“Gentleness is a trait rarely exhibited in extreme music – perhaps for obvious reasons. The petals of flame that flutter to the earth are too often wrenched by relentless gravity, dream worlds meet their end with violent sound, and meditation that offers healing is ripped open like a scab. Therefore, gentleness is a scar for Milanku, a weariness with the wounds suffered and a soundtrack of healing – of a busted bone never set quite right.” Beauty in the darkest places.
“My students all suspect I spent some time with the “ganja.” They say, “Wow, Mr. Hollow, you’re so chill. I bet you were a stoner in high school. I was way too stuck up to do anything besides the daily Red Bull and Bible study jig, but that doesn’t stop me from appreciating some good stoner doom well into adulthood. While my strain of choice falls closer to sludge on the swampy spectrum, I can appreciate acts like Sergeant Thunderhoof and Weedeater for reverb- and fuzz-soaked riffs with killer groove. What does tickle me pickle is jazz and ambient, which are what Bunsenburner says they fuse with stoner doom.” All that stoner jazz (and science).
“Isolation is ColdWorld’s coldest album. In spite of the snowy fuzz that graced 2008’s debut Melancholie² or the decaying grim tones of Autumn, Isolation lives up to its name in the bleakest way imaginable. It nearly forgoes its depressive and atmospheric black metal roots entirely for an album with utmost restraint, organicity taking precedence over rawness or intensity. Encompassing more wintry post-rock soundscapes and doom tempos, Isolation is held high by the pillars of loneliness and patience.” The sadbois of winter.
“More than any other sub-genre of metal, post-metal relies on weight. The long songs, the patient build-ups, the lack of typical song structure… these only work if there’s real momentum to guide them along. When you listen to the early pioneers of post-metal (Isis, Neurosis), their albums are experimental, but they’re also heavy as fuck. Even the bands that hew closer to the post-rock side of things (Sigur Rós, Godspeed You! Black Emperor) maintain a certain density because nothing kills the “post-whatever” vibe more than inertia. Except perhaps progressive righteousness. Which brings us to Orochen.” Call the Orochen, man.
“Where Ruins based its first track loosely on the seminal critical theory work, Minima Moralia: Reflexionen aus dem beschädigten Leben, by German philosopher Theodor W. Adorno, Daxma’s second full-length, Unmarked Boxes, drinks deep of 13th century Persian poet Rumi’s work of the same name.” Smart music.
“Time flies. One day you wake up, grab the next album in the review queue, and think to yourself, “These guys seem familiar.” Then you do some digging and realize you really loved their last album – five years ago. Center of the Maze, Canadian psych-rock outfit Comet Control’s second album, was a glistening example of psychedelia, stoner, and alt rock all mashed together. Featuring members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Biblical (another band worth checking out), and the now-defunct Quest for Fire, Comet Control proved back in 2016 that they have the musical and songwriting chops to craft a memorable album. Will their third release, Inside the Sun, strike the same chord?” Stoned space oddities.
“Methadone is a synthetic opioid best known for its use in opioid addiction management. Its long duration of action avoids the euphoric high and rapid crash and withdrawal that results from using opioids like heroin. Naming your band after the slower, safer, non-euphoric substitute seems like an odd marketing move. (Post-rock cynics might suggest that this is a good description for the whole genre, mind.) Methadone Skies are an independent act based in Romania, and Retrofuture Caveman is their fifth treatment program in twelve years. I hadn’t previously encountered their work, but the promo package promises instrumental post-rock plus doom metal, which sounds like exactly what I need to sate my cravings.” The fix is in.
![Neptunian Maximalism – Éons [Things You Might Have Missed 2020]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Neptunian_Maximalism-Eons.jpg)
“Consisting of core members Guillaume Cazalet, Jean Jacques Duerinckx, Sebastien Schmidt, and Pierre Arese, alongside a massive entourage of musicians, Neptunian Maximalism (or NNMM) utilize a range of influences, genres, and instruments both traditional and contemporary, to create their second full-length and crowning achievement Éons. While it’s unclear if it is indeed metal, that matters little. It’s an immensely sprawling release, a two-hour-plus release over three discs, and its content is just as challenging.” MOAR to score.
“B R I Q U E V I L L E. Yes, the promo blurb immediately reassures me, the “spaces between the letters are indeed part of their moniker.” And I roll my eyes and dispense with the spaces. Quelle is the third record from this Flanders, Belgium collective and the first to have a title, following 2014’s self-titled debut and 2017’s II. The title is a linguistic play on Quelle’s differing meanings in German and French, ‘source’ and ‘which,’ respectively, with the “theme of a ‘source’ and the ‘which’ linking it reflexively to our previous album artwork,” quoth the raven Nazgûl-robed, golden-masked BRIQUEVILLE member.” Another BRIQUE in the wall.
“All bands are post-something by nature of artistic creation, but you can always tell when one voluntarily takes on the label. Italian blackgaze outfit Svnth bears the mantle proudly, but is their take fresh? If history has indeed ended, does it matter?” Post-notes.
