Nadja

Nadja – Luminous Rot Review

By Dear Hollow on May 19, 2021 in Reviews, Industrial Metal, Shoegaze, Sludge Metal, 19 comments

“I was surprised how unknown Nadja is around AMG Headquarters. I was parading around the new promo like a goddamn peacock, like “WAOW NADJA’S GOT A NEW ONE GUISE” and was met by a chorus of “uh, who?” The Canucks’ offerings like debut Touched, Radiance of Shadows, and The Bungled & The Botched made regular appearances on my playlist before I lost touch with 2013’s dolphin-themed Flipper. Since, the duo has released five albums, culminating in 2021’s Luminous Rot, which attempts to bring “post-punk, cold-wave, shoegaze, and industrial” influences into the limelight alongside their trademark “dreamsludge” approach.” Dreamsludge on a sunny day.

Neptunian Maximalism – Éons [Things You Might Have Missed 2020]

By Dear Hollow on December 26, 2020 in Things You Might Have Missed 2020, Black Metal, Doom Metal, Drone, Folk, 38 comments

“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.

Dark Buddha Rising – Mathreyata Review

By Dear Hollow on November 14, 2020 in Reviews, Doom Metal, Sludge Metal, 25 comments

“Dark Buddha Rising is a Finnish band, formed in 2007 and packing six full-lengths and an EP under its belt. For a collective that channels drone, doom, and sludge (you’d be safe to throw some stoner doom in there too), their megalithic songwriting is surprisingly restrained, relying on simple bass riffs, distant vocals, and other instruments to communicate their psychedelic soundscape as it reaches a drone climax.” Buddha don’t play.

Turtle Skull – Monoliths Review

By Dear Hollow on September 5, 2020 in Reviews, Doom Metal, Drone, Post-Metal, Progressive Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Stoner Rock, 9 comments

“While other monoliths stagnate in dark and gloomy dimensions, Australian quintet Turtle Skull prefers to rely on bright and sunny desert safaris with their unique brand of metal, dubbed “flower doom.”” Smell the doom.

Golden Ashes – In the Lugubrious Silence of Eternal Night Review

By Dear Hollow on May 16, 2020 in Reviews, Ambient, Atmospheric Black Metal, 13 comments

“Black metal is great at it, as its entire purpose is to conjure blasphemous and decrepit images of icy forests and iconoclastic rituals, but there are twists to your snow-crusted Norwegian fjords and the sounds of Hail Satans: Austere’s desolate Australian deserts, Blut Aus Nord’s hellish industrial landscapes, and Saor’s Scottish highlands, to name a few. While images painted are up for grabs, the general consensus is one of darkness, bleakness, and spiritual desolation. But what happens when the black metal is, ya know, not that?” Bright darkness.

Black Boned Angel – The End Review

By Noctus on April 2, 2013 in 2013, 4.5, Doom Metal, Handmade Bird Records, Reviews, Doom Metal, 2 comments

“There’s no point in dancing around it – doom/drone is about as niche as niche gets. Unless you’re a serious enthusiast of bands like Earth (early material) and Sunn O))), it’s very likely that Black Boned Angel haven’t been a band on your radar, and with their latest (and last) opus, that isn’t very likely to change.” Drone is a mighty tough sell, but Noctus has his sales pitch ready and he wants to tell you why this is something special. Hell, this guy could sell spit to Geoff Tate!