Thus Spoke

Words of (questionable) wisdom

S A R R A M – Pàthei Màthos Review

By Thus Spoke on August 28, 2023 in Reviews, Ambient, Not Metal, 12 comments

“Pathei Mathos means “learn a lesson,” but more literally it refers to “learning through suffering.” Valerio Marras, through his project S A R R A M, takes this phraseology explicitly from Aeschylus’ tragedy Agamemnon, where, in an exposition full of powerful dramatic irony and foreshadowing, the chorus describes this essential component of wisdom to which humans are subjected. The concept of knowledge resulting from and culminating in suffering is arguably a core concept of Greek tragedy. And it’s also a part of life, which Marras aims to convey by channeling his experiences and emotions through Pathei Mathos’ ambient soundscapes.” Life is pain, pain is growth.

Creak – Depth Perception Review

By Thus Spoke on August 20, 2023 in Reviews, Metalcore, 18 comments

“I cut my teeth on metalcore. During these tender teen years, I witnessed its growing djentification and I liked most of what I heard (sorry). I did, however, bemoan the inevitable slide towards radio rock of my former favorites such as Bring Me The Horizon and Architects. In fact, my loss of these bands from rotation was a significant impetus for my branching out into more extreme flavors of metal. But even though I’ve largely left it behind, I’ve got a soft spot for metalcore that arises most often during a workout, driven by a desire to recreate my first feelings of exhilaration in the emotional melodicism and angst. Creak stood out, not only as an opportunity to indulge.” Nostalgia creeps and creaks.

Dead and Dripping – Blackened Cerebral Rifts Review

By Thus Spoke on August 9, 2023 in Reviews, Technical Death Metal, 36 comments

“I don’t know what possessed me. Maybe it was a genuine desire to get out of my comfort zone with some straightforwardly grimy death metal. Maybe it was the trusted Transcending Obscurity label, or the pleasing purple color scheme (though not the art itself, which is definitely not pleasing). Maybe it was just the name Dead and Dripping which amused me with its stereotypical death metal disgustingness.” Mop and lock.

Dymna Lotva – The Land Under the Black Wings: Blood Review

By Thus Spoke on August 4, 2023 in Reviews, Black Metal, 27 comments

“Art is a conduit for many things, but it’s particularly powerful when both its contents and very existence make some form of protest. A subversion of the status quo and illumination of its not-so-hidden darkness. Such is the case for Dymna Lotva’s third record The Land Under the Black Wings: Blood, a collection of stories of sorrow and injustice—both real and apocryphal—from their native Belarus.” Cries in the darkness.

Wyrgher – Panspermic Warlords Review

By Thus Spoke on July 31, 2023 in Reviews, Black Metal, 21 comments

“Panspermia refers to the hypothesis that life exists all throughout the universe, distributed by comets, space dust, or, most controversially, spacecraft. It is this final idea that grounds the concept for Wyrgher’s sophomore album, Panspermic Warlords. An intentional, maliciously-motivated seeding of life by the titular rulers. In weaving their drama, Wyrgher’s brand of cosmic black metal harbors a marked disso-death streak and an uneasy warped atmosphere that wraps everything with an unsettling otherness.” Sowing the seeds of weird.

Somniate – We Have Proved Death Review

By Thus Spoke on July 14, 2023 in Reviews, Black Metal, 30 comments

“I like my obscure literature as much as the next nerdy humanities graduate, but I’d never heard of Richard Brautigan’s In Watermelon Sugar. This obscure post-apocalyptic novel is the concept for Czech black metal outfit Somniate’s sophomore We Have Proved Death. Of its cryptically minimalist and idiosyncratic story, Somniate present their interpretation through a free-flowing melodious black metal that relaxes the genre boundaries of extreme metal in a way befitting of the magical realism of their subject matter. Yes, it’s black metal, but with a helping of spice and intrigue that sets it apart from the swaths of Dissection-worshippers.” Obscure lit finds niche genre.

Nuclear Dudes – Boss Blades Review

By Thus Spoke on July 12, 2023 in Reviews, Experimental Metal, Powerviolence, Synthwave, 13 comments

“Where to start with Nuclear Dudes? The brainchild of Jon Weisnewski—of Sandrider—the project spans a collection of kooky and noisy genres from powerviolence to synthwave. Even the artist Bandcamp page refers to it tongue-in-cheekily as ‘”music”‘ (scare quotes included). Each release—of which Boss Blades is the third in about a year—features a charming fluorescent figure scrawled upon a white background, courtesy of a Cooper Weisnewski I presume is Jon’s brother. This kind of consistency in self-branding certainly makes them stand out, and it’s fun.” More Fat Man or Little Boy?

Serpent of Old – Ensemble Under the Dark Sun Review

By Thus Spoke on June 28, 2023 in Reviews, 53 comments

“There’s something about atmospheric death metal that just gets me. Something about the deep urgency of the guitar tones, the echoing, sinister riffing, the cavernous vocals, the restless dance of the drums, and the metallic chime of the cymbals. It elevates an already hostile and confrontational musical style to a kind of arresting profundity, when done well. Seeing Ulcerate, Gorguts, and Devenial Verdict—among others—name-dropped in the promo material for Ensemble Under the Dark Sun had me yanking it out of the bin faster than you can say “disso-death.” This was no clickbait. Turkey’s Serpent of Old play the kind of dark, ferocious haunting blackened death emblematic of these bands, and their shared conceptual genre, at their most intense.” Snakes in the pain.

Loather – Eis Review

By Thus Spoke on June 23, 2023 in Reviews, Atmospheric Black Metal, Folk, Post-Metal, 14 comments

“It’s funny that as the UK experiences a heatwave, I am writing about an album called Eis (Ice). Contrasting the cool summer breeze with the ferocious wind of blackened blastbeat barrages. Juxtaposing the clear blue skies with a grey mist of echoing feedback. Opposing the heat that has everyone spontaneously organizing a barbecue with cold, depressive atmospheres and morose vocals that make you want to stay inside and watch the rain. Responsible are Viennese four-piece Loather, and this is their debut, though they’ve been around since 2016.” Fire and Eis.

SARMAT – Determined to Strike Review

By Thus Spoke on June 20, 2023 in Reviews, 45 comments

“They say you can never have too much of a good thing. But they’re wrong. Everything eventually becomes stale. As the age-old complaint/joke about technical death metal highlights, there is definitely such thing as too technical and complex. While it differs from person to person, everyone has a threshold beyond which music stops being enjoyable due to its dissonance, technicality, and complexity. With this preamble, I introduce New York progressive technical death metal group SARMAT, whose debut Determined to Strike is likely to approach if not leap beyond the threshold of many listeners.” Prog Depot.