Drone

Autokrator – Hammer of the Heretics Review

By Kronos on April 14, 2018 in 2018, Death Metal, Drone, French Metal, Krucyator Productions, Reviews, Death Metal, Drone, 37 comments

“Autokrator and I go way back. Pursuant to my crucifixion of their unlistenable debut, one of the band members wrung me out over my continuing jabs at the group and, I assume, made sure that this august publication would never catch wind of their sophomore release. According to the wishes of both parties, I neither listened to nor reviewed the effort. So it was with both surprise and unease that I pulled their third LP, Hammer of the Heretics, from the promo bin. And wouldn’t you know? Everything that made me hate Autokrator has disappeared.” Beef resolved.

Among The Rocks And Roots – Raga Review

By Roquentin on March 5, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Avante Garde, Doom Metal, Drone, Noise, PTP, Reviews, Doom Metal, Drone, Noise, Noise Metal, Sludge Metal, 44 comments

“Music as ‘just entertainment’ is a solipsistic and fairly recent notion. Throughout the history of humankind, various forms of music have instead been tightly woven into the communities that birthed them, shaping and steering social bonds. Even if this fact has been conveniently hidden in the deepest crevices of our collective memories, helped by capitalism’s commodification of art, music as a concept outside the ludic and academically autotelic still exists in the cultures of indigenous people like the Tuvans. Their shamans perform songs primarily to heal and such music becomes a bridge between the spiritual and the physical. Richmond duo Among The Rocks And Roots are one of those rare contemporary groups which successfully tap into that subliminal, metaphysical source and simultaneously reach somewhere beyond their own ids.” Id Rock.

Insect Ark – Marrow Hymns Review

By Kronos on March 2, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Avante Garde, Doom Metal, Drone, Profound Lore Records, Reviews, Drone, 0 comments

“Insect Ark’s debut, Portal/Well saw a warm, if not enthusiastic, welcome at AMG by our staff’s very own card-carrying Illuminati member. Such is Roquentin‘s power that the one-woman, drone-doom project didn’t blow up despite its extreme catchiness and party-ready bangers. Never one to allow the powers that be (other than myself) to dictate a band’s future, it was with great curiosity that I reached into the murky waters of the promo pond to retrieve Marrow Hymns, a sophomore effort which sees founding bassist/multi-instrumentalist Dana Schechter joined by drummer and synth-wrangler Ashley Spungin. At forty-four minutes, it’s hardly a marathon, yet the staid oddness of the whole thing proves to lengthen the listening experience.” Swarm drone.

Yhdarl – Loss Review

By Kronos on January 12, 2018 in 2018, Belgian Metal, Black Metal, Doom Metal, Drone, I Voidhanger Records, Reviews, Black Metal, Drone, 33 comments

“Pulling off a long song — be it a ten-minute black metal piece or an hour-plus funeral doom opus — takes very deliberate pacing. Great drone and doom bands know this and know how to pull the listener rather than push them. If the song moves too fast, it can seem to lose structure, but if it moves too slowly, it can stagnate and sour the listener to its next idea. One has to have the pacing and space to keep themselves involved.” The long lurch into oblivion.

Opium Warlords – Droner Review

By Lokasenna on November 12, 2017 in 2017, Avante Garde, Doom Metal, Drone, Finnish Metal, Reviews, Doom Metal, 19 comments

“With so many bands coming out of Finland, I’m starting to wonder if there’s a single sub-genre of metal unrepresented. Today’s platter is the fourth full-length from one-Finn drone project Opium Warlords. Masterminded by Albert Witchfinder (Azrael Rising, Spiritus Mortis), the album promises a vision of humanity scraping primitive survival from the husk of nuclear apocalypse, set to a soundtrack of bluesy minimalism. Or at least, that’s the ambitious byline the label tries to sell.” Some things sell themselves.

Throane – Plus une main à mordre Review

By Roquentin on October 25, 2017 in 2017, Avante Garde, Black Metal, Debemur Morti, Drone, French Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, 16 comments

“In retrospect, Throane’s tantalizing début Derrière-Nous, La Lumière is one of those records whose piercing splinters, given time to gestate, have a tendency to deeply ingrain themselves into thoughts. Almost imperceptible at first, its monochromatic strokes paint uncomfortable rooms of the mind. Rooms filled with anguish and darkness, shaped equally by fears of the void and an existential dread of the mundane. Spaces hidden behind walls upon walls, repressed but always present. The idea of revisiting this world is one that is simultaneously exhilarating and frightening.” Splinters in the mind’s eye.

BIG|BRAVE – Ardor Review

By Roquentin on September 15, 2017 in 2017, Canadian Metal, Doom Metal, Drone, Experimental Metal, Post-metal, Post-Rock, Reviews, Southern Lord, Doom Metal, Experimental Metal, Noise Metal, Post-Metal, 52 comments

“Ardor, the third full-length by Montrealers BIG|BRAVE opens with a sustained, unending riff. As it reverberates eerily, it suggests that the trio picked up right where they left off with their sophomore release Au De La, veering even further into fields of textures and sparse instrumentation. Their signature sound is a combination of elements from multiple genres and idioms, from post-rock to drone, shaped into an experimental, caustic, and often hermetic concoction.” Bliss in the abyss.

Morbid Evils – Deceases Review

By Akerblogger on August 29, 2017 in 2017, Drone, Finnish Metal, Reviews, Svart Records, Drone, 10 comments

“Tantalizingly labeled as being a grind-drone hybrid, Morbid Evils — a side project of Rotten Sound vocalist and guitarist Keijo Niinimaa — doesn’t play by the rules. That’s not to say that the feelings these two extreme sub-genres stir up aren’t present. The suffocating and oppressive atmospherics found both in the gargantuan monotone sound of drone and the stifling chaos of grindcore are an ever-present force here, shifting with the force of planet sized icebergs. The name of the game is oppression and the aim of the game is to hammer the brain into a pulp.” Morbid and evil is no way to go through life, son.

Hell – Hell Review

By Grymm on August 11, 2017 in 2017, American Metal, Black Metal, Doom Metal, Drone, Reviews, Sentient Ruin Laboratories, Black Metal, Doom Metal, Drone, 50 comments

“Hell isn’t a unique topic in the realms of heavy metal. Whether it’s scalding hot or freezing cold, overpopulated with sinners or barren like a desert filled with tumbleweeds and rattlesnakes, Satan’s home and permanent tourist hot-spot has been covered to death and undeath too many times to count. Many metal bands, from Black Sabbath to the kvltest of tr00 black metal, weaved so many tales of that realm that it’s become old hat now. M.S.W., the sole member of Salem, Oregon’s Hell, knows this.” Going down.

Harvestman – Music for Megaliths Review

By Huck N Roll on May 21, 2017 in 2017, American Metal, Drone, Neurot Records, Reviews, 8 comments

“Most musicians these days have multiple projects on the go. Whether because of diverse musical influences or the need to try and make a buck in this silly industry, we can expect members of our favorite bands to pop up in all sorts of places. Neurosis’ Steve Von Till is no different, playing in his main band along with solo outings, Tribes of Neurot, and his outdoorsy drone/ambient project, Harvestman.” Enjoy of deep Druid-core.