“Enter the grievous, brooding Au Champs Des Morts. Their debut album, Dans la Joie, landed in my lap a few weeks past and has kept me occupied with its gloomy sensibilities ever since. Think Alcest if Neige woke up to find all his precious forests and trees clear-cut overnight. An unhappy man he would be, and that’s pretty much what Dans la Joie is; moody, depressive, poignant and French.” Embrace the trees and have a good cry.
“Attempting to categorize Laster is like trying to catch air with a net, but in a hypothetical “pick a genre or die” kind of scenario, one would probably end up lumping them in with the blackened shoegaze crowd. To do so would be a crass oversimplification, however, as their music incorporates an absurdly diverse range of elements and influences.” AMG policy requires air nets be worn at all times.
![Astronoid – Air [Things You Might Have Missed 2016]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Astronoid-Air-768x768.jpg)
“Fearless. That’s the word I keep coming back to when trying to describe this Boston quintet’s debut. Sure, there may be better ways to describe the music – carefree, blissful, soaring – but nothing captures the spirit of Air quite like “fearless.”” Fear is the mind killer.
“Recently, in the course of a discussion I was having regarding another new release set to land in the not too distant future, I was reflecting upon the enormous number of one-man black metal projects turning up in the AMG promo bin at the moment. Well hey, presto, time for another!” Lonely is the word.
“Post-metal thrives or dies based on its ability to evoke emotion, imagery and thought. This is doubly true for instrumental acts, where words have been abandoned in favor of ambiance and atmosphere. Enter Memoirs of a Secret Empire (MOASE).” Yes, hmm, hmm, now for the next question: Does emotional music have quite an effect on you?
“The “issue” of incongruous genres poisoning the perceived pristine purity of metal has been written about and discussed to death. Especially when French “blackgaze” duo Alcest is concerned, it becomes irrelevant whether the odium is a case of snobbery and elitism or a sense of threat against internalized traditions and tropes. Because you see, their music possesses an undeniable artistic value regardless of context.” Fancy words for pretty music.
“As this site’s self-appointed Angry Metal Bottom Feeder, I take it upon myself to devour all the metalcore, post-black metal, and trendy bullshit that I suspect my more evolved brethren often don’t want to touch. I guess part of me still has fond memories of older albums in these genres and continues to hold out hope that new releases will be just as good. While this means filtering through a lot of mediocrity, occasionally I’ll stumble upon a gem that makes it all worth it.” The AMG catfish may have found gold down there in the muck.
“Instead of a dull description of the five tracks and 44 minutes of Fen-like black metal on this Canadian quintet’s debut, let’s do something else. Take out a blank sheet of paper, draw a five-by-five square grid, and write one post-black cliche in each square. Ready? Good, because it’s time for POST-BLACK BINGO!” When you play Post-Black Bingo, you win or you…shoegaze.
“Sweden’s Seedna is a captivating brew. Taking cues from bands like Alcest, Cobalt, and Shining, they overlaps post-black soundscapes and blend their seams into one smooth surface.” You like brews, don’tcha?
“Not to be confused with skindrone dot com (a website promoting “5 Proven Home Remedies for Seborrheic Dermatitis on the Scalp”), the Skin Drone of interest here turns out to be a tech-death group from Massachusetts/Arkansas. Formed by Bluntface Records founder Otto Kinzel, Skin Drone fuses traditional tech-death with blackish avante-garde—the latter flavorings being the most interesting.” Why isn’t there a band named Seborrheic?
