an excellent dose of sabbathesque and fuzzed out psychedelic rock. This ep by Finnish fuzzers Angus Black was recorded live in their rehearsal cellar and it's exactly what you can expect from these guys on stage. If Type O Negative would have made stoner rock, Angus Black would have a problem, but now, these guys are just another great psychedelic rock and doom band you want to see on a stage near you very soon. I do.

Flicker Rate - Reframe 

post rock / math rock / progressive rock
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
The second ep by English one-man act Flicker Rate is pure ear candy. With progressive guitar lines, a solid post-rock build-up and epic passages, this act certainly delivered something highly immersive and entertaining. In four tracks, this kid show both high class technical skills and a decent flair for atmospheric and instrumental storytelling. And yes, "kid", because the person behind this project is only seventeen years old. I wish more seventeen year olds would do something like this instead of hunting for Pokemons. Then again, not every teenager is a talented musician. Spencer Bassett surely is and I highly recommend checking this ep out.

Quick & Dirty - Falling Down​

alternative rock / hard rock
facebook
Picture
Hurray, boobies. That's one reason to buy the ep. I mean, the fact that the ep contains a bunch of heavy rocking blues songs that will make you shake your ass like there is no tomorrow, is a good plus. The obvious influences from everything between Led Zeppelin and Foo Fighters will fill your evenings with joy, which is also a massive advantage. I mean, heavy blues with the energy of alternative rock is a must-have on all those summer festivals in need of a good kick-ass rock 'n roll band that will automatically increase the alcohol consumption, also a plus. But you know you will mainly buy this ep for the boobies...

Analogue Wave - Hope

electronic / trip hop
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Irish duo Analogue Wave are knocking on the doors of Depeche Mode and Massive Attack fans, hoping to find interested ears for their immersive electronic music. 'Hope' is a great song, eclectic, energetic and danceable. I hear influences from Amon Tobin and Gus Gus, which are always a plus in this household. The ep also contains a heavy remix by experimental psych/kraut collective Tuath for the same song and one by Ummagma for the song 'Mezkal'. The latter is a classic synth pop tune that will easily get Depeche Mode fans shaking their behinds. Nice single, certainly recommended.

Mahùt - Your Violin Is Still Playing

post rock / electronic
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Post-rock for Boards Of Canada fans, that's pretty much what Italian duo Mahùt delivers. Their new ep is loaded with gentle instrumentals, rooted in the post rock scene but also carrying a wide array of electronics. The six songs are well-varied, not too long and listener friendly. Picking a favorite one isn't easy but I will have to go with the gloomy and beautiful 'The Last Time We Spoke', probably because I can't resist violins and deep bass lines. So obviously, I will recommend this one to all post rock fans out there, just like I would to all fans of downtempo electronics. This one is a must-have.

Rückwater - Bonehead

stoner rock
Amazon
facebook
Picture
Right, time to dive back into the thick cesspool of the psychedelic stoner rock scene. With two equally rough and intense vocalists and a kickass sound, these Fins blast like there is no tomorrow. This six-track ep is a strong, dirty and heavy gem, a certain recommendation for fans of Truckfighters, Black Rainbows, 1000Mods and everything in between.  The blues-ballad 'Labyrinth' is a masterpiece, one that should have been written and recorded forty years ago. So yes, if you are a stoner (rock fan), you have to check out this ep. It will immediately raise the temperature in your room to desert-levels. 

Absinthe From Society - The Angels Ignored Us

metal
bandcamp
Amazon
facebook
Picture
Canadian metal trio Absinthe From Society comes up with a raw and heavy four-track ep. The band, influenced by everything between Jimi Hendrix and System Of A Down does not want to be innovative. Instead, they want to rock and in that, they are pretty good. Although I'm not a fan of the song 'Hellbound', 'A Man Possessed' is a great track, groovy, heavy and pounding. 'Never' feels like an eighties new wave tune, which is surprising but also welcome. 'Worth It' is an interesting rock ballad. That being said, yes, this is damn varied. I think a lot of rockers will appreciate this. It's nothing new but good enough to be entertained, which is all we need...

Ancst - Furnace

hardcore / black metal
Vendetta Records
Yehonala Tapes
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
A dark, impending intro, followed by one of the most brutal sonic assaults in the history of music, thriving on hardcore and drenched in a blackened atmosphere, that's what you get when you purchase this murderous piece of music. German blackened crust horde Ancst delivered a relentless ep, one that is out for nothing less than utter destruction. Of course, this stuff is not suited for untrained ears and for people who like to maintain their sanity. But fans of extreme metal will gladfully bask in the pitch black darkness delivered by these masterminds. I mean, I'm not a fan of crust and hardcore but this album is bloody awesome.

Vorzug - Three

death metal
bandcamp
Amazon
facebook
Picture
Strange, after listening to the previous ep in this list of Brieviews, this one by American death metal combo Vorzug doesn't sound as heavy and intense as I expected. Nonetheless, opener 'The Ever Living' is a brilliant piece of old school death metal. There is plenty of aggression and intensity but also room for melody and decent songwriting. 'Under A Dying Sun' is my favorite here, a solid headbanger which no death metal fan can resist. I'll leave the closer up to you, but I promise you, it's worthy of a spot in your death metal playlist. I mean, look at me, loving death metal again...

Sangre de Muerdago - Os Segredos da Raposa Vermella

dark folk / neofolk
Neuropa
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Time for something completely different. The band calls it "forest folk" and I would like to add "old continent music". Sangre De Muerdago come up with an ancient folk sound, something that will easily appeal fans of In Gowan Ring, Arnica or Wardruna but also by fans of Mike Oldfield. With traditional instruments and dynamic percussion, this music is a solid soundtrack for solstice ritual in the middle of a forest. Of course, you're absolutely free to enjoy this in the comfort of your living room or bedroom as well, and I suggest you try that. It's a great listening experience, I promise.

Serge
Comments

First Blood – Rules

28/2/2017

Comments

 
hardcore
bandcamp
Amazon
facebook
Picture
Picture
check out our shirts
Rules is an album by hardcore band First Blood, released on February 10 by Pure Noise Records. With twelve tracks – Fuck the Rules, These Are the Rules, Rules Meant to Be Broken, Rules of Life, Rules of Conviction, Rules of Engagement, Rules of Justice, Rules of Survival, Rules of Freedom, Rules of Sacrifice, Rules of Government and Rules of Crisis – this is a ferocious, incredible, amazing and almost delinquently explosive album, with a major set of songs that brings back the true essence of the genre, reviving the genuine soul of hardcore music. With belligerent and true to the ground lyrics, hostile, rude and crude rhythms and an authentic sense of duty, First Blood gives to its audience a major panel of civic aggression, that is not only loyal to the genre, but also defies deeply the very own meaning of their artistic and musical mission, in a very solid and prominent basis, that ostensibly relegates to the merits of its own sincere brutality the exasperating exposition of the ongoing hardships of life, a common theme to the genre, used to give a very honest treatment to the most controversial topics and subjects of existence.

With incredible, hard and very brutal melodies, Rules is one sonorous explosion after the other. With songs usually objective and short, First Blood really knows how to deliver a message, and with the right intensity. With powerful musical tonalities, that never hesitate, the record is certainly a major achievement for the genre as a whole. Although evidently doesn’t aggregate any new elements, it sticks so vehemently into the veracity of a very peculiar style, that it becomes impossible not to recognize the marvelous work that Rules reveals itself to be.

In general, Rules is a quintessential hardcore album. Despite the fact that doesn’t have vast differences in musical terms from other albums of the genre, undoubtedly outstands itself as a major and very captivating work of art, profoundly compromised with an explicit exposition of truths, in a very direct, lancinating, infuriating and aggressive tone. 

If you are into hardcore, you will positively like Rules very much. With not a single fault to be pointed out, this album is a major revival of all the great components that made hardcore the outstanding genre that this type of music came out to be. And First Blood has a tremendous role on maintaining hardcore as the truth of a very precious, objective and undeniably strong musical movement. 


Wagner
Comments

Brieviews 20

8/2/2017

Comments

 
Picture
Picture
we have weird shirts

Aidan Baker & Karen Willems - Landlos

drone / ambient / jazz / krautrock
Midira Records 
Aidan Baker
Karen Willems
Picture
Another cooperation between Aidan Baker and a drummer, this time Karen Willems from Belgian experimental band Inwolves. Together, the duo recorded two tracks which both showcase the drone ambient we all know Aidan Baker for, but also take on elements from krautrock and jazz. Of course, neither of both musicians go for a conventional way of playing their instruments and in this case, that leads to a strange, mildly psychedelic trip. The overall tone is rather calm and soothing. Of course, this comes highly recommended for all drone ambient fans. You simply can't go wrong with Baker & Willems.

Derby Derby - Love Dance

drone / krautrock / experimental
Ormo Records
bandcamp
Picture
This debut album by French improv-experimentalists Derby Derby is quite an interesting one. Split into two parts, this thirty minutes lasting blend of krautrock and drone reeks of jazz, without losing itself in the chaotic approach of free jazz. Part one, 'Love' reminds me of Caudal, but with trumpets instead of guitars. It's slow, repetitive and immersive, and perfectly suited for all fans of Aidan Baker and company. The other track, 'Dance', is wild, energetic and psychedelic. Both are absolute recommendations for those who love to wander in elaborate musical landscapes, that is a fact. 

Noemie Nours - Songs From The Life Of Bears

singer-songwriter
bandcamp
Picture
These are four of the saddest, most fragile songs you'll ever hear, seemingly recorded somewhere in a bedroom. There is nothing complex or overproduced about this ep, on the very contrary. This is an introvert singer and her instrument, completely locked into herself, into the subdued correlation between the two. The result is an exceptionally minimal singer-songwriter ep that breathes the spirit of folk activism and protest.  Amplified and extended with other instruments, these tunes could become immersive shoegaze songs and I kinda want to hear that happen, but for now, this surely is something to listen to while shedding some tears...

Fen / Sleepwalker - Stone And Sea / Call Of Ashes II

doom / dark ambient
Ksenza records
Amazon
Fen
Picture
A dark and haunting split between Russian one-man act Sleepwalker and UK's progressive black metal act Fen. Sleepwalker opens the split with three amazing pieces of music, ranging from shoegaze to post-rock and doom to dark ambient. Opener 'Somnambulistic Trance' alone is worth the effort of buying the album, an immersive piece of work, like The Cure meets A Swarm Of The Sun. Then there are three Fen tracks, two epic progressive black metal pieces and one calm, acoustic track. Obviously, all six tracks are worthy of a spot in your collection. This simply is an awesome split album, period.

Assent - We Are The New Black

metal / metalcore
bandcamp
Amazon
facebook
Picture
Aah, the French, such a bunch of stubborn experimentalists. Once again a French act comes up with something that defies all classification. This project, created in 2015 by Aurélien Fouet-Barak (vocals, bass, drums programming) blends a bunch of metal genres, including groove metal, black metal, metalcore, progressive and heavy metal, into a whirlpool of heavy, violent, technical and blasting music. With all these different elements, obviously this is a well-varied album. Yet, in all honesty, I do have to say that only trained metal ears will be able appreciate this. For other people, this is just too weird and exhausting, not for me though...

Raptor King - Dinocalypse

thrash metal / hardcore
Amazon
facebook
Picture
We're not done with the weirdness of the French yet, and apparently that also counts for the level of variation and the number of different genres. Here, thrash metal goes fist in fist with hardcore, black metal, stoner doom, heavy metal and whatnot. The result is an ep that rips on your eardrums and stomps your stomach. My personal favorite is the blackened 'Fight 'n Roll', but I would recommend the entire thing because of two good reasons. One, it fucking rocks, and two, the front man is a dinosaur who survived the meteor impact and the following extinction 74 million years ago. I know, it sounds weird but in France, everything is possible...

Nula - Kenoma 

doom / sludge
Black Bow Records
Amazon
facebook
Picture
Hailing from Serbia, Nula comes with a different and refreshing approach to doom and sludge metal. not only are the vocals in Serbian, which is already pretty unique I think, but Nula also brings a sense of melody to their rough and intense sound. Furthermore, it seems like black metal has been one of Nula's influences, along of course with several sludge doom bands. 'Silazak U Prah' is my personal favorite but I'm quite positive that all three songs on this album will eventually end up in my heavy playlist. I suggest you do the same, check out this album, let these Serbians surprise, shock and awe you. You know damn well you want to...

Adrian Pain & The Dead Sexy - Mixed Messages

metal / metalcore 
All-Core
Amazon
facebook
Picture
Canada delivers another slab of musical aggression with metal hybrids Adrian Pain & The Dead Sexy. Here, we have something between metalcore, death and progressive metal, as if Alexisonfire or Funeral For A Friend combined forces with Deftones, Ill Nino or Incubus. In a way, this ep can be seen as a gateway, something to lure younger rock fans into the massive world of metal and core. Honestly, this isn't really my cup of tea, as I'm not a big -core fan, but I have to admit that there are some awesome tunes to be found and that 'Say It Like You Mean It' is a world class song. So, youngers, meet your new favorite...

Soothsayer - At This Great Depth

doom / sludge / black metal
bandcamp
Amazon
facebook
Picture
Hell yeah, a huge dreamy post-rock/doom passage, followed by nutsack ripping black metal and sheer brutality. Normally, those sudden outbursts of aggression cause me to go 'meh' but in this case, I'm definitely sold. These Irish doomers have released a stunning ep, with two long tracks, heaps of variation and some psychedelic passages. This is sludge metal at its best, intense as fuck and immersive as hell. And then the second song still has to start. Doomers, doubt no longer, this will provide you with multiple eargasms, or it will make you go absolutely insane, which is just as good...

Illimitable Dolor - Illimitable Dolor

doom
bandcamp
Amazon
facebook
Picture
From Australia comes arguably one of the most beautiful doom metal albums of the year. This album is a tribute to Gregg Williamson, a deceased band member, and perhaps one of the most emotional tributes I've ever heard. The album contains for deep and sorrowful doom anthems, somewhere between the funeral doom of Evoken and the doom death of bands like November's Doom. If you are nostalgic for those glorious nineties and its awe-inspiring bands, you definitely need this gem in your collection, right next to My Dying Bride, Saturnus, Officium Triste & Shape of Despair. Get it now, you will not be disappointed, I promise...

Radien - Maa

sludge / doom
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Oh damn, this is a massive doom monster with fierce claws, perfectly prepared and willing to rip you shreds. Finnish sludge doom horde Radien comes up with a very nasty and gritty version of the genre, seemingly also inspired by the punk scene. The two tracks on this ep are horrifying pieces of music, and that is actually a compliment. Throughout the two songs, I've been thinking about Winter, Skullflower, Dopethrone and the complete uselessness of our existence. Besides, usually, I'm not so high on sludge metal vocals, but this one is awesome. These guys are on their way to become one of my favorites in a precarious scene...
Serge
Comments

Brieviews 18

14/1/2017

Comments

 
Picture
Hurray, the first edition of Brieviews of 2017 is here and once again it's a damn varied one. From shoegaze to grindcore and from techno to djent, it's all in here. I'm sure that there is something you like in here. Enjoy...
Picture
check out our shirt designs

Blushing - Tether

shoegaze / dreampop
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Two husbands and wives making music together, that's always a better idea than go on a joint bicycle trip while wearing similar fluorescent bike-wear, not? Well, it certainly proved to be an excellent time spending idea for these four Americans, making blissful dreampop and shoegaze. In these four tracks, they easily please fans of Slowdive and Cocteau Twins while also coming with with some gritty grunge sounds. Opener 'Tether' is a damn catchy tune, one that might easily get stuck in your head. The other songs are perfect shoegazing tunes, once again highlighting in 'Mess'. This truly is a recommended ep.

88 Mile Trip - Blame Canada

stoner rock
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Another neat idea comes from Canadian stoner rockers 88 Mile Trip. During a beer drinking and record spinning session, they discovered some awesome songs from their home country and decided to cover the ones they like the most. That results in groovy stoner rock versions of songs by Bachman Turner Overdrive, Red Rider, Doug and The Slugs, Neil Young and Stampeders. Yet, the band manages not only to cover the songs but to make them their own, eventually resulting in a surprisingly coherent sounding ep. Although, as good as the ep is, I can't help but continuously singing South Park's 'Blame Canada'. Perhaps a cover idea for the future? 

The Empire Line - Syndicat de la Couture

electronic / ambient
Avian
Picture
Scandinavian multi-disciplinary artists Jonas Rönnberg & Christian Stadsgaard come up with some haunting electronic ambient like only experienced techno producers can do. Opening with the creepy 'Fragrance Arpege', this ep is as atmospheric as it is varied. 'Cafe Anglais' drives on electronic percussion and unidentified noises while 'Jewelry Armoire' is post-apocalyptic soundtrack material with eerie soundscapes. Closer 'Syndicat de la Couture' eventually brings out the analog beats and techno influences, but in a good way, a trancy and somewhat hypnotic way. Nice little gem, certainly recommended.

Movement Of Static - Novelty Seekers

post rock
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
We also have something nice for fans of post rock, namely the Greek band Movement Of Static who have released their quite promising debut ep. Although, ep, the whole thing last over half an hour, which gives us plenty of time to get acquainted with these beautiful tunes. In four songs, Movement Of Static provides the listener with an excellent blend of post rock and ambient with some heavier passages and loads of atmosphere. Opener 'Telomeres' is a brilliant piece of work, dark, creepy and immersive, like Godspeed meets Deftones.  If you like well-varied post rock music, you just can't go wrong with this ep.

Cowards - Still

black metal / hardcore
bandcamp
Amazon
facebook
Picture
Somewhere in the extreme spectrum of the musical universe, we find French horde Cowards and their brand new ep 'Still'. With a blend of black metal, hardcore and sludge, this act plans a vicious assault on your sanity. The music is gritty, noisy and more in-your-face than you can imagine. Pulverising riffs, blasting drums and a vocalist who seemingly feels like he doesn't need his lungs, this thing is out for nothing less than utter destruction. However, they do have a sense of humor, brilliantly covering The Horrorist's 'One Night In NYC', which actually is one of the coolest covers I've ever heard. Anyway, if you want music to murder you, this ep might be worth a shot

Dead Neanderthals - Dolphin

heavy jazz / noise rock
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Dutch heavy jazz combo Dead Neanderthals are seemingly doing everything in their power to make something unique. As a gift to their fans, they uploaded this eleven minutes lasting epos of sax, drums, chaos, intensity and insanity. It's stuff like this that connects the jazz scene with the grindcore and noise rock scenes and I have no idea what most jazz fans will think about this. That aside, I would recommend checking it out, preferably at a ridiculously loud volume and start throwing things against the walls. It therapeutic, I promise, you'll feel a lot better when it's all over. Rare jongens, die Nederlanders...

The Stone Cox - Blackboard

alternative rock
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Hell yeah, time to rock 'n roll  and for that French combo The Stone Cox are the perfect companions. On this ep, they come up with three high energy rock tracks, influenced by everything between Led Zeppelin and Foo Fighters. The first two are heavy and groovy rockers that can get every party started. Closer 'Not Going Home (Hard Red Sun)' somewhat reminds me of a band like The Scabs and shows a more musically gifted side of this band. Anyhow, rockers of all ages can easily appreciate this ep and I hope that soon this will be followed by a full-length. 

Death Metal Pope - Harvest

doom metal
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Imagine that, a death metal pope, growling his yearly "urbi et orbi" from a black and red painted Vatican. Would be funny. However, this Death Metal Pope has nothing to do with Christianity and just barely with death metal. This is a doom metal band which often comes very close to Black Sabbath and on other occasions blasts some guttural grunts and some psychedelic passages in your face. Although I still had my doubts in title track 'Harvest', 'From The Dust Returned' convinced me that this is an awesome ep, one that is certainly worth your attention if you're into old school doom. A must-have for doom fans, that's for sure.

Ben Blutzukker - Analog Blood

heavy metal
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
German one man electro band Blutzukker becomes German one man metal band Ben Blutzukker and comes up with something surprising. As you can see on the cover, one of the influences is Guns 'n Roses but the whole thing sounds more like an Abbath side project, exploring the massive history of heavy metal. The four songs on this ep are quite gritty metal songs, reminding me of acts like Venom or Motorhead. Not bad for songs that were initially electro/industrial tunes. My favorite is 'Red' but I'd certainly recommend every open minded metalhead to check this out and compare the songs to the originals.

A Cunning Man - Practical Applications Of Theurgy

power metal / heavy metal
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Another one man project, and one with a quite unusual twist. A Cunning Man describes his act as "One man metal project with a strong Scottish accent", something I can't deny. Of course, the Scottish accent makes the whole thing sound somewhat weird and drags it into the world of pagan metal. Yet, the music feels like a mesmerizing amalgamation of metal styles, from the power metal of bands like Hammerfall over black and death metal to modern day arena rock. The ep contains three songs which certainly deserve your attention, especially if you want something familiar yet unique. 

Beneath A Godless Sky - ​Beneath A Godless Sky

hardcore / progressive
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
French djent-act Beneath A Godless Sky comes with a debut that will pierce you in more ways that you could possibly imagine. Now, personally, I'm not a connoisseur of the whole djent scene, which to me makes this whole ep sound like something between Meshuggah, Periphery and Tesseract. I guess that's not a band list of bands to be compared with. I do know that the songs on this thing are loaded with energy, intensity and brutality. Besides, some passages here are damn immersive and most riffs are well-worth of an intense headbanging session. In its entirety, I know that this is nothing for me but for fans of progressive hardcore and djent, it is definitely a must-have.

Elusion - Desert Of Enticement

symphonic meal / gothic meal
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
This debut by Belgian band Elusion does not sound like a debut, far from it. If you told me that this was a new effort by After Forever or Epica, I might have believed you. The three songs on this ep are high quality symphonic metal songs, played by seasoned musicians and sung by a talented  woman. What's more, these songs rock, making them perfect headbanging material. Personally, I didn't really follow this particular genre anymore but I'm damn sure that these three tunes, especially the folky closer 'Facade' will appear in my day-to-day playlist quite often from now on. They should appear in yours too if you're into this genre.

Rumah - A View To The Sea

techno
Wolfskuil
facebook
Picture
At festivals, I often wander into the dance hall, even though I do not consider myself a techno fan. However, I usually enjoyed these sonic adventures for a while, which is exactly why I sometimes decide to review a techno ep This one comes from English producer Rumah and contains four high energy dance tunes, mainly inspired by the Detroit scene of the nineties. The first act that came to mind to compare this ep with, was Joey Beltram and you can add people like Jeff Mills or Dave Clarke to that list as well. So yes, this is a recommended release if you're in for some decent, old school dance music.

American Anymen + Lise - Oui

alternative / singer-songwriter
bandcamp
facebook American Anymen
facebook Lise
Picture
From the United States comes a nice cooperation between anti-folk act American Anymen and singer-songwriter/keyboardist Lise. In four songs, both acts seem to explore the possibilities of this get together. Opener 'Nobody Made Me Smile Like You Did' is an excellent ballad while 'Less Complex' and 'Does Anybody Still Think Of Me' are uplifting rock songs, driving on acoustic guitars. Closer 'H' is another ballad, but probably my favorite track on this album. I wouldn't really know who to compare this ep with, Beck maybe? But then again, nice pop songs like these don't need comparison, they just need to be listened to.

The Vomiting Dinosaurs - Exoplanets

death metal / thrash metal
Grimoire Records
Amazon
facebook
Picture
And we end this edition of Brieviews with a short but destructive assault by American thrash-death horde The Vomiting Dinosaurs. In mere  fifteen minutes this trio blasts nine songs of gore and brutality over their listeners and I'm sure those listeners will enjoy the abuse.  Most of the songs drive on fierce hardcore punk tempos and issue an array of guttural growls and screams. If this stuff doesn't get your grindcore party started, you are not having a grindcore party, that's for damn fucking bloody sure. A favorite? Nope, this whole thing is only fifteen minutes long, which makes the entire thing well suited for a session of audible SM.

Serge
Comments

Thrownness – The Passage and the Presence

20/12/2016

Comments

 
crust / grindcore / hardcore
Drown Within Records
Picture
Picture
check out our shirts
For this review we are going to travel back to the roots of our modern civilization, Italy. Not to admire the ruins of Ancient Rome nor to look at beautiful Italian women, but to figure out how the once great empire came to its downfall. Archeologists gave us several reasons: attacks from outside of the empire, the role of Christianity… Never have they told us about what really happened. The empire, the culture, the cities, they were all brought to ashes from within. Loud noisy guitars and an eardrum breaking voice caused the collapse of an entire civilization.

I am talking about Thrownness, an Italian band, and their music can be placed in the genres grind-, hardcore and crust punk. The album ‘The Passage and the Presence’ will be released on 24 December. Yes, that’s right, Christmas Eve. And what does that tell you? Of course, the birth of little baby Jesus. Coincidence? I don’t think so. Quite a few interesting references to religion and philosophy are made on the album. Firstly, the name of the band is ‘Thrownness’, a term introduced by the German philosopher Heidegger. Secondly, the last song is called ‘Fragment of a Crucifixion, 1950’ referring to a painting of the painter Francis Bacon. I can go much deeper into all this stuff, but than I am afraid that I will forget to talk to you about what really matters, their music.

Personally, I think it is not easy to write reviews about hardcore (or grindcore) albums. This is not an exception. All songs are very similar in sound and rather short in length. If you don’t really pay attention to each track individually you might think that the album is just a 20-minute song. The first seconds gave me a trip down memory lane. The high tone lasting for a couple of moments made me almost scream ‘All hail the dead’ by Walls of Jericho. Instead of the big drop that you would expect you will be confronted with rushing guitars with by loads of distortion and drums accompanied by a strong and recognizable voice. What comes next are enjoyable energetic tracks but overall with little variation. My personal favorites in this album are ‘Unclean Lips’ because of the nice switch in pass at the end which brings some variation and ‘Thalassic Regression’. This last one has a particular moment at the end in which you, or I, can recognize the guitar riff from ‘In a Gadda Da Vida’ (In the Garden of Eden) by Iron Butterfly. Finally, with ‘Fragment of a Crucifixion, 1950’ the album ends with a bang.

​If you like breaking stuff, letting yourself go or just to scream your lungs out, this album is the perfect soundtrack.

​Michiel
Comments

Brieviews 17

17/12/2016

Comments

 
Picture
Picture
check out our shirts

Ummagma + A.R.Kane - Winter Tale 

dream pop
bandcamp
Ummagma
A.R. Kane
Picture
The one thing I dislike about Christmas, is the music. From those appaling bells to the 'Frohe Weihnachten' by The Wiener Sängerknaben, it's all horrible. Luckily, this year, there's a decent alternative, a little cooperative single by shoegaze / dream pop acts Ummagma and A.R. Kane. 'Winter Tale' is a gentle, dreamy and quite minimal song, guaranteed to get you into the wintery atmosphere. If you're into stuff like Cocteau Twins, 'Winter Tale' could easily guide you through the darkest days of winter. I also really dig the two remixes, taking on an ambient approach. Nice work...

Verein Freude - Schnappschuss

jazz / krautrock / post rock
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Somewhere between the immersive atmosphere of post rock and the psychedelic approach of krautrock we find the inspiring music of Verein Freude, a German band. On their facebook page, this quartet mentions Miles Davis, Avishai Cohen and several other jazz-musicians, and with good reason too. The music on this ep is a perfect combination of jazz and post rock, well, the mild, subdued version of post rock that is. The end result is a nice relaxed piece of music, perfectly suited for the quiet winter evenings and the lounge bars at the summer beaches alike. Check it out, this is a pleasurable listen.

dy - Flip Side

electronic / idm
ampbitifgo
bandcamp
Picture
On to the electronic scene then, where we meet a project named Dy and his weird, gloomy electronics. In a way, I think it's safe to place this ep between your Aphex Twin and Autechre albums. Dark, haunting soundscapes and broken rhythms make up most of this release, brilliantly highlighting in 'Flipped Out'. Although, I have the say, that eerie opener, 'Cheap Seats' is a great piece of electronic (dark) ambient as well, reminding me even of Deutsch Nepal's percussion rich works. In all, this is a splendid effort, containing five original and immersive pieces of electronic sound art, definitely good enough for my daily playlist.

Architectural - Cubismo

techno
Triple Vision
facebook
Picture
Time to put on your dancing shoes and join me in the discotheque. Spanish producer Architectural comes up with an ep containing four dance tracks, seemingly inspired by the early industrial techno scene of Detroit where strange soundscapes and noises meet repetitive beats and minimal percussion. For me, the ep highlights in the second track ('Cubismo 8.2 (Lost in Buenos Aires)), probably because of those awesome ambient soundscapes. Yet, I just might recommend this one to everyone who isn't afraid of some electronic dance music once in awhile, especially those who nudge towards industrial.

Guruzsmás - Üst A Gríz Felett​

rock / experimental
bandcamp
Amazon
facebook
Picture
Back to the world of rock music, more specifically the experimental corners of that industry. Guruzsmás is a band from Hungary, four guys playing some complex, confusing and fascinating music. It's just as alternative as it's psychedelic and reeks just as much of jazz than it reminds me of Frank Zappa. There are flashes of surf rock, post rock, math rock, noise rock and so on. Hell, there is a didgeridoo and it's mainly instrumental, apart from some troath-singing. Yes, this is a weird album, but nonetheless one that deserves your attention if you want something else, something unique. This is something unique!!!

Crimson Tusk - Crimson Tusk

stoner / doom
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Driven by the sheer power of the riff, Oxford quartet Crimson Tusk come up with a heavy but groovy four track ep. On this, they deliver a solid blend of sludge metal, stoner rock and heavy blues, obviously resulting in delicious fuzzed out rock songs in the vein of Dopethrone, Bongzilla, Weedeater and so on. My favorite track is 'Stray Dog', a guaranteed party started, but I guess that could easily be said about all four of these tunes. Even more so, throughout the album, the party seems to intensify. 'Rollin' made me start a little head-banging session. What a fine stoner doom tune that is. Stoner doomers, you have got to buy this one!!!

Cities of Mars - Celestial Mistress

psychedelic doom
bandcamp
Amazon
facebook
Picture
Swedish doom masters Cities Of Mars take us on an interplanetary mission. With heavy riffing, psychedelic passages and firm, intense vocals, this trio comes knocking on the doors of Yob, Conan, Mastodon and The Obsessed. The three tracks on this ep are simply epic doom metal anthems, with title track 'Celestial Mistress' being an eleven minutes lasting highlight, both on this ep and in the whole doom metal scene. Fans of the above mentioned bands can easily trust Cities Of Mars to deliver the goods so it'll be no surprising that this galactic gem comes highly recommended.

Ur - Hail Death

black metal / doom / thrash
Arachnophobia Records
facebook
Picture
Another shocking piece of extremism comes from Polish horde Ur. They present a six track ep with a grim blend of thrash, doom and black metal. The result is a damn varied piece of work with some fierce headbanging potential. Bands that come to mind include Voivod, Venom, Sodom, Absu, Marduk and so on. Yet, it does feel like a coherent effort. 'The Tongue Of Fire' is probably my favorite song on this one but that's a difficult choice to make. Whom I'd recommend it to? Well, obviously  all those old school black & thrash metal fans out there. This is the real shit!

Dark Messiah - Dark Messiah

thrash metal
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Hailing from Canada, Dark Messiah blends metal, metal and metal into metal. The band was formed in the summer of 2015 and already come up with their debut ep. In a way you can actually hear that. Although the five songs here are decent metal tunes, they're not yet close to the heroes that influenced Dark Messiah (you know, Metallica, Megadeth, Pantera...). But who knows, give time, effort and a professional producer, the future might shine bright for these Canadians. If so, in a few years, many fans will start looking for this debut, so you might as well just buy it now...

Stillborn Slave - 7 Ways To Die

metalcore
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Formed in 2009, French melodic hardcore combo Stillborn Slave have a lot more experience under their belts than the band above, and you can actually hear that. In seven songs, with a total of twenty-eight minutes, these guys blast some brutal metalcore, deathcore or whatever core through your speakers. The absolute highlight is 'End Of Everything', a song that sounds destructive enough to deserve such a title. This definitely is something for the younger generation of metalheads. However, I'm sure seasoned metal fans can easily appreciate the high level of musicality on this one.

Expo Seventy - America Here & Now Sessions 

drone / ambient / psychedelic
Essence Music
facebook
Picture
After all that metallic violence, it's time for something completely different. For that, this massive jam session definitely is a highly recommended piece of work. Like we're used to from Justin Wright, this album is an hypnotic trip through cosmic music and psychedelic rock, something between acts like Om, Earth and Barn Owl, along with the jam bands from the sixties and seventies . This time, two drummers have been added to the mix, giving the whole something jazzy and psychedelic. The end result is a mesmerizing album that will definitely accompany my late-nite writing sessions from now on.

Tellma - Swansong

folk / rock
website
facebook
Picture
Tellma is a French duo, dedicated to playing elegant rock music and that's exactly what you get on this ep. The acoustic guitar is the central instrument on which a number of calm, emotional pop rock songs are written. The songs are not complex, not overly distorted, not rocking your socks off but they are certainly a pleasure to listen to. The music reminds me a bit of Radiohead, David Bowie and Jeff Buckley. The title track remains my favorite, followed by the tearjerking version of Queen's  'The Show Must Go On'.

Deathblow - Demolition Deployment

thrash metal
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
While preparing their upcoming full-length, Salt Lake City thrashers Deathblow throw this short but brutal assault in our faces. The ep contains two songs and a cover version of Motorhead's 'Mean Machine'.  Obviously, this is stuff to bang your head to. Think Overkill, Kreator, Testament, any of your eighties thrash favorites and you'll be very close to what Deathblow delivers. It's fast, varied and relentless, exactly what this kind of music is supposed to be. So thrashers of the world, what are you waiting for? Get your hands on this ep or are you not a true thrasher? I mean, it's only a dollar...

Deep Fryer - Deep Fryer

punk / hardcore
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Songs about hangovers, groundhogs and whatnot, recorded in a basement by a band constisting of members of other Fredericton, New Brunswick based bands, a band with the seering hot name Deep Fryer. I'm not sure if this is all too serious, but that doesn't really matter. What matters is the fact that these are four fierce, aggressive and fast hardcore punk songs that will even make your chamber plants start a moshpit in your living room. My personal favorite? The band's name. I know, I'm not really a hardcore fan but if you are, you have to download the shit out of this. Besides, it's free so you have no excuse not to.

Parallel Colors - Inoculation

post rock / psychedelic / progressive
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Also free, and certainly worth the effort is the very first single by American progressive rockers Parallel Colors. Inspired by everything between Tool, Caspian and Russian Circles, these guys come up with an immersive, technical and varied eight minutes lasting track. If this really is the harbinger of things to come, like a full-length, Parallel Colors might become one of thé discoveries of 2017. I certianly hope that they will send me the album when ready and come over to Belgium and the rest of Europe for some magnificent gigs. This truly is promising stuff...
Comments

Exploding Head Syndrome – World Crashes Down

9/12/2016

Comments

 
punk / hardcore
Wormholedeath
facebook
Picture
Picture
check out our shirts
According to Wikipedia Exploding Head Syndrome or EHS can be described as “a condition in which a person hears loud imagined noises…These noises have a sudden onset, are typically brief in duration, and are often jarring for the sufferer.“ Apart from the imagined noises this album respects this definition.  These ten tracks are a great Christmas gift to piss off your or someone else’s parents.

Exploding Head Syndrome is a Norwegian band hardcore (angry) punk band that came into existence in 2010. Two thirty-year-old childhood friends had an idea and a couple of months later a band was created. Their first album was a self-titled EP in 2011 followed by a first full length album called ‘Disciples of Reason’ in 2013, which received good reviews.  NRK Pyro, Norway’s leading hard-rock music show, even declared them as “one of the most exciting new Norwegian bands.” The members of the band have also known their fair share of grief after the death of bassist Bjørnar. This however didn’t keep them from writing new material and thus creating the new album ‘World Crashes Down’

As I have said before their music can be described as hardcore (angry) punk. Immediately after the short intro it becomes clear that EHS gets away with this description. The first song, ‘Wasting Away’, although a bit more poppy than the other tracks, gives you a very good idea of what the album is about. A voice expressing a great sense of anger, lyrics that are both to the point and catchy combined with spine shivering guitar riffs bring about a large amount of energy. Together with the in-your-face attitude that comes with them the band has created an album that I can listen and dance to all day long. 

Sometimes a hardcore or punk album can be quite monotonous. With ‘World crashes down’ this is not the case and this thanks to the sequence of the songs. It’s like the entire album is a season of a TV show and every song is an episode with its own story. The pilot, being of course the first track, introduces you the different characters, being the vocals, guitars, drums…, and after watching/listening to the season finale, the last track, you can’t wait for the next season to air. 

My final conclusion: A band to binge watch. But: “Just because you can doesn’t mean you should!” (Track 04 The Fine Line Between Hardcore and Hipster)



​Michiel
Comments

Glasslands - Pariah

28/11/2016

Comments

 
metalcore / post hardcore
bandcamp
Amazon
facebook
Picture
Picture
check out our shirts
Pariah is the debut album of metalcore duo Glasslands, consisting of musicians  Josh Kincheloe and Brandon Mullins. With ten tracks, being them Birth, Back And Forth, Fame, Deadman, Soul Without A Home, The Sounds, Demons, Meaningless, Dark and Go For Broke, Pariah certainly is, without a doubt, the best metalcore album that I have ever heard in my entire life. Powerful, complete, graciously touching, moving and poetically melodic, this work is painfully dilacerated with sad harmonies and a world full of frozen dust, fulfilled by joyful paradoxical artistic principles, and an astonishing balance between raw and clean vocals. Pariah is best described as a great, incredible, lucid and marvelous masterpiece, like I haven’t heard in centuries. Filled with emotional fury and sentimental beauty, Pariah deserves a handful of prizes. If this work passes out without any recognition, no other album in the history of the genre deserves one. Far above splendid and way ahead the limits of the beautiful lines of a true poetic artistry, Pariah will enter history as a marvelous reference for the entire metalcore worldwide scene, for such a heinous fury, transcendental poetic sorrow, undivided harmonies and gigantic colossal beautiful melodies were carefully dilapidated at the core of an enthusiastic and deeply symmetric testimony of artistic proficiency, strengthened by the confluence of a turbulent, but natural musical talent.

Combining a sincere, but sad fury, with a poetic melancholy that dilacerates the nuance of rhythms at the pace of a joyful sonorous composition, Pariah’s music has so many components correctly placed at the right angle, that for the first time metalcore was done right, without sounding like the complaints of a bunch of teenagers crying over their middle class life problems at home.   

With the power of a sincere fury deeply exhilarated by a profound existential sadness, underlined by the symmetry of a high level of musical elements standardized in a categorical style filled with a serene devotional wrath, the deeply meaningful cadences that surround the rhythms, over the pace of poetic melodies wonderfully entitled to a transcending melancholy that harmonizes the beautiful intersections of a poetic life encircled by the most wonderful melodies ever written in the history of the genre, this is a gracefully marvelous album, generated by angels in heaven, and transported to earth by these two marvelous musicians, that shares with us the most wonderful metalcore album ever produced. 

With all the power of an aggressive and sad melancholy, inserted at the heart of a meaning that dilutes the sorrow in the forgotten hearts of hungry nights, the perfect equilibrium between harsh and clean vocals intertwine the precise volatile dynamics of promising sagacious harmonies. A sincere epic hymn to the dark disgraces of the human life, Glasslands, with Pariah, undoubtedly exhibited to us all how to do an impeccable state of the art work.

If this album is good? No, it’s not. It’s excellent! You can say Pariah converted me into an avid enthusiast of metalcore. Definitely, one of the greatest albums that I have ever heard in my entire life!  


​Wagner
Comments

Aleska - Aleska

28/10/2016

Comments

 
post hardcore
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Picture
check out our shirt designs
The recent post-hardcore craze is somewhat of a mystery to me. I guess I don't really understand it, like my parents probably never understood my lust for harsh, evil and occult music either. I actually like most of the music, but it's the vocals that make me frown a bit. That too might be weird, since I have absolutely no problems with death growls and blackened screams. Yet, these hardcore screams often sound a bit out of place over the atmospheric approach to heavy music. They belong on hardcore punk, but on this?

Now, I have to say that in this genre, it makes a huge difference when you experience it live. On stage, these bands usually are a blast and in that aspect, French horde Aleska is no exception., I think Although their debut full-length will probably not appear in my day-to-day playlist, I would definitely go see them when they play anywhere near Antwerp. Besides, there is one song on this album on which the vocals add a lot to the sick and twisted atmosphere, But let's start from the beginning.

The album opens with the song 'Instaurer Le Vide', which initially sounds like an excellent post rock song, or post metal if you wish. After listening to the whole album, I feel like this is the luring-in song, the one that fans of the genre will like enough to buy the album. But then it starts, things start getting weirder, flashes of sheer insanity seem to appear and the intensity rises to often punishing levels. These levels seems to rise with each song. 'Leaves, Trees and Me' reaches a huge highlight but what happens next is simply destructive.

'Que-Reste-T-Il?' pulls out all the stops, grabbing influences from sludge, crust, hardcore and black metal to turn the song into a whirlpool of musical and vocal madness. This definitely is the most pummeling song on this selftitled debut. The madness returns on 'Our Illusion Is Creation', but in a different way as the music once again drives on these beautiful post rock guitars while the vocalist now seems to be lost completely in his dark, eerie and haunting world. Fans of bands like Isis, Envy, Cult Of Luna or AmenRa, this surely is something for you. Check it out!!!


Serge
Comments

Brieviews part 15

23/10/2016

Comments

 
Picture
Picture

Atlas - Death & Fear

stoner rock / doom
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Somewhere between the grungy sound of Alice In Chains and the vintage doom of Black Sabbath lies the epic stoner doom of Swedish quartet Atlas. From the first fuzz-induced riffs of 'Wermland' to the closing drones of title track 'Death & Fear', this is one infectious piece of music. I really dig the slow to mid tempo songs and the awesome clean vocals. Yet, I also like the weird, uptempo stoner rocker 'Covered In Gold', a song that easily can get a party started. 'A Waltz' shows some psychedelic blues influences as well. Yep, this thing is pretty damn varied for an album that lasts for a bit over thirty minutes. For stoner rockers, this definitely is a must-have.


Hellgoat - Eden In Flames

black metal
Boris Records
Pale Horse Recordings
facebook
Picture
Hailing from Atlanta, USA, this dark, Satanic act has been roaming the blackened woods since 2004. Over the years, they recorded a handful of ep's, demos and full-lengths, now followed by this 7". On this single, you can find two pieces of harsh, vulgar and blasphemous black metal, seemingly quite loyal to the old Scandinavian hordes. It sounds pretty much like a decent basement recording, which obviously adds a lot to the vintage grim atmosphere of the whole thing. This definitely is something for collectors of the obscure gems in the world of black metal.

Afmagt - Den Sidste Kamp Taber Du Alene

hardcore / punk
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Afmagt (which translates as 'powerlessness') is a hardcore punk band from Sweden and Denmark, formed in the beginning of this year. This debut ep contains five songs, each of them being a fierce, brutal and rather short slab of poignant guitars, pissed-off vocals and skull ramming drums. Here and there you can hear influences from crust and even sludge metal but rest assured, this is a short but vicious attack on whatever this society is turning out to become. You might not have guessed it from looking at the cover art, but this thing is out to murder you. You have been warned.

Big Guns - Six Shooter

death metal
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Big Guns is a hobby project from members of Russian acts Conflict and Frozen Ocean/Goatpsalm. With this project, the duo delves deep into the turbid underground of the death scene. Thick riffs, guttural vocals and nutsack ripping drums blast from all over the place, continuously bashing on your skull. Yet, Big Guns manage to add a great sense of groove, turning the whole thing into some sort of death 'n roll steamroller which is simply irresistible for fans of raunchy extreme metal. It's not complex, there are no technical delights or unexpected progressive hooks to be found here, just straightforward skullbashing, just the way we like it... 

Haan - Sing Praises

sludge / noise rock
Kaos Kontrol
facebook
Picture
I'm not sure if these Brooklyn, New York residents know that their bandname is actually the Dutch word for 'Cock' (the bird), but that doesn't really matter. What does matter is the brutal beatdown that these noiserockers deliver. In a way, the songs on this ep remind me of the result of a one-night stand between Dopethrone and Unsane. You know, one of those one-night stands that are worth to be repeated regularly. My personal favorite here is 'War Dance', but I'd like to suggest all noiserockers and sludge-adepts to get their hands on this thing. This ep is simply epic, a stunning piece of intense music. Buy it, now.

Dorre/Bethmoora - Split

doom / sludge / noise
Dorre website
facebook Dorre
facebook Bethmoora
Picture
Belgian band Dorre somewhat accidentally formed and evolved over the past few years, eventually resulting in a stunning gig at this year's edition of Desertfest (read). Soon, they will release this piece of work upon the world, a split album with Danish doomers Bethmoora. Dorre kicks off with two post-rock, doom and noise-rock inspired pieces of music which are quite intriguing and pretty damn immersive. For these alone, this album is worth getting your hands on, and the huge track by Bethmoora is an equally pleasurable listening experience. They turn up with a long sludge doom track with thick riffs and eerie vocals. I assure you, you don't want to miss out on this thing.

MortSubite - Deimos

death metal / deathcore
Bigcartel
facebook
Picture
Another act that surely will haunt you until the end of times, is Spanish extreme act MortSubite. Their album 'Deimos' is a murderous piece of work, blending old school death metal a la At The Gates with modern outbursts of both death metal and hardcore. Here and there, blackened elements appear, while on other occasions it simply cuts holes in your eardrums. There are seven tracks on this album, each showing as much technical abilities as crushing pieces of grinding death metal. It never lets you rest, never provides a breather and never lets you lick your wounds. This album is a killer, nothing more, nothing less...

Teras - Pandora

extreme metal
Sideburn Records
Consouling Sounds
facebook
Picture
And Belgium does it again, this time effortlessly combining pretty much all forms of extreme metal into one massive orgy of distorted guitars, hammering drums and twisted riffs, supporting a bunch of growls and screams. Teras is a metal band, that's for damn sure. I'm not sure who exactly influenced these guys but I'm damn sure that there are some thrash, death, black and grindcore albums in their collective collections. Sometimes, the songs remind me of old school thrash anthems while on other occasions I'm being dragged down into a thick puddle of grindcore filth. If you're in for a good metallic beatdown, you need this in your life. 

H-One - Cyne II

metal
Amazon
facebook
Picture
Inspired by the likes of Gojira, Lamb Of God, Manimal and other bands, French act H-One comes up with an interesting album, containing a few amazing songs. H-One has found a way to combine death metal with modern metal sounds, making them sound somewhat like an extreme nu-metal act. However, rest assured, this is no nu-metal but technically skilled music with great songwriting and a constant impending atmosphere. At times, I'm reminded of bands like Voivod or Malevolent Creation, which I think are quite decent bands to be compared with. I feel like we'll be hearing from these guys again in the near future.


Fire Down Below - Viper Vixen Goddess Saint

stoner rock
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Today on Merchants Of Air, next year at Desertfest, I sure hope that prediction comes true. Fire Down Below are a bunch of vintage fuzz rockers from the city of Ghent who have just delivered a first effort. After a brief solo, we're immediately being dragged into a searing hot journey, highlighting in brilliant songs like 'Roadburner' and 'Dashboard Jesus'. This is classic stoner rock and it's damn bloody delicious too. So if you're into thick, fuzzed-out riffs, forceful vocals and a good slab of stoner rock, you surely need this album in your collection, placed right in between your favorites from Queens Of The Stone Age, Kyuss and Fu Manchu.

Glowin Shadow - Ghosts, Fools & Fakes (Deluxe Edition)

alternative rock / metal
Amazon
Picture
This is something weird, but nonetheless quite interesting, certainly if you eventually discover that there's so much going on, from alternative rock over nu-metal and metalcore to reggae and even classical arrangements. Yet, the mainstay of the music on this album, is immersive modern rock music, perfectly suited for huge arenas all over the world. Think Linkin Park, think Pierce The Veil, think Escape The Faith... Think epic rock music with a progressive touch and a decent flair for experimentation. And even then, these Freshmen will still be able to surprise you once in awhile. 

Endalok - Englaryk 

black metal
Signal Rex
Hellthrasher
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
And we end this edition of Brieviews with a dark, terrifying and experimental black metal ep from Iceland's newcomers Endalok. 'Englaryk' contains four equally disturbing and atmospheric black metal songs, which seem devoid of melody or musical boundaries. This has nothing to do with old or new school, pre- or post, as this is mostly a dark ritual, performed in a recording studio. The thin line between musicality and sheer noise is often crossed, adding a lot to the intensity of the whole thing. In all, this ep is another one of those obscure gems, crawling from the deepest regions of the human psyche. Recommended stuff...
Comments

Brieviews part 14

11/10/2016

Comments

 
Picture
Picture
T-shirts, fresh t-shirts

Narthraal - Chainsaw Killing Spree

death metal
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
We kick off this edition of Brieviews with two brutal old school death metal songs, courtesy of Icelandic horde Narthraal. This digital single is the forerunner for the upcoming full-length, which is scheduled to be released somewhere in 2017. An important aspect of their sound, is the use of the Boss HM-2 pedal which creates a filthy, raunchy sound. Furthermore, the main influences for this act are the old school bands we all love so much, including Grave, Dismember, Unleashed and Carcass. I don't think you need any more convincing. Go ahead, download the album, and prepare to fiercely bang your head. You know you want to...


Dead End Path - Hypnotic Truth

death metal / metalcore
facebook
Picture
Somewhere between the realms of death metal and metalcore roams the Belgian quintet Dead End Path. They handed out this three-track ep at the latest edition of Rocktoberfest, where the played an all-consuming set in front of a handful of people. Well, my friends, you can see this little review as a nudge to get your attention on these guys because they're damn good. Melodic yet brutal death metal which quite often reminds me of something between At The Gates, All Shall Perish and Unearth. In three tracks, these guys show a tremendous technical ability, along with the skills to write and perform decent songs, all of course as brutal and crushing as it can get. Harsh stuff!!!


Balcanes - Carne Nueva

noise rock / hardcore
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Something a little different, but in no way less in-your-face, is this ep from Spanish noisemakers Balcanes. What starts out with an impending piece of drone and noise, quickly turns into a hardcore punk infused frenzy in 'Combustible'. 'Masada' drags the ep deeper down into the world of sludge, driving on inelaborate but damn infectious riffs and monotonous drumming. That being said, no, there is not a lot of variation to be found but Balcanes definitely makes up for that by creating an intense wall-of-sound and beating you into a pulp with it. If you're a fan of sludgy noise rock, like Melvins or Harvey Milk, you should check out this little gem. Oh, and Balcanes need to tour Europe, like now!


Daddy Was Wrong - Daddy Was Wrong

alternative rock / hard rock / grunge
vi.be
facebook
Picture
Back in Belgium, a country that still teems with people who hold rock music close to their heart. That certainly counts for hard rocking squad Daddy Was Wrong. In five songs, and about fourteen minutes, they showcase some of the first songs they have written together. Although they have a firm hard rock sound, I do sense some influences from grunge and alternative rock, but of course, they mainly add to the level of variation. My favorite track is the groovy 'Immortal', probably the most headbanging-worthy track on this ep. Anyway, if you're ready for a decent portion of good old fashioned hard rock, you should give these guys a shot. Rock on!!!!


Barrow Wight - Kings in Saurons Service

heavy metal
Heavy Chains Records
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Once upon a time, this Canadian act start out as a Venom cover band. Yet, gradually they grew into what they are today, a headstrong heavy metal act with lyrical inspiration from Tolkien and musical inspiration by bands like Venom, Amebix, Manowar and several others. What you can expect on this album is pure, uncut heavy metal in the veins of their predecessors but with a raunchy, somewhat experimental edge. To me, is sounds like some of the very old school black metal albums, when the genre hadn't discovered blast beats and corpse paint yet. For you, this might be a good way to start checking out today's heavy metal scene. There is some great stuff to be found, including this one.


Dusk - Eko

industrial / dark psy
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
When band photos show the man behind this projects with respectively a KMFDM  and a Godflesh t-shirt, you know you might be in for something interesting. That certainly is the case with this ep. Dwelling in the realms of industrial metal and dark dubstep, these four songs pretty much sound like modern day electronic remixes of songs by Fear Factor or Ministry, created by Infected Mushroom in a darkstep mood. For an electronic album, it's damn heavy, coming close to the stuff Amduscia, Xotox, Ambassador21 or Noisuf-X have been blasting out over the years. My favorite track here is 'Dragged By The Shadows' which or more suited for headbanging than dancing. Check it out, this is pretty awesome


Bhutan - Vexations

drone / ambient / post-rock
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
The album from Argentinian band Bhutan was submitted by a fan. According to his email, Bhutan was the support act for Nadja in Argentina and are considered a household name in the drone-scene of their country. Well, dear fan and band members,  as far as I'm concerned, this trio should find an international record deal and a world tour to show of their beautiful blend of drone, ambient and post-rock. I mean, when an album reminds me of acts like Klaus Schulze, Pink Floyd, Aidan Baker ànd Godspeed, You Black Emperor, something fascinating is going on. This is a damn varied piece of sonic art, one that will undoubtedly be a stunning experience live.


Queen Elephantine - Kala

drone / doom / psychedelic
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
What does a psychedelic doom act with an ever-changing line-up of no less than fourteen musicians sound like? Well, apparently like a jamsession between Master Musicians Of Bukkake, Earth and Jimi Hendrix.  The word "jamsession" is important here because that's pretty much how this whole album feels. There is a number of drones and soundscapes, some strange vocals, minimal drums and a load of psychedelic guitar solos to be found on this album, all seemingly improvised on the spot. The result is an set of immersive vintage seventies psychedelics, which are at best when played at a loud volume.


Monophona - Folsom Prison Blues

trip-hop
Kapitän Platte
facebook
Picture
Now this is something nice. Luxembourg resident trip-hop act Monophona come up with a little pleaser to soften the wait between their brilliant 'Back To Black' album and the new one. On this 7", the band covers respectively Johnny Cash and Morrissey, both in Monophona's beautiful blend of gentle electronics and Claudine's fragile vocals. My favorite here is 'Folsom Prison Blues', which is an excellent cover version, bringing the song into this era. 'Every Day Is Like Sunday' takes on a different approach, a heavier, one showing some dark drum & bass electronics and a funky breakbeat rhythm. But, you know, like I said, this is a pleaser, and I'm here waiting for the next full-length.


Xaon - Face of Balaam

dark metal / death metal
website
facebook
Picture
Back to the heavier side of the musical spectrum, this time with Swiss combo Xaon and their debut ep 'Face Of Balaam'. At first glimpse, it might be easy to place these guys into the melodic death metal scene of the nineties, reminding of bands like Soilwork, In Flames to Children Of Bodom. However, listen deeper  and you'll find some more influences. From Type O Negative to My Dying Bride. Deeper still, and there is a flash of metalcore hidden beneath the violent, crushing guitars, which drags the entire melodic death metal scene into the current era. It certainly is a varied piece of work, this ep, and it shows a band that can easily pull through to the top of today's extreme scene.


Fliptop Box - Catch 22

hard rock / alternative
facebook
Picture
Greek rockers Fliptop Box are masters in balancing on the edge between rock and metal. In that aspect, they remind me a lot of bands like The Foo Fighters. Their heavy rock is influenced by acts like Therapy?, Danzig, Volbeat and Alice In Chains and that's exactly where you could place this album. With awesome songs like 'Blast', 'Class Of Underdogs' and the highly immersive and quite Deftones-inspired 'Desert', these people are paving their way to today's alternative rock scene. As a rock fan, I think you should definitely check this one out, and as a metal fan I suggest you do the same. This thing rocks and, from the sound of it, it pretty much guarantees a party when played live. 


Gespenst - Forfald

black metal
Duplicate Records
facebook
Picture
And we're back into the realm of all consuming darkness and dark misery. The album by Danish horde Gespenst is a tensive, harsh and fiercely immersive piece of work. It draws elements from black metal, funeral doom and dark ambient and blends them together into a massive whirlpool of sonic violence. The four lengthy tracks will undoubtely maintain their grasp on fans of today's post-black metal scene. In other words, this album is an epic piece of atmospheric extremes, one that you should definitely own if you like to be hypnotized by eerie guitars and haunting screams. I hope these guys come over to Belgium soon because I definitely want to see this live.


Oddhums - The Inception

stoner / doom
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Hailing from Jaén, Spain, this trio comes with an excellent blend of stoner rock and doom, a delightful must-have for the fuzz-freaks out there. Firm drums accompany vintage stoner doom riffs, while here and there an immersive post-rock passage appears. That's all good and fine and nice and stuff but what I really like on this album are the vocals. They remind me a lot more of acts like Jesus and the Mary Chain or Slowdive. You know, the shoegaze way. Sometimes, there are some Conan or Yob chants, which also fit quite well. The combination of those epic riffs and these distant vocals make this ep a stand-out for me. I hope these dudes will tour Europe soon. Recommended? Definitely!


Rest - Rest

crust / hardcore / black metal
Third I Rex
facebook
Picture
Why the hell is this band named 'Rest'? I can easily imagine people seeing this in the window of a record store and buying it because they expect something calm and relaxing. Then they come home and play the record, only to be completely wrecked by the intense blend of black metal, crust and hardcore. 'Rest', as if they want to say, "you can, you need and you will have some rest after this spiked steamroller grinds your eardrums and leaves you behind traumatized".  Italians have a weird sense of humor I guess. Now, I have to say that this is one fierce motherfucker with four brutal tracks and one epic piece of music, the closing track 'V'. If you like crust, hardcore and black metal to be relentless, intense and harsh, you need this.


Hymnambulae - Orgelhuset

dark ambient
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Welcome to the Organ House. You may enter after you have become silent. Feel free to have a look in each room, but try not to make any noise. You don't want to interrupt what you're about to witness. Oh, and beware of the god... 
Kammarheit and Cities Last Broadcast's Pär Boström joined forces with his sister Åsa, not only to create Hypnagoga Press (their publishing house and record label) but also to share Orgelhuset with the world. This is a dark ambient album of extreme quality, like we're used to from Pär (read). The right soundtrack to your inner travels. 
One can hear the cathedral of aerophones, the organ, blow in every room of Orgelhuset. In some rooms there are people hypnotically chanting, in other places the flute or the piano is present - never obtrusive but always in harmony with the rest of the sounds. Wherever you go, there's subtle sound effects intertwined with the drones, creating ever varying soundscapes. For fans of Raison d'Être, Subheim, In Slaughter Natives.

Comments

Brieviews part 13

29/9/2016

Comments

 
Picture
Picture
Merchants Of Air shirt designs, because you are what you wear...

Shikobi - Pull The Trigger

alternative rock / grunge / nu-metal
soundcloud
facebook
Picture
I guess it's only logical that we're currently witnessing the beginning of a huge nineties revival, and I think it's a good thing too. Take this American quartet for example. They just released a nice ep with four tracks that range from grunge to nu-metal and from alternative rock to stoner rock. Bands that come to mind include Red Hot Chili Peppers, Linkin Park, Clawfinger and Rage Against The Machine. With hard hitting guitars, strong raps and vocals and plenty of dynamics Shikobi will have no problem conquering the world of rock. All they need now is one massive hit and a full-length and they're ready to collect huge shares of fans...

Tölva - Wide Shot

post rock
bandcamp
website
facebook
Picture
Is the post rock genre already old enough to have an old-school scene? If so, French quartet Tölva could soon become a force to be reckoned with. Inspired by the greats, you know, Godspeed, You Russian, This Will Destroy the Explosions in Mogwai, that kind of stuff, Törva delivered a very strong debut ep with all the necessary elements to make it a strong competitor. The opener 'Poveglia' remains my favorite and I really enjoy the calm breather 'Puzzle' as well. The other two track? Well, they're equally loaded with beautiful soundscapes, a blissful atmosphere and all the emotions only decent post rock can deliver. This is a great, and highly recommended, debut.


Leaving Passenger - When It's Done

alternative rock / grunge
Amazon
facebook
Picture
See? I told you we were facing a nineties revival. It's hit France now too, and it hit it good. Leaving Passenger is an alternative rock band from Paris who are about to debut with this magnificent ep. Influenced by the likes of Hoobastank, Incubus, Linkin Park and Nickelback, these guys come up with some  strong and highly convincing songs., strangely enough reminding me of Tool and Deftones. 'Lies On The Floor' is a world class song, and definitely not the only one on this ep. I love the riffs, who show some stoner rock influences as well. But the coolest thing about this is the use of electronics to give the whole thing an extra touch, something glitchy often. This is a brilliant ep.


Bookworms - Anòmia 

electronic / techno
Anomia
Picture
I had no idea what to expect from this 12" but the opening track 'Divulge' certainly got my attention. Glitchy ambient and otherworldly soundscapes filled the room, much to my delight. On 'Patterned' the techno beats arrive and I thought, "well, why not" and started shaking my ass a little. The music reminds me a bit of acts like Riou or Unit Moebius, two acts I quite like fro their experimental approach to electronic dance music. In that aspect, the title track might be my favorite but I like this whole ep, even the somewhat nineties inspired '500 Words'. So yeah, perhaps it's a good idea to check this out and do a little dance. It's a nice change from the stuff we usually listen to...


In Slaughter Natives and Nihil - Ventre

dark ambient
Cyclic Law
facebook
Picture
When French artist and writer Nihil asked Swedish one-man martial ambient act In Slaughter Natives to compose the soundtrack for his book, something very interesting happened. I don't know which is the darkest element of this experience: the music, the artwork or the short stories. Main theme is the search for identity of the main character, a man who accidentally awakes from the artificial lethargy everyone has been submerged into for ages. The amazingly detailed artwork mostly displays one desperate human being, face or eyes covered. The soundtrack only emphasizes the lonely and frightening atmosphere of the whole. In Slaughter Natives again delivers top-shelf dark ambient and martial industrial soundscapes. For fans of Puissance, Triarii, Raison d'Être but also recommended to anyone who's fed up with the muzak which comes gushing out of your radio...


Sona Nyl - Refugee

electronic / dark ambient / industrial / noise
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
We're not done with crawling through utter darkness yet. In fact, we're going deeper down into a world where sounds are no longer natural, no longer bearable for the ordinary person. Fans of electronic drones, dark ambient and dark industrial noise on the other hand will have a blast with this album from French one-man project Sona Nyl. This album constantly balances on the edge between musicality and noise and quite often blatantly crossing over. The result is a captivating album, loaded with unidentified noises, creeping, crawling and repetitive enough to grind you into a deep and gloomy state of trance. This is something for fans of everything between ​Aghiatrias, Atrium Carceri and Atrax Morgue 


Astarium/Antiquus Scriptum - Hymns To The Ancient Northland

dark ambient / neo classical
Astarium
Antiquus Scriptum
Picture
Russian dark ambient and neoclassical project Astarium has been around for quite some time now, always delivering some strong and mysterious music. On this cooperation with Portuguese act Antiquus Scriptum that is no different. The eight tracks delivered by Astarium are once again representations of mystical worlds and times with beautiful arrangements and a eerie atmosphere. Antiquus Scriptum adds another set of strange songs, perhaps a bit more experimental and bizarre but nonetheless very interesting. There is something pagan, something medieval to this music and clearly something I can appreciate. This is an excellent split which you should check out if you're into ancient folk and gloomy musical bliss.


Clara Engel - Visitors Are Allowed One Kiss

folk 
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Aah, the beauty of being an introvert. It's so nice to dwell in someone's mind by exploring their music and that certainly is the case on this album by Canadian singer songwriter Clara Engel. Here and there aided by people like Aidan Baker, Armen Ra, Thor Harris and Siavash Amini, this woman delivers intimate but soulful folk songs with guitar, vocals and soundscapes or drones. The result is a pleasure to listen to, often even evoking a teardrop. For me, it's hard to compare this to other artists, because it's a realm I don't often visit. But that doesn't matter, all you need to know about this album is the captivating and immersive nature and the simply beautiful songs, loaded with emotions. Definitely recommended stuff.


Dominique Charpentier - Passages

classical
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Dominique Charpentier is a multi-instrumentalist from France. He chose the piano for his first full-length album, his instrument of predilection. and you can immediately hear that this is one very talented fellow. He has also made soundtracks for films and video games in his home studio, and you can hear impressive orchestral compositions on his soundcloud page. The piano songs on Passages are breathtaking gems that remind of the works of Yann Tiersen and Ludovico Einaudi, two other self-made musicians and Carpentier's main influences. I'd say: go check this album out now!


Nangilima - Shards of Loss

doom
Xtreem Music
facebook
Picture
Once starting out as a blackened doom metal band, Swedish act Nangilima gradually evolved into the symphonic doom death combo they are today. Their new single, 'Shards Of Loss' contains two tracks which should every fan of Saturnus, Novembers Doom, My Dying Bride and Swallow the Sun tremble with excitement. Deep guttural growls and thick riffs are being accompagnied with piano and orchestral arrangements to create vast sonic journeys. Both songs are varied enough to remain interesting and lingering enough to maintain that always awesome doom metal bliss. See, this is why I love this genre so much. It comes from deep within and speaks directly to the darkest of souls.


Damnatus - Io odio la vita

black metal
bandcamp
Picture
When an album title translates as "I hate life", you know you can expect something depressive and harsh. And yes, that's exactly what this Italian one-man act delivers. After an intro, hell breaks loose with harsh, minimal, mainly slow, gritty and primitive black metal, somehow reminding me of some of those ancient pioneers in the scene. Yet, the mid-tempo approach of songs like 'Primavera Depressa' has something post-punkish as well. 'Ricaduta' is probably my favorite track on this album, one that shows decent musical skills and a flair for a bleak atmosphere. I recommend this album to all fans of Nyktalgia, Nortt and Xasthur, or anyone who thinks life is something to be suffered, not enjoyed...


Gonçalo Almeida & Rutger Zuydervelt - Jangadas

experimental / noise / improv
Cylinder Recordings
Picture
What happens when an experienced double bassist and a seasoned electronic experimentalist climb on stage together? Well, apparently you get something highly impressive that defies all categorization, like this twenty minutes lasting orgy of drones, soundscapes noises and hints of jazz. This release was recorded during a gig the two artists did in Rotterdam and damn it, it makes me regret not being there. In its digital form it's already impressive but my guess is that the concert itself has been intensely captivating and hypnotizing. Then again, that's something we're already used to with Machinefabriek, but still, this surely is something you need if you're into experimental ingenuity...


Tomy Lobo - Golden Birds

alternative rock / electronic / indie
facebook
Picture
Hailing from France, Tomy Lobo doesn't seem to be interesting in doing this normally. The indie rock this act delivers, drives on modern electronic sounds but also seems to showcase a tremendous flair for the bombast of alternative rock. The result is a combination of everything you can hear on a decent alternative music radio station. You can dance to it, you can kneel-down and cry your eyes out to it or you can just shake your head in absolute approval. Personally, I prefer the latter but wouldn't mind dancing to gems like 'Night Prism' or the gloomy dubstep track 'Erase It All'. It's a bit like Oscar and the Wolf, but better. Way better. Check it out, you just might have found something new to expand your collection.


Drei Affen - Drei Affen

crust / screamo / post-hardcore / noise rock
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Hailing from the beautiful country of Spain, but a bit more on the noisy spectrum of the musical industry, comes this raunchy and loud trio, Drei Affen and their untitled blast of sheer aggression. With a blend of screamo, noise rock and post-hardcore, this trio is out for nothing less than utter destruction and as far as I'm concerned, it works pretty well. I mean, listening to this ep already caused me to throw a hot cup of coffee at a mosquito and punish a pillow for its uncomfortable position. This music is intense, that's for damn sure, and I think it's not suitable for everyone. Yet, for fans of ruthless violence, this definitely comes highly recommend. I'm sure live shows by this trio will cause a lot of bruises and broken noses...


Valborg - Werwolf

gothic metal / death metal / doom
Temple Of Torturous
facebook
Picture
We end this edition of Brieviews with two harsh doom songs with a gloomy, gothic atmosphere. German band Valborg has been compared to bands like Type O Negative, Celtic Frost and Triptykon and who am I to contradict that. Fans of these bands will certainly appreciate these massively immersive pieces of death doom but I still feel that Valborg has its own sound, somewhat industrial, somewhat dirty and vampiric. I'm sure Bela Lugosi would have loved the brilliant title track if he were still alive. Oh well, go ahead, check this out and join me in hoping that Valborg will come up with a stunning full-length and tour in the near future.

writers: Serge & Eline
Comments

Svalbard – Discography 2012 – 2014

19/9/2016

Comments

 
black metal / post-hardcore / crust 
Holy Roar Records
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Picture
Holy Roar Records will release in the end of the next month, on October 28, to be precise, Discography 2012-2014, a compilation of songs by Svalbard, a post-hardcore band from Bristol, UK. Containing fifteen songs, as to know Ripped Apart, Grayscale, Allure, Floating Anchors, Faceless, This Is The End, Flightless Birds, For What It's Worth, Melting Hands, Never Look Back, Pick Up The Pieces, Leave It, So Much For Meritocracy, The Damage Done and Anything Goes Nothing Stays, the compilation reunites several works the band has done since becoming active in the underground scene: their self-titled debut, the Gone Tomorrow EP, the Flightless Birds EP, the split record with Pariso (including collaboration songs) and a Victims cover that appeared on the Cover Buzz split 7 with MINE, Let It Die and Pariso. This is mostly everything that Svalbard recorded, prior to their seminal debut album One Day All This Will End, collected together in full for the first time.

With a groundbreaking hell descends on earth type of sound, letting all go down heavily ever after, Svalbard certainly is one of the most fearless bands in their genre active in the scene today. With a furious wrath and a passionate sonorous presence, exceedingly hard and objective, their heavy sound is superbly concentrated in a straightforward nucleus of a sincere and aggressive demise. With a hard, horizontal and tough, but at the same time uniquely poetic approach, their marvelous sound can be characterized as post-hardcore, with elements of crust punk and metalcore, without ever renouncing more colorful, precise and melodic passages, that sets to their music an atmosphere of relentless beauty and hostile desolation, reminding a little, in some aspects, American band We Came as Romans. 

If you really like a roughly objective, expressively heavy, unforgivingly abrasive and monumental joyful sound, you need to be introduced to Svalbard, if you still haven’t heard of them yet. With a direct approach that relies solely on the rapid pace of a sonorous infinite storm that predicts in seconds the absolute end of everything, you will really love this amazing compilation. Exceedingly fantastic, coherent and with a strong sense of unity between songs, a magnanimously built uniformity makes the record a solid work of art, although each and every song has its own identity. This is certainly one of best records I have ever listened in this genre. If by one way they don’t really bring too much innovation, on the other hand they marvelously expand its beauty by fearlessly rearranging its roots in their own genuine style. It’s the same old, same old, but a very good one, one that really should be heard and enjoyed over and over again. Certainly, most – if not all – fans of the genre will have a great deal of motives to celebrate the release. It’s fearless, uncompromised and groundbreaking. You have to check it out for yourself. You will obviously love this record, be sure of that.  


​Wagner
Comments

Thränenkind – King Apathy 

22/8/2016

Comments

 
crust / black metal / hardcore / post-metal
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Picture
THE METAL DECK, a moshpit of card games
King Apathy is the latest album released by German metal band Thränenkind, a highly interesting and potentially groundbreaking band in the current underground scenario, that has been emerging with its compelling and virtually distinguishing uniqueness, that keeps them shining under a very singular sonorous configuration, exceedingly hard to label and to classify.

Executing an intriguing and astoundingly unique mixture of metal, post-metal, post-black metal, hardcore, post-hardcore and what appears to be melodic straight edge, Thränenkind really does an excellent work infusing several different musical influences and elements, coherently binding everything altogether in a creative, competent and straightforward framework, which creates an impressive and exceedingly unique style of music, that can be regarded as their signature sound. With a strategic discipline that combines a lot of different components into their music, their perfectly aligned artistic eclecticism probably comes – but this is only a supposition on my behalf – from merging the ideas of all five band members, with an impeccable ability to embrace all those different musical confluences through impressive songwriting skills. As you can imagine, the result would be exceedingly above all the ordinary levels of expectancy. Perfectly counterbalancing wrathful heaviness with sentimental melodies, melancholic harmonies with furious rhythms, and vicious anxiety with serene dreamscapes, Thränenkind, in King Apathy, really builds a world of their own, sharing with their audience all of their main motives for creating these groundbreaking experiences in highly unquestionable sound form. 
 
With forty five minutes and ten tracks, being them Desperation, King Apathy, Ghosts, Urban Giants, The Blood On Our Hands, Drifter, What We Believe In, Smokestacks And Concrete Walls, Vanishing Youth and Homeruiner, Thränenkind really does an interesting and peculiar brand of sound, that highlights itself as pure, uncontrollable, delightful and highly unique. With an interesting shape that collides directly into the eye of a soul storm, their music has emotion, consistency, virtuosity and wrath, all essential elements for an album that could easily fulfill on its own the most remarkable pretensions for being a fundamental milestone on the exciting, but nevertheless dangerous field of the cross genre. With several qualities that really make this album worthwhile listening, King Apathy, by Thränenkind, is not made for weak, easy minded, or conservative audiences. A very intriguing work that shapes no restrictions, unbound distinctions of sound and creates bridges between heterogeneous paths of expression, it perfectly sets the best remarks, and more than ever, manages to balance the sincere wrath of metal with a more serene, introspective and soft brand of unusual harmonies, giving birth to an amazing and highly diversified artistic sonority, that shows the immensurable skills hidden in the colorful shades of the creative restlessness that resides and explodes in the heart of each band member. So, if you’re really interested in listening to something different, rewarding, enthralled, complex, beautiful, highly amazing and completely out of the ordinary, than this an album made for you.   

Want a recommendation? Go get it, right now!                              


​Wagner Hertzog 
Comments

Brieviews part 6

26/7/2016

Comments

 
Picture

Serpent Spells - Mantras Within Ascending Fire

death metal / black metal
Godz Ov War
facebook
Picture
Blackened death metal from Dhaka, Bangladesh, that is something you don't hear every day. But you could, and perhaps you even should lend this ep an ear. After all, regardless of where it comes from, old school black and death metal are still some of the truest and most brutal genres in the world, and this album is no exception. After an intro, Serpent Spells throw three slashing pieces of music in our faces, loaded with malevolence and a dark, haunting atmosphere. The ep kinda reminds me of the vintage blackened sound of nineties Europe, fueled by thrash metal and mercilessly grinding through the listener's skull, a sense of melody and a massive heap of aggression. Lovely stuff...


Blunderbuss - Resurrection

nu-metal / rapcore
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Hah, nu-metal, one of the most rediculised sub-genres within the world of heavy guitars. Yet, just like its older brothers, death, thrash, death and doom metal (to name a few), nu-metal refuses to step aside, refuses to go silent. French quintet Blunderbuss faithfully follow the path of bands like Rage Against The Machine, Limp Bizkit and Papa Roach. Parts rap, accompanied with striking guitars and lively drums, and parts irrisistible headbanging bliss, that's what you get on this ep, highlighting in the stunning tune 'Jump' and 'Stop It Now'.  I also dig the melodic approach here, and I'm quite sure I'll be shaking my ass off when I ever get the chance to see these guys perform 'Vee Stoneheart' on stage...


Zeit - ​The World Is Nothing

hardcore / punk
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
We already reviewed a band named Zeit in the past, so don't get confused with this one. The Zeit I'm talking about in this brieview, hail from Italy and are currently slashing a massive heap of chaotic, noise rock induced hardcore through my speakers. In ten songs, lasting a bit over twenty minutes, this combo rages on in a highly destructive and pulverising manner. There's no breather, except maybe for the eerie instrumental 'Disguised'. The rest is simply brutal and chaotic hardcore, solely focused on intensity and ferocity. Consider this a warning, this ep is a massive assault on your eardrums and on your sanity. With stuff like this, the world as we know it is bound to come to and end soon...


Grizzlyman - Grizzlyman 

post-metal / sludge / doom
Third I Rex
facebook
Picture
Time to groove things up a little, without losing the intensity of this whole brieview-writing session. We're in Sweden, where members from several hardcore, progressive and death metal bands combined their love for slow, downtuned and heavy music. The result is this awesome kick-in-the-groin, loaded with monolithic riffs and brutal screams. The three songs on this ep are and immersive blend of sludge, stoner rock and doom metal, perfectly suited for fans of Isis, Mastodon, Baroness, Cult Of Luna and so on. I can only hope that this is the harbinger of great things to come for Grizzlyman. I definitely want to see them perform awesome tracks like 'Last King' (my favorite here, mainly because of a little The Cure reference) live.


Somnium Nox - Apocrypha

black metal
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
One song, sixteen minutes, constantly altering between frenetic black metal and haunting ambient passages, opening with didgeridoo sounds, that's what you get on this stunning ep by Australian duo Somnium Nox. The overall atmosphere is intensely dark, perhaps one of the darkest things you'll ever hear. On one hand, this ep perfectly fits in with today's post-black metal scene where even Pink Floyd could be regarded as an influence. On the other hand, this is as brutal and ferocious as some of the harshest blackened acts out there. Fans of bands like Blut Aus Nord, Altar Of Plagues, Deathspell Omega and Drudkh, this is a must-have for you, so get your hands on this thing, now...


Kommando - Distroyer / Iron Goat Triumph

crust / d-beat / black metal
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
When members of Endstille and Dysangelium form a band from the idea that modern day music lacks violence, you could be damn sure that something extreme is heading your way. Well, Kommando is extreme. They call their music 'Machinegun Punk', which stands for an intense mix of black metal, death metal, hardcore, crust and d-beat. It shouldn't be a surprise that this ep is loaded with brutality, violence and sheer noise. The songs are short but furious, a vicious assault on anything you could possibly imagine. With songs like 'IndoctriNation', Bitching Hours' and 'Alle Gegen Alle', this ep is arguably one of the most aggressive releases you can buy this year...


ORigami geijutsU - The Hibakusha Haikus

mathcore
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Mathcore, a genre I never really understood, but I guess that's the whole idea. We're in France, being utterly confused by a trio of musicians without boundaries. On this album, these guys come up with complex yet immersive pieces of music, hinting towards the noise rock scene and the world of (extreme) (post) metal alike. In a way, this sounds more like free jazz to me, but distorted and perplexing. There are some pieces which are perfectly suited for a little headbanging session while other passages are way too complex to make any kind of movement. In fact, the best way to dance to this is mouth wide open while being completely paralysed physically. Weird stuff, intense but weird...


Ego Miss Blinded - Tipping Point

hard rock / rock
Amazon
facebook
Picture
Still in France, but this time with something a little more radio-friendly, rock-radio friendly that is. Ego Miss Blinded is a rock band from the region of Paris, mainly influenced by bands like Metallica, Kiss, System Of A Down, AC/DC and even Bob Marley, but no, there's no reggae on this ep. What you do get, are five strong songs with plenty of power to get your rock-ass shaking. Opener 'That's What I Am' is a potential rock-hit, 'The Knife To Your Throat' is a vivid old school anthem, 'Alive' is a grungy ballad and the 'Raise Your Head' dual track reminds me a little of Guns 'n Roses meets Motley Crue, or something like that. In part 2, I can even hear flashes from Pink Floyd. Varied stuff, that's for damn sure...


Porta Daemonium - Serpent of Chaos

death metal
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Right, back to the extremes, this time with a brutal old school death metal band from Chile and their short but scathing album 'Serpent Of Chaos'. Opening with eerie soundscapes and haunted voices, this album slowly fastens its grip on the listener, a bit like a constrictor perhaps. Yet, once 'Via Sinistra' kicks off, Porta Daemonium kick you down with their crushing and grinding sound. The tempo is tremendous. The drums constantly hammer on your skull while the thick and sick riffs rip your insides apart. Meanwhile, the vocalist growls all kind of unpleasantries into your ear, eventually leaving you behind in a pile of rotting flesh, as an offering to the dark lord. Enjoy...


Vulturic Eye - Vulture Manifesto

heavy metal
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
I've been writing about old school stuff a few times on this edition of 'Brieviews' but believe me, dear reader, it doesn't get more old school than this. English metal band Vulturic Eye say this about their music "...if Rush were a nihilistic metal band..." and I can only agree. On this ep they come up with vintage heavy metal, reminding me of old Iron Maiden, old Judas Priest, Dio perhaps. The songs are pretty varied and show a great deal of musical craftsmanship, especially my favorite one 'Legacy Of Failure'. So, whoever claims that there's no decent heavy metal being made today, please shut your mouth and listen to Vulturic Eye. If they don't make you change your mind, you're officially old...

Comments

Brieviews part 5

22/7/2016

Comments

 
Picture

Seeds Of Mary - Choose Your Lie

grunge / alternative / rock
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Here's an album that has been playing quite a lot in the past few weeks, yet I never managed to write a review about it. Why? Well, perhaps the answer could be found in the reason why I played this album so often. It's loaded with gritty nineties grunge and alternative rock without actually coming from the nineties. I played it every time I wanted something grungy without actually playing those same old Alice In Chains and Soundgarden albums. This album is something like a 'best-of-grunge-which-bands-forgot-to-record-in-the-heyday-of-the-scene'. That being said, this album is 429 times better than most modern rock albums and you absolutely need this in your collection.


Lambs - Betrayed From Birth

blackened hardcore / crust
Unquiet Records
Drown Within Records
facebook
Picture
"Lambs", cute name which hides tonnes of aggression, brutality and torment. This Italian band simply throws every harsh metal style they could find in one massive blender, adds an array of screams and pours their agony over their audience. The overall tone on this three track is intense and dark. The songs are loaded with blackened hardcore riffs, seemingly also inspired by extreme noise rock. They're not afraid of blast beats or fierce thrash metal drumming. In fact, I don't think these guys are afraid of anything. This is a tremendous force, out for utter destruction, physically and mentally. You have been warned...


Cvlt of Grace - Tears

dark hardcore / sludge
Unquiet Records
facebook
Picture
Perfectly fitting in with the previous ep in this episode of "Brieviews", comes the newest effort from Hungarian ruffians Cvlt Of Grace. In mere fifteen minutes, this trio smashes a blend of crust, sludge and hardcore through my already racked eardrums. The overall atmosphere is intensely dark and the sound is tremendously crushing, certainly in haunting tracks like 'Dogfaced Children' or the confusing beast 'Black Sack'. This is gutripping stuff, certainly not recommended for the faint of heart. With lyrical themes including the immigrant crisis, anti-fascism and other current unpleasantries, this Cvlt is preparing to smash the rotten establishment we dwell in.


Nukk - Nukk

ambient / crust / sludge
Unquiet Records
facebook
Picture
Ok, perhaps I can handle one more of these scathing hardcore infused sludge crust releases. This one is coming from Polish neocrust mob Nukk and it's arguably the most destructive ep I've heard in a while. Not only because their crushing blend of crust and hardcore, but also because of the horrifying ambient/noise passages and the overall feeling of despair and anxiety. Even when the whole thing gets a bit less aggressive, this ep simply never gives you a moment to rest, to come to your senses. Each quieter passage is simply an impedance for the massive musical blow that follows. Nukk leaves no survivors, that's for bloody sure. 


Rekoma - Circle Of Hate

metal / death metal / thrash metal
Inverse Records
facebook
Picture
As a little preview for their upcoming album, Finnish metallers Rekoma come up with a tasty ep, an intense blend of death and thrash metal with both clean vocals and deep growls. There's also room for some doom metal and even American groove metal; Yet, what I hear most on this album, are influences from the Scandinavian metal scene, loaded with dark melodies and brutal riffs. All of these elements, certainly make this an ep with a tremendous headbanging capacity. You try to keep your head still on smashers like 'Lambs Of Sacrifice' or 'Trial'. Maybe you'll succeed but it won't be easy, certainly not if these guys play this live in an equally convincing way.


Ligature Wound - ​Ligature Wound

death metal
Iron, Blood And Death Corp 
Picture
Imagine Dismember, Morbid Angel and Benediction building a tank. Now imagine the sound of that tank while in rolls over your skewered body. That would bring you pretty close to the stuff I'm listening to right now. American act Ligature Wound released an excellent slab of raw old school death metal where every single elements seems to be exactly where and what it needs to be. In six tracks, definitely containing a few highlights in today's death metal scene, this ep is as filthy, grinding and brutal as it gets. Fans of the genre should not ignore this act, on the very contrary, they need this thing...


Drought - Rudra Bhakti

black metal
Avantgarde Music
facebook
Picture
Drought, a mysterious entity in the black metal scene, comes up with a severe, rough and hypnotic blackened ritual. This ep, revolving around the transformation of man into the übermensch, contains four epic pieces of extreme music, repetitive but varied, chaotic and intense. The music is a great example of modern black metal, certainly inspired by the old school but ever looking forward. The sheer speed of this whole thing is quite suffocating, rarely giving the listener a chance to calm down. Only in the final track 'Collapse of Maya (Transfiguration of the Warrior)' you get a few soothing passages, but even these are haunting and eerie. Recommended stuff... 

Comments
<<Previous
    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.