metalcore / progressive metal

Ascendancy is the debut album of French metalcore/ progressive metal group Kadinja, released in a partnership between the labels Klonosphere Records and Season of Mist. With ten tracks, the record is very interesting. Displays possessive and overwhelming melodies, that can be dynamic and static at the same time. Introducing several elements from other genres, Kadinja’s musical style is more singular and indefinable, and certainly prioritizes a formidable degree of originality, that standardizes a peculiar sonorous identity to their music, giving them a special place in the underground scene. With genuine and fearless compositions, Kadinja manages to be a defining group, that invades the musical scene with a promising, intriguing, volatile and authentic debut, that has placed them in the musical framework.

The metalcore appeal into their music – especially the interchanging clean and sober vocals with the more guttural and aggressive ones – has everything to guarantee their space among the enthusiasts of the genre. Reminding a little another prominent metalcore acts, like We Came as Romans, Kadinja depicts a very polished, refined and sophisticated style, unraveling a clear message in their debut, Ascendancy: that they are already musically mature, and they have all the necessary qualities to be major in the global underground scene.

Each and every track is more fascinating than its predecessor. The record only gets better and better as it progresses. The third song, Episteme, is infuriating, sentimentally sagacious and spectacularly sublime, and has on the crest of its melodies all the audacious anger of a restless and emotionally empty sour day. Carrying the true combative stream of life in each song, Kadinja reveals itself not only as an exceptionally relevant band, but as a vigorous and voraciously brutal musical and artistic force as well. 

Sincerely, there are no negative aspects to be pointed out on this album. With sensational, monumental, reflexive, painful and exhilaratingly intense and beautiful melodies, Ascendancy is virtually an extraordinary album, a true and fantastic state of the art work. Deserves to be slowly absorbed and appreciated. An exceedingly creative, dynamic and lucid musical work, filled with rapture and sincerity, Ascendancy is an impeccable, glorious and splendid record. Be sure you will simply love this amazing and lancinating debut, that deserves to be highlighted, and to make history.  

 
Wagner

ambient / experimental / shoegaze

metalcore / metal

facebook

hard rock

classical / ambient

drum & bass / industrial metal

facebook

progressive / thrash metal

nu metal

synthpop / new wave

techno / industrial

alternative rock

post rock

death metal

dark ambient / black metal

experimental rock

facebook

gothic / industrial metal

punk

metalcore

Vision is the most recent album by Italian metalcore group Cry Excess, to be released by Bleeding Nose Records on April 24th. Only thirty six minutes long, the album has ten tracks: Vision, Mess of me, Survival, Down 'n out, Detroit, The Path, Immortal, Lost - and Alone, The Black Squad and Chase The Sun. A very good, legitimate and audacious work, Vision is the typical metalcore album, although it is filled with powerful and highly energetic songs, that seems to be meticulously ordained by a lucid and vigorous fury, that really honors the genre with all the sardonic determination of its unmerciful and objective style.     

With amazingly created melodies, and a furious layer of inconspicuous wrath, Vision is a very outstanding and direct to the point album. Despite the general lack of innovations, the record has a very sober, realistic and true to the ground approach concerning the genre. Exceedingly rapid, with strong tempestuous rhythms and a concise musical direction, Cry Excess really has crafted, solidified and consolidated Vision as a very interesting album, built in the spectacularly lancinating axis of aggressive, but concomitantly philosophical harmonies, as usual for the genre, but in a more lancinating style.

The powerful energy, the highly effusive intensity, the beautiful melodies and the brevity of the songs are a major point of strength in the work. The tracks have a fresh, colorful, vivid and rejuvenating force, that is so full of life that it’s an impossible task not to be immediately drawn by the highly devastating force of their style. This is specially felt in the fourth track, Down 'n out, a marvelous, furious and sincere sonorous ode to a life well lived.         

Although Vision is a too much concise album, metalcore enthusiasts will be exceedingly satisfied and pleased with this glorious and splendid work. A striking and very intense album, Vision offers to the public the very best qualities metalcore has to offer to its audience: lucidity, vividness, fury, intensity, a sincere anger, an obliterate sense of damnation, an elusive hope and a sentimental disdain towards life. If you are a metalcore enthusiast, you can’t afford to miss this fantastic and exceptional release. You will be more than positively pleased with this one!  


Wagner

metalcore

Back From Hell is an album by French Metalcore band Eyes Wide Shot. With ten tracks – Waiting In Vain, A Glimpse Of Me, My Redemption, Lost For You, Lips Off My Lips, Back From Hell, Under The Knife, Livin' The Dream, See What I've Seen and Watch Me –, this is a terrific and exceptional album. Metalcore [although the band, in their FB page, identifies itself as a rock/ alternative metal band] is a superb and very emotional musical genre. With a lancinating fury, but more of a restrained, self-controlled and intelligent one, not displaying the teenage angst normally seen on certain musical acts of the genre, as well as having the lucidity of an objective style, Eyes Wide Shot worked out right to make Back From Hell an excellent and insanely wonderful album. Featuring awesome songs with intelligent choruses, exceedingly astounding rhythms, impressive sound dynamics and flavored harmonies – without falling into an art pop category –, you can positively categorize this record as incredibly amazing. Besides absorbing into a genuine style of their own the best qualities of the genre, Eyes Wide Shot is a band of skilled and mature musicians, with a great domain of their art.

Although, by a generic sound association, they do fall categorically under a more general perception of metalcore, with a lack of new elements, they really know how to do it right with their genre of choice. With powerful guitars, versatile, but lacerating rhythms, poetic elements filled by a sincere, emotional and gentle persuasive style, and a lucid approach to an authentic and intuitive sense of creativity, Back From Hell is a sensible, but strong album, full of life, vitality, soul and frailty. 

With each song having a feature of its own – but cohesively maintaining an identity throughout the whole album – coherence, sensibility and a striking sense of serenity seems to be the main components behind Eyes Wide Shot’s music. With the technical elements being just as competent, you can be sure Back From Hell is an emotionally explosive album, one you certainly will wish to listen, if you are into metalcore. 

Although I personally haven’t found this album to be a masterpiece, it certainly gets close. Amazing melodies, insinuating harmonies, aggression side by side with passion, poetic rhythms and emotionally aggrandizing passages – superbly adorned by an impeccable musical rhetoric –, definitely makes this album a wonderful work. Back From Hell definitely deserves a great score. A very good album, from a band full of potential!   
 

Wagner

drone / ambient / jazz / krautrock

drone / krautrock / experimental

singer-songwriter

bandcamp

doom / dark ambient

metal / metalcore

thrash metal / hardcore

doom / sludge

metal / metalcore 

doom / sludge / black metal

doom

sludge / doom

Serge

dream pop

jazz / krautrock / post rock

electronic / idm

techno

rock / experimental

stoner / doom

psychedelic doom

black metal / doom / thrash

thrash metal

metalcore

drone / ambient / psychedelic

folk / rock

thrash metal

punk / hardcore

post rock / psychedelic / progressive

metalcore / post hardcore

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

progressive metal

We're still in France, in the coastal city of Nice this time. We're also still engaged in some ferocious metal but this time a bit more extreme. With a mix of progressive metal, death metal and metalcore, Until The Uprising tries to force themselves a breakthrough in the world of extreme metal. As far as I'm concerned, they may since, this is a more than decent album with a flair for quality and some brutal controlled aggression. "More than decent", that doesn't sound very good, I know. But give me a moment to explain myself.

Some of our returning readers might already know that I'm not really a fan of metalcore and that vague genre named "djent". For me, it's all metalcore mixed with progressive and death metal. However, I often give these bands a chance. Why? Well, first of all, most of them are hardworking and talented artists and it's not their fault that they play a genre I don't really like. Furthermore, I've listened to a lot of albums that made me change my mind about a certain genre. That's how I discovered Sepultura. I hated it the first time, became a massive fan the second time. So what couldn't that happen again?

Well, after listening to 'Out Of Time' I can say that I'm still not a fan of the genre, but I do respect and appreciate the hard work and talent that go into writing these songs. Besides, there are some awesome passages to be found on this album, passages that are perfectly capable of getting every metalhead headbang himself into a coma. Especially the younger generation of fans will adore this album, since it's loaded with heavily distorted guitars, breaks, growls, screams and pounding drums. I can easily imagine the moshpits and walls-of-death being formed on songs like 'Invisible Cages' and 'Nothingness'. 

In that, I see no reason not to recommend this album. The song structures are complex but immersive as hell. The use of electornics is simply great and some of these riffs could almost literally crush your skull. Fans of bands like Vildhjarta or Animals As Leaders can easily trust this effort to be a solid addition to their collection. The production quality is crystal clear and there is some obvious talent behind these songs. Yes, this is a must have for djent-fans.


​Serge

metal / metalcore

Time for a fierce slab of metalcore, and that is something I don't say everyday. After all, this certainly is not my favorite kind of music, but apparently my feet seem to like it. They are secretly tapping along with the sheer brutality coming out of my speakers. Now, I have to admit, there are some stunning pieces of music to be found here, certainly for metalcore fans but also for fans of severe gloomy modern metal.

Magoa is a French band, from Paris to be exact. With 'Imperial' they released a beast upon the world, one loaded with screams, thick metallic riffs and eardrums ripping drums. The first three or four tracks, from the title track to the crushing 'Kill Us' clearly show the direction of these guys, metalcore, but with an own twist. The fifth song, 'Merge', is my absolute favorite, a dark, harsh and impending piece of music.

Although this album is as aggressive as a pitbull with a bad temper, there is plenty of room for melody. Hell, even nu-metal seems to have a place as some of these songs actually remind me of a harsh and intense version of Linkin Park. Now, don't get me wrong on this one, Magoa definitely have the capacity to rip you open, take out your guts and feed it to that pitbull. All I'm saying is that I can easily imagine young metalheads starting out with Linkin Park and eventually becoming huge fans of a band like Magoa.

So who to recommend this album to? Well, metalcore adepts will undoubtedly appreciate the brutality, the screams and the axe wielding riffs so I think this is one for them. Furthermore, fans of modern day melodic metal should probably give this a shot as well, they might be mindblown by a song like 'Endlessly'. Finally, this is something for maturing nu-metal fans who like a touch of electronics in their metal. So check it out, it'll be a blast...


​Serge

death metal

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...

death metal / metalcore

facebook

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!!!

noise rock / hardcore

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!

alternative rock / hard rock / grunge

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!!!!

heavy metal

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.

industrial / dark psy

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

drone / ambient / post-rock

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.

drone / doom / psychedelic

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.

trip-hop

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.

dark metal / death metal

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.

hard rock / alternative

facebook

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. 

black metal

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.

stoner / doom

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!

crust / hardcore / black metal

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.

dark ambient

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.

alternative rock / post-punk

A little bit of Ramones, some Sonic Youth, a flash of Teenage Jesus And The Jerks and a touch of Slowdive, that might get you an idea of what Turkish garage rock act Reptilians From Andromeda have released upon the world. The ep opens with some rough, mid-tempo tracks but suddenly dives into noise-rock insanity with the eerie 'We Are Who We Are', which sounds like Hole on some weird drug. Right after, they pour a synth-poppy shoegaze thing in our ears. Weird, very weird, but damn immersive and definitely ready to make their entree into the world of noise-rock and garage rock, and entree through the grand gate if you ask me. Interesting stuff...

noise rock / experimental / post punk

Epileptic Media

An experimental rock act that reminds me of bands like Cabaret Voltaire and Crash Course In Science, that is odd. I think the last one that managed to do that, was Black Dice. Anyway, Postman seems to draw influences from everything between Ween, Joy Division, Sonic Youth and the aforementioned bands to come up with some surprising songs. The set-up seems to be minimal, synth, drums, guitars but what they do with those instruments, is far from limited and often results in decent gloomy pop songs. 'Escape Velocity' is one of my favorite tracks but I strongly suggest to check out the album if you're a fan of strange, out-of-the-box releases. Hell, there's even a hint of dub and reggae here, or even Iggy Pop, or post-rock... Great stuff!

electronic / electro-rock

Somewhere in California, this duo is barking out a strange blend of glitchy electronics and rock music which kinda reminds of something between Lydia Lunch, Archive and Autechre. The songs on this ep are quite danceable pieces of music, but come with a gloomy new wave atmosphere. Their main influences seem to be Glitch Mob, Sleigh Bells and Purity Ring but, to be quite honest, I like this little ep a lot more than those acts, especially the somewhat industrial 'Edge Of Infinity'. There is a certain gritty feeling about this one, an impending atmosphere. It reminds me a bit of some Tricky songs but, again, way better. 'Parish' is a brilliant piece of joyful glitch electronics, something you definitely should check out...

metal / metalcore

facebook

French extremists Aanod move somewhere between metalcore and the melodic death metal of the Götheborg scene. Yet, somehow they combine it with a modern sound, plenty of variation, electronics and epic ambient textures. The result is a massive and pounding ep, loaded with energy and sheer violence. The music feels suited for the tiniest of venues and the biggest of metal festivals alike, which isn't easy to accomplish I think. For the record, metalcore isn't really my thing, but I can surely respect the level of songwriting and the technical skills of these guys. So, all you metalcore kids, check this one out, it might as well become one of your favorite bands.

post metal / doom

Hailing from Poland, Moanaa have released a debut in 2014, now followed by a blast. With elements from post-rock, doom, sludge metal and psychedelic rock, they create a highly immersive sonic adventure. In some strange way, these songs remind me of a heavy and more intense version of some Cure songs, played by a mishmash of bands, including A Place To Bury Strangers and Cult Of Luna. The overall atmosphere is intense, dark and downright crushing at times. The vocals usually are clean, except from a few growling outbursts, something I can truly appreciate. In all 'Passage' is a tremendous album, perfectly suited for any post-metal fan out there. Check it out, you need this.

shoegaze / alternative 

Alternative rock and post-punk, interlaced with joyous dreampop, that's what you get on this ep by Finnish quartet Mumrunner. The four tracks on this album remind me a lot of acts like Cocteau Twins, Slowdive and even The Cure. 'Shawshank' is my favorite song on this ep, an uptempo earworm that gets stuck in your head, an ability most of the songs actually have, even the punky shoegazer 'Cascais'.  This truly is stuff for the dark and murky dance floors all over the world, which obviously comes highly recommended. I hope I get the chance to see this quartet soon. I'm sure they will guarantee an immersive live performance, causing entire venues to dance the night away...

psychedelic / blues / folk

facebook

Oh man, I absolutely love this newfound interest in seventies music. Take this French trio Dätcha Mandala and their latest ep for example, a brilliant piece of psychedelic blues rock which could have come directly from the studios where people like Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and the Beatles recorded their stuff. 'Misery' is a gloomy blues ballad (with a beautiful guitar solo) while 'Mojoy' is a pretty heavy rocker, somehow reminding me of Black Crowes. Both songs are excellent examples of how this newfound interest should sound: vintage, convincing and perfectly executed. I hope this single will be followed by a full-length and a tour soon. 

death metal

Portuguese horde Colosso have released a behemoth, a pungent blend of death metal and industrial, loaded with soundscapes and sheer ferocity. The result might indeed be one of the most impressive death metal albums in 2016. Somehow it reminds me of a mix between Carcass and Limbonic Art, crushing the boundaries of one genre and smashing right into another one. This album is a ranging assault of blast beats, haunting screams and vicious, often droning riffs and pure noise created with the sole intention of demolishing anything in its path. I admit, you have to be used to some level of crushing death metal before you can handle this, but once inside, the beast never lets go.

electronic / techno

Dance music right after death metal, because why the fork not? Besides, this isn't ordinary, stale and unimagined techno. In fact, there's only one true techno tune on this ep (and its remix), 'Obsession'. True, it's not my favorite but it might get some people dancing. Opener 'Vanished Breath' is more like an eerie ambient tune while a great track 'The Ritual' is a breakbeat inspired vintage electro act. Speaking of vintage electro, 'M.U.M.' seems to come directly from the seventies when people like Klaus Schulze and Kraftwerk were pioneering in experimenting with electronic music. So yeah, this fits perfectly on this edition of brieviews. 

electronic / ambient / experimental

Speaking of acts like Kraftwerk, Schulze and Tangerine Dream, here are two pieces of circular synth and tape-loop music, courtesy of Italian artist Marta De Pascalis. Both are long tracks, seemingly based around a central theme but constantly moving and changing. Title track 'Anzar' really takes me back to those early electronics pioneers, often coming up with some folkish melodies along with the cold synth sequences. 'Emerso' sounds a bit darker, somewhat nudging towards the ambient scene. In all, I like this one a tad better than the opener, probably because of its lingering soundscapes. In all, this certainly is an interesting release, which comes highly recommended to anyone who loves those old, almost psychedelic electronics. But be quick, there are only 100 copies of this tape...

experimental / ambient / noise

Silken Tofu

Another strange two-track album comes from Belgian label Silken Tofu, who released this one-session recording of Jonas Van den Bossche & Benne Dousselaere. These two tracks are elaborate audio-adventures with drones,  noise, soundscapes, synths, guitar and minimal percussion. On hand hand, the music reminds me of acts like De Fabriek, Machinefabriek; Maurizio Bianchi and Tim Hecker, while there's also a hint toward ancient electronics and gloomy eighties electro. It constantly changes, mostly driving on one or a few drones. In fact, the only thing that remains a constant on this album, is the quality. This thing definitely comes highly recommended.

black metal

From "meh", over "hm, interesting" to "fuck yeah" in mere thirty seconds, that's not an easy task to accomplish but this German trio somehow managed to do exactly that. I wasn't fond if the opening of this ep, but gradually it grew on me and halfway through 'Eyes of the Scythe Wielder', I was heabanging along with their chaotic and primitive approach to black metal. Nothing fancy, no over produced feel good shit, just sheer violence and intense blasphemy. This ep sounds like it comes directly from an underground bunker in the early nineties when the blackened scene was just beginning to make headlines everywhere. If you like your black metal true, bleak and vulgar, this is your album of the week.

sludge

A free three-track ep from Canadian sludge deities Dopethrone, which, by the way, is completely free to download if you wish. So why write a review about it? After all, every Dopethrone fan should know about this ep already, and most of them should already have it in their digital collection, no? Well, like I said, "should". I know that there are some lazy stoners out there that haven't checked out the crushing 'Shot Down', the grinding 'Drifter' (my favorite) and the pulverizing closer 'Skag Reek' yet. Maybe because it's monday morning and they still need to get the weekend out of their systems. Good new, this ep can help you with that by knocking you out cold...

black metal

The Scandinavian countries have always been the place to be for decent black metal and Swedish trio Astrophobos are here to prove that. Since their inception in 2009, they've released an ep and a full-length, now followed by this triumphant four-track. These songs resemble some of the all time greats, including Satyricon, Dissection, Immortal and so on and comes with an excellent production, solid enough to blast the wax out of your ears. My favorite track is the epic 'The Cadaver Monarch', a massive piece of (mainly) slow, grinding black metal in the vein of some of the best Dimmu Borgir songs. This ep certainly is a must-have for ever self-respecting black metal adept, that's for sure... 

crust / post-metal / sludge

In a faraway future, when our civilization is left in unrecognizable ruins, a number of new people will form tribes and start all this madness all over again. London, UK based supergroup Morrow created the soundtrack for this post-apocalyptic world, and what a massive beast that album has become. Crust, post-metal and sludge with violins and cellos accompanying the more traditional instrumentation, intense, heavy and  often straight-in-your-face music that is quite hard to categorize. The band is huge, featuring a massive number of guest vocalists and narrators speaking or screaming in different languages. This certainly is a strange but highly immersive experience.

sludge / noise rock

Ready to be hypnotized by repetitive, almost ritual, sludge doom? Well, than the first part of this burdensome split is something for you. Black Tar Prophet for Nashville, TN, specializes in thick, harsh sludge with samples instead of vocals and the result is mesmerizing and immersive. It could very well be the soundtrack for a David Lynch movie about Dante's 'La Divina Commedia', or something. Iron Gavel basically follows a similar pattern with harsh guitar riffs and pummeling drums but seem to throw a thick sauce of noise rock over the whole thing. In any case, this split comes highly recommend to anyone who wants to scare the shit out of people...

death metal

Headbanging time! Drop whatever you're doing, play this one loud and bang the day away. This band from Montenegro, featuring members from Abhoth, comes up with bloody delicious thrash induced death metal. Slayer meets Obituary and Testaments meets Dismember, which obviously means fingerlicking riffs, a fierce tempo and deep guttural growls. However, it might be interesting to notice that these guys never let brutality get in the way of musicality, which is a massive plus in my book. The level of variation is high, the mid-tempo parts are immersive as hell and 'Demigods' is a world class death metal track. This album certainly is a highlight in 2016's death metal scene.

death metal

This strictly limited 7" (250 copies) is meant to be an appetizer for the upcoming debut of American trio Impure Consecration. I'm not sure when the full-length will be released but if you're a fan of old school death metal, you might start preparing to feast on the corpses of your enemies. The two songs on this single are primitive, harsh and unforgiving pieces of death metal, quite similar to some of the oldest works by Morbid Angel, Sepultura or Vital Remains.'Apparitions of a Malevolent Spirit' for example, completely reeks of the early eighties when extreme metal started to take form with its growling voice, it's chaotic riffing and it's nutsack piercing drums. Try it, it's good for you....

black metal / death metal

I have no idea where Blood Harvest keeps finding these ancient school bands. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a time portal to the early eighties in their office. Take this Supremative ep for example, an intro with gregorian chants, followed by chaotic and psychotic noise, moshing on the thin line between black and death metal. The tempo is murderous, but so seem to be the intentions of this whole thing. This Spanish act blasts and grinds its way through your eardrums, right into wherever your soul is situated. I'd recommend this thing to all the old schoolers out there. Maybe to the new death metal kids too, hoping this music will devour and destroy them completely...

punk / metal

One is a metal band, the other a collective of punks. Both play heavy music, preferably loud. Both have recorded one brand new song and a cover of the other band. But the whole thing kicks off with a song they wrote and recorded together. That song, called 'Imitators' is an intense piece of punk-metal, guaranteed to start a moshpit or at least a decent headbanging session. The whole thing feels a little Exploited-like, you know, thrash metal meets punk. Other bands that often come to mind include Overkill, Anthrax and The Unseen. This really is a fun crossover ep by two of Essex' loudest bands, exceptionally suited for those who long for the good old days of both genres...

noise rock

Dissonant music doesn't always have to be metal. Take this impressive six-track split for example. Opening with a brilliant piece of noise-rock in 'Something Better', American trio Buildings comes up with one of the best things in the genre I've heard this year. The other two tracks are just as much dissonant delight, bringing everything from Unsane over Godflesh to The Jesus Lizard to mind. Fellow countrymen Volunteer add a few hints of sludge to the whole noise-rock sound, perfectly completing this already stunning split. This is something for fans of Vandal X, Today Is The Day and Neurosis, maybe, probably. I don't know. This is noise-rock perfection...

metalcore / metal

Although metalcore usually isn't my thing, I do feel some sympathy for these youngsters from "De Kempen", a geographic region in Belgium, claimed to be "silent". Well, nothing is silent on this debut ep, on the very contrary. With their mix of fast hardcore, melodic metalcore and metallic extremes these guys are preparing for the bigger stages. This is pure aggression, dressed in something that seems to be influenced by everything between Alexisonfire, Parkway Drive, Trivium and Gojira. There are some brilliant passages, plenty of variation and sheer power, everything a good metalcore band needs. So yes, this is highly promising. We'll hear a lot more from these guys in the near future...

hardcore / metal

Right, time for a piece of brutality, torment and violence. We're still in Paris, France but we're not talking about the horrible recent events in France. No, we're talking about an ep by Everything Behind. In 2013 they released an ep, named 'Human Paradise' but they felt that it was time for a new start, a new sound. Still firmly rooted in hardcore, metal and possibly metalcore, this quintet comes up with a refreshing approach to brutal music, and after a few listens I have to admit that I quite like it.

Perhaps that needs an explanation. To be honest, I'm not a fan of hardcore and metalcore. In fact, none of our currently active writers are, which leaves me with the task to review the cds that come in. Yet, that often pleasantly surprises me. I often find this particular scene quite narrow and one-sided but once in awhile a band appears and shatters that prejudice. You guessed it, Everything Behind is such a band. They evolved, crossed the borders between hardcore, metal and electronics and come out with a pretty damn good album.

Don't get me wrong, there are still some fierce riffs, tormenting screams and skull piercing drums to be found but the whole comes with so much variation, so many surprising hooks and edges that it's pretty irresistible. I often found myself screaming along with songs like 'Hopes Run Away' or the brilliant closer 'Man From Elsewhere'. I enjoy the influences from the post-metal scene and I enjoy the pretty dubsteppy touches here and there.

Nah, as far as I'm concerned, this is one of the best things in today's 'core' scene. It's a dynamic, versatile and energetic blend of heavy styles that will make a lot of faces turn into Everything Behind's direction. Screams alternate with melodic vocals, immersive passages alternate with axe-smashing riffing and the drummer, well, he just wants to beat you to death I think. All in good fun of course. 


​Serge

metal

Hm, this is a tough one. It's an ep that will not be played very often in this household but I don't want to tear it down either. I mean, the fact that this is a genre I don't really listen to (or like), doesn't make this a bad album, on the contrary. Besides, the opening track is pure genius, a potential smash hit that will get this band on loads and loads of main stages in the near future. For a reviewer, it's difficult to write about these albums, but I'm going to anyway.

Fallen Eight is a French band, formed in 2011. One year later, they started playing this material on several stages in France and now they seem ready to take their music abroad. In that, I can only agree. It's music for live performances, music with a lot of energy, dynamics and aggression. I can easily see audiences far and wide go nuts on this and perhaps I'd be nuts about it too when I hear it live.

So, you might ask, what is my problem with it? Well, to be honest, I'm not into metalcore and the metalcore influences definitely shine through on most of the tracks. 'Come From The Sky' and 'Final Shot' are harsh, aggressive pieces of work, enhanced by an alternation of clean vocals and brutal screams. I know, there's more to this than metalcore. I'm often reminded of plenty of bands in the metal scene, including Machine Head, Slipknot and Linkin Park.

Like I said earlier, 'Reborn' is an absolute killer, a masterpiece of melodic metal and certainly my favorite track on this ep. 'Light' comes very close and closer 'Worst Nightmare' could be the entrance theme for a wrestling superstar. Yes, Fallen Eight have a very modern style, often even reminding me of the methodical industrial approach of Fear Factory, mainly in the drums. That's obviously a huge plus.

The verdict? Well, I'm going to go ahead and recommend this album anyway, mainly to the metalcore adepts and young metal fans out there. After all, Fallen Eight are pretty damn good at what they do, showing a well-attuned band that can 'Rise & Grow' extremely fast from now on. However, if you check it out, do me and the band a favor and don't just pluck this from the internet in awful MP3 sound. Buy the physical release at a show, support your scene and show some respect.


​Serge

thrash / metalcore

Right, how about a rude awakening today? We're kicking off today's writing session with a brutal blend of hardcore and thrash metal, because why not? After all, we need something to wake us up after a short night of sleep. Too short, if you ask me, but perhaps that's my own fault because I've been designing stuff until four o'clock last night. If all goes well, you'll soon find out what I've been doing over the past few days but for now, let's stick to our day job and review this stuff.

Atarra is a band from Warsaw, Poland, formed in 2012. Something tells me that these guys take their music very seriously and are determined to become a big player in today's metal scene. They seem professional and driven, two very good characteristics for a metal band but obviously, that doesn't necessarily make a band great. To be great, you need awesome music too. And that's where Aterra are heading.

Now, in all honesty I have to say that metalcore and hardcore have never been my favorite genres, although I do respect and admire the skills of many artists out there. In that aspect, Aterra might not become my favorite band but I will tell you that they made a very interesting album, one with a lot of variation, a lot of guts and a lot of power. For hard- & metalcore fans, this really is a must have.

The album opens with 'Still To Try', a track that immediately reminds me of bands like Sick Of It All, Hatebreed and many of their colleagues. Yet, there also seem to be some melodic death metal influences, mostly from the Swedish style. That combination works quite well as you can hear some excellent melodies behind a well of brute force. It's a great opener for this album, immediately showing the headbang capacity.

But there seems to be more to Aterra than just smashing some distorted guitars through your eardrums. Between most of the songs, they've placed a number of atmospheric instrumentals, some drones, some ambient stuff.  These breathers are quite welcome between nutkickers like 'Paper Kings' (which could be seen as a very heavy Dog Eat Dog song), the grinding 'PW' or the punk rocker 'Voices'.

That alternation between quiet breathers and fierce hardcore metal keeps the album interesting for me. Besides, none of the songs seems to be exactly the same as the previous one, something which often is the case in this scene. 'Low', for example is a brilliant doomed post-metal track and, for that, probably my favorite track on this album. Did I mention the fact that Aterra often incorporates keyboards? No? Well, they do and they really complete this album.

So yes, I've been pleasantly surprised by this Polish quintet. Yet, I also feel that they still can do better, that they will undoubtedly grow as a band. Why? Well, there are some elements on this album that could set Aterra apart from other hard- & metalcore bands. If they find and emphasise these, I'm positive that they will become a pretty unique and genre-bending act in the near future and that they will, in their turn, influence a lot of young bands to go out there and do their thing.


Serge

death metal / metalcore

Five guys between twenty-two and twenty-four, pushing themselves in a small, hot rehearsal venue, blasting their brains out with pure raw energy and fierce brutality.  Sweating, screaming, sometimes bleeding, but always giving 100% in order to come out with something that will shock and awe audiences everywhere.  That's the life, one chosen by countless of metalheads around the world, and with good reason too.  It's fucking awesome.

Swedish quintet Acidiun comes with three songs they have written and recorded in that rehearsal room, probably hoping to get discovered by a big label soon.  As far as I'm concerned, they damn well deserve it too. Metalcore, deathcore, death metal, hardcore call it what you will but fact remains that this intense stuff.  Usually, I'm not even a big fan of metalcore but I do appreciate the hard work and the strong belief put into this ep.

Besides, these are great songs too, blasting, intense, heavy and punishing.  They drive on massive riffs, drilling drums and a combination of hardcore screams and death growls.  Tempos often change and some of these passages are catchy as fuck.  My favorite remains opener 'Boiling Inside', a fierce piece of metal, regardless of sub-genres.  My advice? Check them out now before they turn into a massive band soon.  At least you'll be able to say that you knew them before they got big...


Serge