J.C.L.
Currently inspirational:
It’s rare that I get to leave this top spot to something that is not really metal. Yet I feel this is the exact position where Black Hill’s newest record Slumbering Winter belongs on my monthly list. Slumbering Winter is a hauntingly beautiful journey through a still frozen landscape utilizing only guitars, as if not to disturb the serenity which lingers upon the aforementioned landscape. Any words, drumbeats or any addition would diminish the effect of the clear guitars dancing in harmony for your ears. Absolutely stellar stuff from this Hungarian project, which only goes to show that less can indeed be more.
If you are familiar with the more post-rock aspect of bands as Alcest and Skagos, this will hit right home.
Mare Cognitum - Solar Paroxysm
If you are familiar with the more post-rock aspect of bands as Alcest and Skagos, this will hit right home.
Projects with only one members can be an interesting double edged sword. On the one hand, it allows for some uncompromising and unobstructed visionary music. On the other hand, same music might suffer if the musician isn't talented enough or if critical errors aren't adressed by other musicians. Mare Cognitum's latest album is firmly in the former category though, as Solar Paroxysm is a sublime and epic piece of black metal, with one of the few drawbacks being that it sometimes feels like too much is happening at the same time. Apart from that, the sound production makes it easy to just put the album on and wind back as the phenomenal drums and fantastic melodic guitars weaves a journey into the cosmos. A solid Album of the Year-contender.
Currently looking forward to:
English black metallers Wode are back with their third offering Burn in Many Mirrors, which releases the 2nd of April on American label 20 Buck Spin. Already a small handful of songs are released, and my initial description for this would be a rhythm-heavy and at times thrashy experience. Wode originally impressed me with their debut, and since I've fallen out of the loop, I'd take this occasion to re-acquaint myself with their discography. Fans of Dissection, Tribulation and Uada might wanna check this out
I am in the unique position of already having listened to Oriflamme's debut album, L'Égide Ardente, and I'll go out on a limb and state that this is not a record to be missed. This new Quebecois black metal band already shows excellent song composition skills, and especially the latter half of the album is absolutely phenomenal in scope, with stunning melodies and impeccable musicianship all around. This album is already available for digital download, and physical releases follows on May 13th, so if bands like Sargeist, Horna and Angantyr means anything to you, you should invest in this Canadian bands debut, and keep an eye on it forwards.
Listened to this week:
Today I will try something different; talking about a record which disappointed me. I am very much on the fence for this new Estonian band's debut, Unusta Kõik. Listening to the single and first track a few weeks ago I was enthusiastically awaiting the rest of the album. Unfortunately, the rest of the album doesn't have the momentum and punch that the first song has, which is a shame, as when Kõdu hit something good, they hit it hard. And often in the next section of a song, all the buildup will fizzle out. There are still interesting and headbang-worthy moments there, but not really enough to warrant a genuine recommendation.
In the other end of the scale, this fresh release by Portuguese Monte Penumbra. This duo have enlisted the talents of Bjarni Einarsson of Sinmara/Slidhr fame and sound-guru Stephen Lockhart to create a twisted and dark soundscape in the form of As Blades in the Firmament, the band's sophomore album. To be honest, there's not really much revolutionary here, but I don't really care, it's been a while since the last record in the same vein, and I'd be lying if I didn't say it felt good to hear something which would be completely at home among the Icelandic bands of late. Someday I'll grow a bit tired of the "Icelandic" sound, but it's not this day!
This newest output from the Arizona DSBM-project Suicide Forest has very quickly risen to be one of my favorite albums in that genre. As another listener eloquently put it; "[The] Pace is appropriately slow enough to bleed out to as you watch the Sun descend into eternal darkness", and I completely agree about that statement of Reluctantly. The long hypnotic riffs and the tortured vocals that beckons from beyond the void are haunting, the subtle synth is a nice touch and creates an atmosphere of dread and misery. This is an obvious must-have for fans of Make A Change... Kill Yourself.
P.S.
Currently inspirational:
Vermin Womb - Decline
Currently looking forward to:
Currently I am looking forward to the new release from a very promising death/sludge metal band that totally blew my mind with their 2018 release Stolen Absolution. Hailing from Denver, Colorado, Oryx’s sound can best be described as very heavy and with a lot of distortion and feedback - not unlike a band like Eyehategod - with a great sense of sitting and building a mood. Their next album Lamenting a Dead World releases on the 30th of April, which I will be looking forward to.
Listened to this week:
This week I have been listening to an album and a band that has blown my mind completely. Horrendous's latest release from 2018, Idol, is what I have been searching for, as a long time fan of death metal; a band that are fantastic musicians and have a great grasp of not only death metal but how to take it in new directions. Idol is prog metal meets tech-death metal, somewhere between King Crimson meets Cynic meets Death, and you get this album and this band. The incredible bass playing through the whole album, most notable in the intro, and the interludes between songs...I could go on! With great review from just about everybody, it gives me hope that there are still young bands out there that can take this genre to the next level, this is clearly the next step in the evolution of death metal and band that takes it serious and are unbelievable musicians. In conclusion, this album is nothing short of a masterpiece.
Kommentarer
Send en kommentar