Drone

The River – Vessels into White Tides Review

The River – Vessels into White Tides Review

“December is usually not the best time to go for a dip in the promo sump. Historically this is the month where we get deluged with re-releases and more low-fi basement black metal than a barrel full of Vardans could churn out in a fortnight. It takes a steady hand to reach into the brackish murk and pull out something promising, and fortunately, nothing is as steady as the iron hand ov Steel. That brings us to the new release by UK experimental Goth/doom act The River.” Follow The River.

Den – Iron Desert Review

Den – Iron Desert Review

“Think about running a marathon. Through the desert. On one leg. With gastroenteritis. And no map. This is how difficult it is to forge a unique and compelling sound in the saturated world of metal. Bands generally either go super heavy, or adopt a hybrid sound of some kind. But when you have bands like An Autumn for Crippled Children combining dream-pop with black metal, and Devourment making music so dense it almost absorbs light, what is a band to do? Well, if they have the balls, they could try to do both. Enter Den, a band that wants to offer you a joint, then smash it unceremoniously through your skull after two tokes.” Heavy sand.

PH – Osiris Hayden Review

PH – Osiris Hayden Review

“This time around, PH are aiming for something “beyond the limits of modern psychedelia,” something that pulls influence from Gary Numan and Nine Inch Nails. And one of my psychedelic favorites from the past, Julian Cope, fully endorses these guys. This all makes me at least willing to dig in.” Needs more alkaline.

Drifting in Silence – Away Review

Drifting in Silence – Away Review

“Metal music and ambient music share a lot in common. In the same way that non-metal listeners think, ‘Gee, what is that hellish noise?’ when they hear metal music, many consider ambient music to simply be noise reserved for elevators or dentist office waiting rooms. In other words, the genres of ambient and metal both have a history of being mistakenly classified as ‘not real music.’ Of course, the genre of metal is incredibly vast and nuanced and cannot be generalized in this way. Nor can ambient.” Kindred musical spirits.

Juggernaut – Neuroteque Review

Juggernaut – Neuroteque Review

“When you hear about certain genres, do you have an image that pops into your head? It’s not always fair, but the most obvious one is black metal. You just got an image of a corpsepainted weeboo hanging out in a dark forest. Boom. I’m a fucking magician. What about sludge? Did you see a backwoods redneck with a twelve-gauge and a six-pack? Sporting beards, greasy locks, and enough flannel to challenge Saskatchewan?” Not your hick uncle’s sludge.

Entrail – Eater of Starlight Review

Entrail – Eater of Starlight Review

“When I furtively snatched Entrail’s new album Eater of Starlight from the promo pit, I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into. Given that Entrail recently played a show alongside Vouna, whose latest material was recorded entirely at Wolves in the Throne Room’s studio (Owl Lodge), and, like me, resides in the gloom-shrouded Pacific Northwest, I was easily intrigued. Choosing to review her new album was a no-brainer. Looking back, I am convinced that going in blind was the best possible way to be introduced to the one-woman experimental drone project of Christine Anderson.” Morbid entrails.

Void King – Barren Dominion Review

Void King – Barren Dominion Review

Void King is a four-piece stoner doom metal band from Indianapolis and Barren Dominion is their sophomore effort. Paying homage to doom greats like Sleep, Electric Wizard, and Goatsnake, while channeling amp- and pedal-abusing monoliths, these fucking stoners are set to drown listeners in THC-saturated waves of distortion. Do they succeed? Or will they end up only being the bulls-“high” of endless stoner doom puns?” Fuzz bombs.

Mizmor – Cairn Review

Mizmor – Cairn Review

“In Gareth Tunley’s haunting and haunted 2016 film The Ghoul, the whole of reality is bent and infected by the protagonist’s depression. He is trapped in a twisted, magically real manifestation of a Möbius strip. Here, all means of escape are soon revealed to be nothing but bottomless ladders that descend into the darkest craters of the human psyche. The beginning is the end is the beginning. There is no escape. But unlike The Ghoul’s main character who ultimately appears powerless, Portland, Oregon’s A.L.N. has the music of the project Mizmor (מזמור) on his side, both as a weapon and a vessel of catharsis.” WMDs for hope.

Black Cilice – Transfixion of Spirits Review

Black Cilice – Transfixion of Spirits Review

“When I tell people I listen to black metal because I find it ‘relaxing,’ I’m often met by bemused stares. How could such ferocious, pummeling music, in any shape or form, be relaxing, they ask? Yet it is precisely the cacophony of noise and shrieking that allows, if only for a few blissful minutes, my overactive brain to rest. Much like children with hyperactivity, who take a stimulant to focus their restless minds, the anxiety, sadness, and worry that constantly swirl around in my brain are temporarily and gloriously cocooned in the chaos of furious blast beats and thunderous riffs that only the most extreme music can provide.” Lo-fi hi-five.