“Do you ever have that feeling of listening to an album and feeling that it’s somehow better than you’re giving it credit for? Or, as GardensTale put it to me, the feeling that “I’m probably just not good enough for the album”? That’s how I felt about the second full-length from Vancouver’s Neck of the Woods, until about 4pm today.” You’re good enough and people like you.
“I love the color purple. Such a rich palette of hues lie within this particular segment of the spectrum, all of which pair well with an extensive array of complements. Purple can convey royalty, seduction, obliteration, depression, and damn near everything else provided a competent application thereof. Of course, that holds true for most colors, but just seeing purple is more exciting to me than seeing any other color. This brings us to Belgian post-metal trio Psychonaut, whose debut album Unfold the God Man features a gorgeous cover warmly ensconced in my current color of choice.” Do not tear, fold or mutilate.
“Genres are one of the most contentious features of music in general, and metal in particular, considering the wide sprawl of sub-subtypes we have dug around ourselves. I won’t dive into the deeper discussion about the merits of this labyrinthine web here, but I will make the case for ‘cinematic metal’ to be the most useless genre tag in the metalverse. Bands ranging from power metal to black metal and everything in between have laid claim to it, and the argumentation for it rarely stretches beyond ‘there’s a story in the lyrics.’” Sourcing a feeling.
“Much like my need to take the infrequent day off from work, I occasionally require a break from the never-ending storm that is extreme metal. When I require such dalliances with lighter fare, I generally choose prog-metal or something bumping shoulders with post-whatever. Established bands like Voyager, Dreadnought or Fair to Midland are my go-to’s. Hailing from Norway, Astrosaur get their foot in the door with their sophomore full-length Obscuroscope, an instrumental post/prog/jazz album that promises to satisfy my Chillaxoproxin™ fix.” Relaxosaur.
“Real talk: most of the time the intros for these things are the hardest part. Grueling, even. This is probably obvious, given how often they’re rambling and off-topic, but it’s the truth. It’s even harder when resounding apathy is the limit of what one can muster after a week of listening to something, and that’s where I am. The band, Herod, has got some talent, and are looking to make their mark with debut record Sombre Dessein, but the result is very mixed, unfortunately. A Swiss quartet of death/sludge progsters should be pretty engaging, at least in theory, so what went wrong here?” Rutting.
“Sometimes when bands have lengthy breaks between albums, it’s easy to forget them. Case in point: Ancestors, whom I had forgotten all about until Suspended in Reflections showed up in our August list. A quick dig through my music library showed me why the name was familiar: their 2012 album, In Dreams and Time, was one of my favorites of the year, a truly stellar piece of art that, had I been reviewing back in those days, would have been a front-runner for Record o’ the Month.” Respect your Ancestors.
“The heartiest slabs of sludge evoke a menagerie of crooked emotions. The cranking monotony of a repetitive riff, drenched in reverb and ambient noise, appeals to me at a most basic level. There’s something primal in the galloping crusty thump of a Conan track, something breathtakingly heart-wrenching in the western-tones of an Inter Arma track, something honest, stark and beautiful in the unique patterns of The Melvins. Each band balances creative flair with straight-forward aggression, though. When a voluptuous and extravagant song becomes too self-indulgent a switch to crushing straight-as-an-arrow slabcraft can drag it back into the dirty pits we crave.” Into the pits!
