“I have historically shown more than a little apprehension towards the post-metal tag. At first, I felt it screamed pretension, a trait that tends to break my enjoyment of music if not kept in check. Lately, though, I’ve reassessed my opinion after finding deep enjoyment of bands often placed within the post-metal spectrum—Astronoid, Downfall of Gaia, and more recently, Latitudes.” No man is Part Island.
“Back in 2016, Katherine Shepard, aka Norwegian/French multi-instrumentalist Sylvaine, dropped an impressive album of beautiful soundscapes in Wistful, taking the groundwork laid down by the likes of Alcest and branching out into greener, more ambient paths. In doing so, Sylvaine provided a soundtrack to some amazing memories, and when word dropped that she was working on a follow-up, to say that some of us were frothing at the bit to give it a listen would be a mild understatement.” Light in the darkness.
“Unless you’re a polar bear, six straight weeks of below average temperatures will destroy your spirit. Rather than hunting for fun, uplifting, Record o’ the Month-caliber albums, you will find yourself dredging the promo bin for anything bitter and morose. Thus I stumbled across Megaton Leviathan, a band specializing in all things doom, drone, and shoegaze. Mage is mastermind Andrew James Costa Reuscher and his ever-changing band’s third album, and if the promo blurb is remotely accurate, its “borderline narcotic compositions” should be just what I need to push me even further into early winter doldrums.” How much does a gaze weigh?
“Music is a visual experience for me, so much so that when I see something instrumental smoldering in the Angry Metal Heap ov Dreams, I grow curious rather than cautious. Such was the case with Cataya’s Firn, and I met its four-track challenge with all kinds of optimism: I ain’t afraid of no vox.” Less talk, more mood.
“Yes, this album cover needs a unicorn. It’s the first and foremost thing any of us noticed in the AMG World Headquarters break room. I don’t know what’s going on with this horse, but it won’t be good when and if it comes back down to earth. I suppose it’s escaping, although maybe it’s just simply jubilant. At eleven songs and over 74 minutes, is Great Escape going to make me jubilant, or am I going to want to make my escape?” Unicorn in the sky. Making little children cry.
“When it comes to our promo bin, the old adage holds true: the early bird gets the worm, the late bird gets the obscure Chilean black metal album with the unpronounceable name. Seriously, what the fuck is all that squiggly shit? Google tells me it’s Hindu for ‘world path,’ which makes sense given that Pyreficativm’s sole member Melek R. N. accompanied this album with a lengthy promo blurb containing several references to Eastern mysticism (amidst a torrent of other philosophical gibberish). After seeing he also referred to this debut as a ‘vehicle and ritualistic vessel,’ my pretense sensors went off the charts. Suddenly I feel like I’ve stumbled upon a South American version of Vardan that Enjoys ov Deep Soma.” I am become daft.
“I’m always on the lookout for something new, and in that regard, The Ever Living seemed pretty promising. Formed in 2016, this British quintet label themselves with the unusual tag of ‘cinematic metal,’ and their vocalist claims they aren’t even really a metal band at all. Nonetheless, the group’s self-titled EP earned positive acclaim from some major heavy music publications back in 2016, and two years later these not-ThunderCat-villains have returned with debut full-length Herephemine. Having no idea what ‘herephemine’ means and no prior experience with Living, is ‘cinematic metal’ worth the trip to the theater or are you better off waiting till this comes out on Netflix?” The Ever Living and chill?
“Eryn Non Dae.’s follow-up to 2012’s Meliora is something I’d long dreamt of, and thanks to France and the promo bin I – with humble objectivity and tact – get to demonstrate to you bitches once again why Muppet taste is best taste. Spoiler alert: this album is fucking glorious.” Franks and fiends.
“One of the best quotes of the year comes from the promo blurb for Siinai’s new album, Sykli: “…this album burst out of us, like when a ketchup bottle loses its cap when you are violently shaking it.” This from a band that in the past has also released an instrumental concept album about supermarkets.Yes, Siinai are a strange Finnish act that do odd things. This album’s concept isn’t as weird as “music to shop to.” Instead, Skyli professes to be about the cyclical nature of life. Considering that this is an instrumental album, figuring out how well it conveys a concept can be tough, but that’s why we get the big bucks, right?” Clean up in aisle Life.
“Norway’s The Soundbyte, a project of The 3rd and the Mortal guitarist Trond Engum, seeks to improve the reputation of scene-setting noisescapes with its 4th experimental platter, Solitary IV. Full disclaimer, it’s only tangentially in the camp of metal, but few experimental albums are and the material on display here is not something we want to keep from you. Let’s get to it.” We’re givers.
