ConSouling Sounds

Ulveblod – Omnia Mors Aequat Review

Ulveblod – Omnia Mors Aequat Review

“I wanted a black metal/noise hybrid. I figured it was the trvest style out there: the ultimate form of pitch-black atmosphere that could conjure abstractness and bleakness to new heights. While there have been plenty of artists that have tried, like Enbilulugugal, Gnaw Their Tongues, and Abruptum, success has been limited, so I wished upon a star for noisy black metal.” Cut off your noise to spite your face.

Witxes – Orients [Things You Might Have Missed 2018]

Witxes – Orients [Things You Might Have Missed 2018]

Orients spits in the face of moment-to-moment melodies and dynamism; it’s an album in the complete sense, where the overall effect is far more important. Metal as a genre is generally best depicted as grabbing and shaking its listener. Witxes, by contrast, are far more subtle and muted, yet still succeed in dominating their listeners’ attention. In fact, there is plenty of metal out there with noisy riffs and shrieked vocals which is far worse at being demanding which is testament to Witxes’ ability to do a lot with a little.” Minimalism is the new post-modernism.

Wiegedood – De Doden Hebben Het Goed II Review

Wiegedood – De Doden Hebben Het Goed II Review

Wiegedood’s debut may not be as pretentious as a band like Deafheaven (hallelujah!), but it’s thick with atmosphere and post-black attitude. The sequel hints at this heavy atmosphere, but De Doden Hebben Het Goed II never lets it meander for long. II, instead, unleashes a brutality fitting to a second-wave Norwegian outfit like Gorgoroth. The amount of hate and emotion set forth from II is enough to burn a hole right through your black heart.” That wasn’t part of the deal, Black Heart! That…wasn’t…part!

Gnaw Their Tongues – Hymns for the Broken, Swollen and Silent Review

Gnaw Their Tongues – Hymns for the Broken, Swollen and Silent Review

“Whenever I see bands like Slayer and Motörhead emblazoned across shirts for sale in fashionable high street clothing stores, I always have a little internal conflict with myself. On the one hand, I feel I ought to be enthusiastic about anything that introduces people to the world of heavy music. On the other, a childish part of me kind of likes metal being a bit of a secret society.” Join the club but prepare for hazing.

Ortega – Sacred States Review

Ortega – Sacred States Review

“In the context of reviewing an album, it’s surely one of the most cardinal of fundamentals to avoid the dreaded track-by-track format. The approach is dull, seems amateurish, and is usually indicative of a barrage of verbose superlatives, almost entirely allergic to the mighty Oxford comma. So what, oh what, is a Ferrous to do when faced with an album consisting of only 5 songs of spiraling, sludge-inspired doom?” Save Ferrous!

Alkerdeel – Lede Review

Alkerdeel – Lede Review

“Harsh and fairly abstract genres such as drone, noise, and left-field black metal are conceptually subtle, fragile things that require a careful balancing act to pull off properly. There are two ways that successful bands do this. One group of musicians immerses itself fully into the abyss of extremes, slowing down tempos to the point of near immobility and amplifying texture beyond thresholds of painful saturation (Sunn O)))). The other group carefully crafts concoctions that are ultimately dynamic in their repetitiveness and cohesive in their chaos (Aluk Todolo). Belgian four piece Alkerdeel belong to the latter.”This high-wire act is about to get real.

SardoniS – III Review

SardoniS – III Review

“Imagine, for a second, one such object, say a charcoal black freight train splattered with shiny, rainbow-colored spots that has descended to our plane straight from some kooky stoner heaven, traveling at a high speed, unstoppable, and crushing everything in its path.” So little time to get out of the way of the Rainbow Train. Now less…now none!

IIVII – Colony Review

IIVII – Colony Review

“Josh Graham is a serial pie fingerer. Aside from his visuals and art work for established names such as Neurosis and Vattnet Viskar, he’s also embarked on a number of music projects including the post-rock Red Sparowes and post-metal A Storm of Light. Now he brings his tight atmospherics and stunning visual design to his new ambient project IIVII and its debut, Colony.” There’s complete anarchy here at AMG headquarters!