progressive rock / instrumental

Open Mind is an album by American musician Adam Bentley, under the alias Absently, to be officially released on May 10. Almost forty eight minutes long, the record has nine tracks: Introve, Dayzed, Interluhd, Out Of Orbit, Escape Pod, Schlipps, Patience, Wrath and Where Are We. An interesting instrumental album, with a masterly developed technique, and an exceedingly versatile musical layout, Open Mind brings in the vastness of its expansive twists a tremendously fantastic array of influences, that elevates to a groundbreaking level the resources of instrumental progressive rock, inserting a new path of colorful boundaries and patterns into the genre.

With intriguing melodies and ostensibly intense harmonies, Open Mind has a powerful system of digressions that exhilarates its uniqueness, engraved in the soul of the music. With the expansive layer of a more experimental and tenacious audacity, the musician really knows how to extrapolate the terms of his flexible musical aphorisms, generating into the flames of his style an unpredictable elusive sound, that discreetly flirts with post rock, and nu and post metal as well. Although I haven’t found this album to be a great masterpiece, with some passages apparently sounding a little repetitive, Open Mind is an album with an impressive conjuncture of amazing qualities, that surprisingly has shaped with the vibrating intonations of its universal  symmetry of playful sounds an inimitable style of its own. 

With a continual technique that allows him to explore candidly the vast possibilities of his own rhythms, the artist has created a maze of formidable dynamic intricacy, that solidifies in the extemporal sensibility of his own intuition the anticipation of a latent sonorous result, that offers to the listener the unavoidable distinction of a very singular sound, that remarkably reshapes itself, at the round of each track.  

An interesting album, that has on the verge of its progressive elements the lucid originality of a marvelous and exponentially creative artist, Open Mind is an experimental rock album that abundantly disperses the playfulness of extraordinary elements, ambitiously revoked at the epicenter of its own delighted fractal illusions. In the horizon of beautiful melodies and formidably elongated harmonies, this album will conquer the hearts of literally all genre enthusiasts. Certainly, reveals a tremendously talented exponent that has a lot to aggregate in the underground music scene.       


Wagner

doom / heavy metal

Follow The Grain is an album released on April 9, by renowned underground German musician better known by the alias of Morphinist. Though mostly known by his releases on the genres of traditional and atmospheric black metal, Follow The Grain witnesses the musician experimenting with doom and heavy metal, in a very unexpected, but interesting experimental mood. Forty one minutes long, the record has only three very long tracks (which is somewhat a remarkable feature of his): the eponymous Follow The Grain, The Demons Of Doubt and Battle Wounds. With amazingly solid and vociferous, but at the same time soberly clean guitar lines, Follow The Grain from the beginning reveals itself to be a great and marvelously crafted instrumental album. With lucid, but very imponderable harmonies, perfectly delineated at the height of severe rhythmic ordinances, Follow The Grain encounters Morphinist in his best creative shape, brilliantly displaying the vigor of his colossal energies in a style not familiar to his audience. Nonetheless, the final result couldn’t have been more formidably amazing. 

Underlying the visionary cosmic strength of serene melodies, these three tracks effusively consolidate the sonorous ritual of a sentimental intensity that deeply elevates its harmonies into an imaginary field of astounding deliverance. With exceedingly factual poetical elements that acts at the direct interface of the songs, the extraordinary sensible intonations that plays with a more spiritual level of intricacy reveals a genuinely effective musical structure, whose technique is perfectly correlated with the sensitive ordeal that joyfully precipitates the consistency of the sound into an imaginary cosmogony that dreams abundantly in the unpredictable fields of mind expectations.

With a surreal predicament of a linear embodiment of devotional artistry, Follow The Grain is simply a tremendously magnificent album, with the most audaciously ferocious and imponderably creative guitar lines that you will ever hear in your life. Preciously beautiful, inherently natural and vehemently undertaking a wonderful sonorous journey of exhilarating rapture, the three tracks of Follow The Grain are simply formidably arranged masterpieces, that will elevate your soul to different standards of existence. 

With no faults to be pointed out whatsoever, this is an album for a lifetime. A majestically monumental state of the art work – one of the best and most fantastically exceptional guitar driven albums ever to be conceived –, whose sagaciously demanding imperative beauty has created sonorous galaxies of perceived excitement and graceful healing, Follow The Grain is an unusual move for Morphinist, that once more has proved why he is one of the greatest and most versatile musicians in the contemporary underground scene. 



Wagner

post rock / doom

Oh yeah, here comes another early candidate for my best of 2017 list. I know, there are still loads and loads of albums to be released but this is an album that combines three of my favorite things in music. One, it is completely instrumental. Two, it is dark and atmospheric. Three, it is slow and immersive. So yes, instrumental post rock, nudging towards doom metal and containing flashes of industrial. Believe me, I'm sold. Hell, I was sold even before I actually listened to this album and that doesn't often happen.

First things first. The Arabic word '​آكتئاب' translates as 'depression, melancholy'. Google Translate says we should pronounce it as 'akitiaab'. For the record, we're not dealing with a band from Arabia or anywhere in the Middle-East for that matter. Ddent hails from Paris, France and initially started out as a two-man band. Today, the band consists of four members and, judging to the music on this album, they can convert 'آكتئاب' into music like nobody else can. Or maybe a few other bands....

Yet, as brilliant as this album really is, I find it hard to write about it. Like I said in the opening paragraph, I was sold when I read the words "instrumental", "post-rock" and "doom". I think every fan of these three things can easily trust Ddent to deliver the eargasms we all crave so much. The music is slow, intense, massive. I'm reminded of bands like Russian Circles, Monkey3, Meniscus, A Place to Bury Strangers, A Swarm Of The Sun, Godspeed! You Black Emperor, Pelican, Cult Of Luna... See, that's how good this band actually is.

I'm also not going to mention titles or certain passages in certain songs. Why? Because this album doesn't need to be divided into parts. As far as I'm concerned, this is a sonic trance that lasts for almost an hour, a trance in which you can explore the deepest and darkest caverns of your inner-being and thus the state of our society as we know it. You can almost surf on those distorted, droning guitars, guided by the methodical drums and lulled by these massive soundscapes.

Oh well, let's just face it. The world of post-rock and doom metal will have to its very best to produce something as exciting and captivating as 'آكتئاب'. I can only recommend this gem to all fans of slow, immersive and atmospheric music, whether it is drone, doom, shoegaze, post-rock, post-metal or even dark ambient. Apart from the intense darkness and the depressing feeling in the air, I think 2017 is going to be an awesome year for music...


​Serge

krautrock 

"Is there anything Aidan Baker ever did that disappointed you?" my wife asked. I had to think about it, think hard. I've listened to countless of albums and projects by Baker and I've seen him perform more than I've seen venues over the years. Eventually, I remembered two gigs at Incubate, including one with Caudal. I remember not being very enthusiastic about it. It was the first time I saw them live and I wasn't sure what to expect. Besides, Caudal is a band that needs to grow on people. Eventually, the trio grew on me too, and now I'm happy to present their latest work.

'Let's All Take The Yellow Pills' contains three vintage krautrock instrumentals with steady drumming, immersive bass lines and atmospheric guitars. Opener 'Piquet' is a highly danceable piece of music, driving on an up-tempo beat and groovy bass. There is something hypnotic in the repetitive but gently approach, something which will cause a lot of people to close their eyes and start shoegazing the night away.

My favorite on is the slowest track 'Dissolute'. Basically, it contains similar ingredients as the other two but it's slower, just like I prefer my own bolognese sauce over fast food any time. In my opinion, slower is better and that definitely counts for music. 'Dissolute' is pure beauty, period. The album closes with the mid-tempo 'Ion', which will get your dancing shoes going again. Fans of Caudal definitely can't go wrong with this one. Check it out, you'll be dancing and tripping before you know it...


​Serge

ambient / downtempo 

Now here's a label I can respect, delivering music from an excellent quality in a nice, well taken care off do-it-yourself packaging with a few inlays and a download code. And that two hundred times with each release. DIY-labels have always interested me because they don't necessarily go for the best selling artists but for pure quality. Stubbornly, these people search the globe for acts that fit in with their philosophy and musical preference and they do a damn good job at that too, judging from the two albums from Sound In Silence that I'm going to recommend the hell out of.

Panoptique Electrical is an Australian project by a man name Jason Sweeney. Within the first four tracks of this album, he made my job a difficult one, playing with piano, modern classical sounds, downtempo electronica, post-rock, ambient, soundscapes, (mild) noise and even a synthpop drum line. Yet, things never get over-the-top, somehow Sweeney manages to keep things at a minimal, gentle level. In total, there are eleven tracks on this album, all of them balancing on the thin edges of several musical genres.

Some of these instrumentals could be quite decent pop ballads if they had vocals, 'First Betrayal' certainly and also the uptempo ambient tune (yes, that's possible) 'In A Forest Forlorn'. 'C Minor Spell' is my favorite, and coincidentally also the darkest tune on this album. There's something Stars Of The Lid - like here, a band that often comes to mind when I listen to this album. They come with good company too, like Max Richter, Brian Eno, Bersarin Quartett and so on. Yes, that means ambient with a twist, a damn nice twist.

The feeling I had throughout the first four tracks, returns on pretty much all of them, except maybe on 'A Minor Breakdown' which reminds me more of Calva Y Nada or any of those nineties industrial electronics pioneers, meeting Tangerine Dream or Klaus Schulze. That being said, yes, there is plenty of variation on this piece of work, way more than most albums classified as "ambient" show. Like I said in the opening paragraph: this album comes highly recommended. It makes an excellent addition to your undoubtedly massive collection.


​Serge

post rock / psychedelic rock

At the latest edition of Dunk! Festival, the bands from Poland proved that their country is stacked with talent. Tides From Nebula, Spoiwo and Obscure Sphinx all managed to captivate the audience with their specific branch of music. As far as I'm concerned, Beyond The Event Horizon might as well deserve a chance to prove themselves on that very same festival with their heavy and dynamic post-rock.

The music on 'Beyond The Event Horizon' seems to combine typical post-rock with flashes of space rock and stoner rock, somewhere between Explosions In The Sky, Monkey3 and Zombi perhaps. In 'Unknown Void' the spacey synths remind me of bands like Ozric Tentacles or Hawkwind. To add to the excitement, there are quite a lot of distorted guitars, perfectly capable of pleased the metal minded people among us. 

But wait, I'm not done talking about these synths yet. They add a lot of interesting elements to the music, certainly a tremendous psychedelic aspect. Tytus (keyboards) seems to have a background in space rock, krautrock. Either that or he has been listening to Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze, a lot. I don't mind, not at all, adding stuff like this is what makes a band interesting. And this certainly is interesting.

Since we're talking about the bandmembers, Pawel (drums) sounds like a metalhead, often going berserk with the double bass drums and barely refraining himself from coming up with blast beats. That's not a bad thing either, who would like to bang his head in space, right? There are no blast beats on this album, but again, I don't mind. They would only devalue the immersive nature of the rest of the music.

Because yes, the music is pretty damn immersive. In all honesty, opener '4CE' didn't convince me that much but halfway through 'Sharper' I definitely was sold. The repetitive nature of this track is awesome and almost hypnotic.  Besides, halfway through the title track, 'Event Horizon' I was pretty sure that I want to see these guys live. If the good people from Dunk festival read this review, I hope they take it as a hint.

Before I finish this writing, I have to mention the fact that 'Post Waltz' is exactly what the title predicts. Imagine a waltz, play it with a rock setting and you get a really nice tune. It adds a lot to the variation on the album, which is also a good thing. Hell, this whoàle album is a good thing, so check it out. You won't be disappointed.


​Serge

post rock / psychedelic

It's been a week since I left Zottegem after the fabulous Dunk! Festival and I'm already looking forward to next year's edition. I wasn't really planning on writing this review today but the sheer quality of the music on 'The Fall' dragged me right back to Zottegem. I can't help it, every time I hear a great post-rock album, I imagine myself being part of the audience again, while the band performs their magic on stage. 

We received three albums by Tiny Fingers, a psychedelic post-rock band from Tel Aviv, Israel. They are one of the leading forces in the Israeli alternative music scene, and with good reason too. The already toured Europe, USA and Asia and opened for The Mars Volta, Dub Trio and even Damian Marley. And their music? Well, that seems to be a highly surprising blend of post-rock, live electronics, psychedelic rock and even dubstep. And now, I'm reviewing three albums at once.

'The Fall' is their fifth album, one in which Tiny Fingers take their custom sound to the next level. According to guitarist Oren Ben David, "The album is a riddle, every track is a chapter in a true story about fear and hope, anxiety, deep realistic confusion". I couldn't have said it better myself. This is indeed an adventurous piece of work, harboring some of the most immersive pieces of post-rock I've heard in awhile.

The album opens with title track 'The Fall', which immediately crosses the borders between rock music and live electronics. The electronics kick off, making you wonder whether this is going to be a dance album or not. Gradually however, the typical atmospheric elements of post-rock fade in and after about two minutes you'll be immersed in these brilliant soundscapes. 65 Days Of Static comes to mind, as they often will while listening to this album.

I really like the conceptual feel of this full-length. 'Eyes Of Gold' is perfectly mixed with its predecessor, seems to stop and begin building up the anticipation for what's still to come. 'Traveller Soul' continues the weird electronics of 'Eyes Of Gold' but gradually turns the whole thing into a Tangerine Dream meets Monkey3 kind of thing. Awesome for sure but believe it or not, the best track is still to come.

And that is 'Deuteronomy'. It had me staring at my speakers in disbelief; and soon after I was imagining this song live at Dunk Festival, which gave me an eargasm. It starts out like pretty much any post-rock track: a guitar line, minimal drums and some soundscapes but then it happens. The electronics come in, making you wonder what's going on. Then, suddenly the whole thing explodes into a massive blend of heavy post-rock, seventies electronica and dubstep. 

At this moment, I was sold and decided to write this whole thing, which will probably become my longest review ever. I mean, there's still five more songs to come on this album. 'Drops' is a quiet, gentle breather, with some jazzy drums. 'The Other' shows what Venetian Snares would do with post-rock. Damn, what a load of energy this song is. Back on Dunk! Festival, the tent would explode again. 

You know what, I'll leave the three other songs up to you to discover, which obviously means that I recommend this album to any post-rocker out there. If you like 65 Days Of Static, PG Lost & Tortoise, you will also adore this little gem. Fact remains, these guys know a little something about atmosphere, about surprising hooks and twists. The album continuously alternates between grandeur, bombast, soothing passages and sheer energy. You need this...

'We Are Being Held By The Dispatcher' was recorded live in the Momek Studio in New York when the band had a day off from touring. It's shows a more playful side of Tiny Fingers, one that like to improvise with previously recorded bits and pieces. The result is a strange piece of work that reminds me a bit of acts like Black Dice. This album too has a conceptual feel as the songs seem to blend in with each other.

For this album, the band used a number of speeches from Malcolm X, along with their loose and experimental approach to post-rock. These samples actually add a lot to the music. The strange music, I might add. This album really is way different from 'The Fall'. It feels more like a psychedelic noise rock album than a post-rock thing, but that's perfectly fine. It shows how versatile these musicians really are.

I'm not going into a track-by-track description on this one but rest assured that songs like 'Space Slavery', 'Madrugada' and '1965' will surprise you and quite possibly blow your mind. I wish I'd been at that recording studio when Tiny Fingers recorded this material. I'm sure that they had loads and loads of fun playing and recording this album. You can sense that fun, that playfulness and that awesome feeling of jamming.

Also recorded live in the studio, and also in 2012, 'Megafauna' showcases the band's relentless energy with a clean studio production. During the time, the band members were going through a lot of changes in their lives, both personally and professionally. Before recording the album, they spent three weeks together, writing, jamming, improving. That resulted in an artistic and technical journey which none of them could have imagined.

After the intro, 'Demands' turns this into the weirdest and most nervous sounds I've heard from Tiny Fingers. This song in itself is quite an adventurous one, at times pretty dark and gritty. The whole album actually is. Sometimes it delves deep into the fuzz-loaded stoner rock scene, adding influences from bands like Monkey 3, Karma To Burn or Colour Haze. But, because of the electronics, I'm mostly reminded of 65 Days Of Static.

'Preloader' is one heavy piece of rock, repetitive, gloomy and intense. Like most of the tracks here, I'm often reminded of Kong, my all time favorite instrumental band. 'Pasadena Matador' also seems to have some Ozric Tentacles influences to show, which obviously is a good sign. But the most surprising track here is the fierce rock song 'Money-Time' which will make you bang your head.

Suppose you have the money to buy only one of these three albums. Obviously at first I'd advise you to save money to buy all three. Second, I'll try to recommend each album, based on your preferences.

If you're in for dark, stoner rock inspired instrumental music with loads of atmosphere, buy 'Megafauna'. 
If you like playful jamming and vocal samples, get your hands on 'We Are Being Held By The Dispatcher'.
If you like an immersive and psychedelic whirlpool of post-rock and electronics, you need 'The Fall' in your life.


​Serge

post rock / electronica

A music genre that refuses to evolve, is pretty much a doomed one.  Why? Well, because the majority of fans will see new bands as copycats who have nothing new to add. Those same people also refuse to listen to bands who do have something new to add, because "they're not loyal to the scene". Yeah, I know, some music fans are full-of-manure whiny little kids who themselves have nothing new to add to the whole damn industry.

Oh, wait. I'm writing a review, not a rant on shortsighted music fans. My apologies. Sometimes I get carried away a little. But that's a good thing. Like I told a good friend on mine the other day: "good albums inspire me to write, bad albums don't". So, Swiss post-rock band Kid Ikarus shouldn't really worry about the rest of this review. The writing is going perfectly fine, so this must be a good album, right?

Absolutely. It's their second full-length, one where the band looks beyond the boundaries of the post-rock genre without losing the awesome feel that this style of music presents. The album opens with something harsh and impending in 'Master Blaster' but gradually shows more than just influences from Mogwai and Explosions In The Sky. 'Endless Fun' (and several other songs), comes with a load of synths and electronics.

So perhaps it might be safe to say that we have a crossbreed of post-rock and trip-hop here, two genres known for their mild tempo and beautiful atmosphere. But it goes even further than that. I could mention influences from acts like Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream and even psychedelic rock acts like Grobschnitt. Zürich is about 850 km from Berlin, but Kid Ikarus certainly know a thing or two about the Berliner Schüle.

Let's check out a few more songs. There's almost classic post-rock in the brilliant track 'Soft Power' while 'Sweet Secrets' smells like Jean Michel Jarre's synth hits, driving on a highly immersive bass line and illusive soundscapes. The album closes with the longest track, 'Blaster Master', which perfectly combines all of the previous elements into one massive post-rock track, certainly a highlight on this already impressive album.

So yeah, post-rock fans, ambient aficionados and vintage electronica loves should definitely check out this album. It's certainly good enough to stand next to the releases from the big names in this industry. At the moment, 'Playback Dreams' is knocking on the door to my best-of-2016 list. The competition is fierce and relentless, I know, so perhaps Kid Icarus should kick in that door with a few stunning performances to seal the deal.


​Serge

stoner rock

Well, time for an acid-trip through some searing hot desert. Our soundtrack for this (rather short) road trip is presented by Morgantown, West Virginia (USA) duo Iron Jawed Guru. They got their name from a pinball machine. They once were a trio but Eric Clutter left to join Karma To Burn. And they bring the grooves in perfect stoner rock tradition. What else could you possibly need to finally check out this album?

Yeah, I like pinball machines but I've never played this one. Nonetheless, in a way, this is perfect pinball music, grabbing your full attention immediately and leading you through highly immersive ramps and blistering highlights. Once the ball starts rolling, you're in for a wicked ride along the tones of some awesome instrumentals. Opener 'Quake' immediately sets the tone with its fuzzed-out, groovy sound.

Yeah, I like Karma To Burn and yeah, that band is quite a good reference for these songs. Both bands play instrumental stoner rock, often with a psychedelic touch and plenty of energy. I really dig instrumental music and there are some quite uplifting ones here, including 'Aftershock', 'Navajo' and my favorite, the highly vivacious 'Tremors'. Some of these also remind me of our own, Belgian, stoner rock instrumentalists Sardonis', who are also damn heavy.

Yeah, and that's the last time I'll use that word in this review, this is stoner rock, loyal to and inspired by the vintage sound of bands like Clutch and Kyuss. There is little else to mention about this ep, so you'll have to take my word for it. Check it out and join us on this crazy road trip, ending apotheotically in closer 'Vesuvius'. I told you it was going to be hot in here...


​Serge

​krautrock / black metal

​Some bands are exceptionally praised for their unique and unmatched sound, regardless of genre boundaries or ideology.  Sunn O))) definitely is one of them and so is Aluk Todolo.  In fact, as far as those unique bands are concerned, Aluk Todolo is one of my favorites, certainly live.   I've seen them play in support of Sunn O))) in a perfect setting, a nineteenth century fortress.  That really was a night to remember.  Later, the played in a venue close to where I live and the were equally massive and hypnotic.  Since then, I'm a fan.

One way or another, whenever a band releases an album, the fans are the hardest ones to please.  The album sound either too much or too little like the previous one.  Yet, with a unique sound comes a unique possibility to explore.  That's what drives Aluk Todolo, exploring the trance-inducing blend of krautrock, black metal and psychedelic rock.  In the case of 'Voix', that means a wider expansion of their signature sound.

That's exactly what 'Voix' is, an intense and psychedelic trip through the sonic universe that this trio has created.  As with their previous albums, it's hard to find out where one track ends and another begins.  I've been listening to this piece of work a few times now and it still isn't easy.  Much like with drone acts like Nadja or Dirk Serries, the whole seems one elaborate variation on a theme.  Do I mind?  Absolutely not, there exactly lies the power of this music.

Most of what I hear on this album, are outbursts of psychedelic guitars and jazz-influenced drums.  At first the bass guitar seems to be the only element that brings a bit of variation to the whole.  Yet, after turning up the volume and let the music do its work, this becomes more than a bunch of heavy instrumentals.  The bass guitar becomes the guide through this haunting and complex sonic assault.

There are a lot of bands with 'an own sound' but Aluk Todolo managed to wipe the floor with all of them (or perhaps most of them, certainly if you consider Godspeed You Black Emperor as one of those bands.).  They came out of the studio with another masterpiece, one that doesn't just bring more of the same.  'Voix' confirms and expands the reputation that these guys already have.  I for one can't wait to see them play this live.


Serge

post-metal / experimental

Music is strange.  More than any other art form, it expresses and causes emotions.  It creates worlds, landscapes and mental visions.  It can take the listener on unexpected journeys and make him float in seemingly endless rivers.  Not everyone seems to understand that but some musicians certainly do.  After all, it's their way of coping with reality.  It's also a ritual to exorcise negative vibrations and that damn well works with this one.

Niō is the collaboration between Davide Tiso (Ephel Duath, Gospel of the Witches) and Jef Pauly (New Diplomat, Vela Eyes), started in May 2015 in San Francisco (USA).  The focus for this project seemed to be the ritualistic aspect I mentioned earlier.  In five songs, they have come up with a repetitive, hypnotizing and immersive blend of post-rock, post-metal and raw rock.  Yet, it's not merely a post-rock album.

This duo doesn't create the elaborate sonic landscapes that some of the most popular post-rock acts have.  Instead, these five songs are raw power and energy.  It seems to take the genre back into a more primitive form, heavy, complex and somewhat harsh.  In that aspect, I guess it's safe to add tags like doom metal (riffs) and noise rock (atmosphere) to what I'm hearing right now.  So check it out if you're in for something different.  Like I was, you might be pleasantly surprised with this ep.


Serge

metal, all of it...

​Strange album alert!!! 

Yet, regardless of that, this is something you should check out if you're a (post-) metal fan. These guys do amazing things without opening their mouths, except maybe to breathe and to say 'thank you' after they blasted one of their fierce instrumentals over a completely mesmerized audience. Yes, this is instrumental metal, a bit similar to some post-rock/metal/hardcore acts like The Ocean for instance, but there is way more to Second To Sun that just being the next post-band.

This Russian trio has been around since 2012, blending hardcore, black metal, post-rock and ethnic Finno-Ugric music, only to come out with something complex, bombastic and completely insane. So it shouldn't be a big surprise that there's a lot of different bands I think about when I listen to this.  Meshuggah, Sick Of It All, The Ocean, Pain, Dillinger Escape Plan, Immortal, Evergrey and even Aphex Twin.  Yes, that's it.  This is the Aphex Twin of metal.

So to be able to fully comprehend this album, you don't only have to be used to these all these genres but you have to get used to the fact that they follow each other in continuously and often abruptly changing songs.  The experimental nature of this music is so immense that I can't help but think that there's a background in free-jazz hidden deep within this act.  One second you'll be listening to an epic post-rock anthem, the next one you'll be immersed in an orgy of ferocious blast-beats and grinding guitars.

The weirdness and complexity also reminds me a bit of acts like Fantomas, be it in a clear metal setting.  But then again there are fantastic tunes on this album, like 'The Blood Libel', which is one of the most immersive instrumental anthems I've ever heard.  If my Aphex Twin reference still stands, this song is their 'Windowlicker'.  You should probably have guessed that this is my favorite song on this album, the only downside is (and that counts for most of the songs), it's too short.

It's followed by 'Narcat', which actually is a math-grind tune.  You can almost hear the guttural growls hidden behind massive walls of distortion.  Then, the song turns into...Oh whatever, this stuff is just way to stunning to understand what the hell is going on.  Check it out, buy it, recommend them for Dunk!Festival, Incubate or whatever high quality music discovery festival could cope with originality.  I need a cigarette, I feel as if I just had sex with nine highly experienced geishas...


Serge

post-metal / sludge / doom

​In my review for last year's Dunk! Festival (read), I mentioned this band as one of the highlights and one of the most impressive shows I've witnessed there.  They convincingly blended post-rock, black metal and sludge together, all without uttering a single word. With that mix they easily mesmerized the audience, including me.  

So when I noticed that there was a new album coming, I couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy.  After all, Hemelbestormer is one of the most promising bands in the already packed Belgian scene.  The only question remaining, at least for me, was: can they deliver the same intensity, atmosphere and brute power on this album as on stage?  The answer:

Hell fucking yeah they can!!!

The power of Hemelbestormer is still massive on this two-track album.  From the very beginning of 'Portal to the Universe' to the final sound of 'Portal III', this quartet grabs the listener's attention in a severe deathlock and drags him down into a continuous vortex of guitars, drums and soundscapes.  

Monolithic riffs and haunting layers of sound alternate with soothing passages before the whole rages on again with sheer ferocity and gigantic wall-of-sound.  It's obvious that these are experienced musicians, having earned their stripes with bands like Death Penalty, Serpentcult and Gorath.  

If you're a fan of sludge, post-metal or doom, this definitely is something to get your hands on.  With this record, Hemelbestormer confirms their rightful spot between Belgium's most praised bands, such as AmenRa, The Black Heart Rebellion and Sardonis, to name a few.      


Serge

bandcamp

Everything is good and so many things are coincidences.  Take this warm spring day for example.  I'm preparing to go to a (mostly) instrumental rock festival (Dunk!) tomorrow and I'm wearing my Monkey3 t-shirt which I purchased at Desertfest a few months ago.  I open my 'downloads' folder to see if there's anything that I would love to review before I leave.  An album by Prehistoric Pigs appears and I'm intrigued.  I open the folder and I see 'instrumental stoner rock'.  Now I'm just plain curious.

Prehistoric Pigs is a band from the Stone age, unearthed in March 2012 in Italy.  Shortly after their discovery, the trio was given some instruments and locked away in a recording studio.  It didn't take them too long to write and record a debut album. After the release of the album, the members escaped from their studio and started playing gigs all over Italy and crossed the borders to Slovenia, Germany, Austria and Ireland.  Now, several years later, they return with a second outburst, named 'Everything Is Good', and yep, they are absolutely right, at least about the songs on this album.

Careful research shows that Prehistoric Pigs date from the late Stone age, right before the Iron age began.  The music on this album is heavy but rarely nudges towards metal and when it does, it clearly is doom metal.  Other influences are psychedelic rock and classic rock, somewhere in the line of Black Sabbath meets Jimi Hendrix meets Kyuss.  There earlier Monkey3 reference isn't that far away either, besides the fact that Prehistoric Pigs likes to go a bit faster and focuses more on groovy riffs than atmosphere.

Also striking are the elaborate guitar solos, which sound as if they come directly from the seventies, and the growling sound of the bass guitar.  This combination makes 'When The Trip Ends' sound like a very raw version of Pink Floyd.  The majority of the tracks however, contain intense monolithic riffs and pounding drums like Karma To Burn often makes them.  'Hypnodope' even hints towards bands like Yob and Conan but it never gets too heavy or too loud (if that's even possible in this style of music).

In all, Everything Is Good is a tremendous rock album, enclosing all the right elements from the Stone age to entertain the listener for about an hour.  This is perfect music for any Desert- or Stonerfest and I'm sure these Prehistoric Pigs will be welcomed with open arms by audiences far and wide. The only thing I wonder is: if pigs walk on four legs, how the hell do they play their instruments?


Serge

Calostro
Little Crackd Rabbit Records

Hypnodrone Ensemble - The Shape Of Space


Aidan Baker must be one of the most active people in the music industry.  If he's not recording or touring with Nadja, Caudal or solo, he's seeking new ways to explore his drones and soundscapes.  Take this new output for example.  Two guitar players, a bassist and three, yes three, drummers creating two lengthy and epic pieces.  The idea grew from several performances Aidan Baker and Thisquietarmy did together.  It was, partially improvised, recorded at Golden Retriever Studios in Berlin.

The names on this album are not to be underestimated.  Besides Baker we see Eric Quach (Thisquietarmy), Gareth Sweeney (Caudal), David Dunnett, Jeremie Mortier (Alice In The Cities) and Felipe Salazar.  The multitude of drums gives the album some extra power, in the beginning even to the extent of overruling the infading drones.  Yet, when the tempo goes up, the music turns into some highly atmospheric space rock which is pretty amazing.

The two pieces last about twenty minutes each but are divided in two parts each.  Part two of the opening track is a lot slower, coming close to a blend of post rock and Bakers work with Nadja.  Yet, both parts are part of one long piece so they seemlessly blend into one another.  Each piece can stand perfectly well on its own but when you listen to the whole, the skillfully attuned magic of this album comes shining through.

Part 2, named 'Euclidian / Dodecahedral' starts out with a jazzy bassline and quicky becomes a solid post-rock track again.  About halfway, the volume goes up again, bringing back that amazing space and kraut rock.  Somehow, Hypnodone Ensemble makes all this sound so easy.  You can almost hear the musicians  having loads of fun with these elaborate jamsessions.  Close your eyes and you can often see them smiling at each other, happy that this is turning out perfectly.  The album even ends perfectly, noisy and heavy.

Personally, I think this is one of the best works of Aidan Baker's carreer.  The constantly changing and altering soundscapes keep this record well-varied and extremely enjoyable.  Plus, the calm and friendly atmosphere of this album keeps shining through, even in the heaviest passages.  The Shape Of Space is a must for every drone, space rock and post-rock fan.  The album is available on vinyl and CD, so get your hands on this jewel as quickly as you can...


Serge

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"Instrumental rock/metal": when encountering this tag, people will probably immediately think about post rock.  After all, post-rock's the ultimate instrumental rock genre and is immensely popular these days.  However, we're not dealing with a post rock band here.  We're dealing with a progressive metal band that just doesn't need a vocalist. Face it, who needs vocals when you can make music that is powerful enough to stand on its own?

Zayn, a three-piece from Croatia grew tired of negativity and the depressive atmosphere in their country.  To cleanse themselves, they started playing music together and somehow this seemed to work pretty well.  The line-up has been the same since 2011, except for the guitar player who left for six months and then came back. Field Of God is their first album.  It shows an enthousiastic and energetic band, searching their own niche within the instrumental rock world.

The songs on the album are pretty short pieces (two to seven minutes) of instrumental rock, placing this band between acts like Kong, Monkey3, Sleepmakeswaves and Sardonis.  Note that these are all mainly live bands and I have a feeling that Zayn is no exeption.  I can imagine this music working very well on stage, probably because one of the most potentially annoying elements, the vocals, are just not present.  Instead, Zayn treats us to an intense amount of fuzzy riffs, pounding drums and often complicated, almost chaotic and dissonant structures.

Zayn's weapon of choice is distortion, that's for sure.  After the drony intro, 'Ungodless' kicks in with some destructive force, fierce and intense enough to entertain yours truly.  The rest of the songs follow similar patterns of heavy passages and short breathers.  Highlights are 'They Will Not Have The Stars' and 'Emperor, Guide Us'.  The first few songs on the album aren't bad at all but it seems this one continuously improves and gains more and more power, pretty much like a diesel engine.

There's little need for lengthy atmospheric passages or symphonic elements.  Zayn mainly wants to rock and that is perfectly fine.  However, I have a feeling that Zayn has more potential than they show on Fields Of God, certainly live.  This is a band that can grow and become a solid standout in their chosen niche. Title track 'Fields Of God' is actually the living proof of that possibiliy.  This is simply an awesome piece of music, somewhere between stoner and post rock with a touch of psychedelica. 
I'm going to keep an eye on Zayn and so should every instrumental rock music.  You don't often have the chance to see a band grow and become the best version of themselves. With Zayn you actually can't go wrong.  This is high-potency rock music with a tremendous DIY-attitude_