Sentynel and Twelve are ready to show you all their year-end wares. Shop til you drop.
Amiensus
Amiensus – Abreaction Review
“It beats me how the grief-stricken yet gorgeous and woodsy, black metal of Minnesota’s Amiensus flew under the radar of my hawk-like colleagues here at AMG up until now. After my first few listens of the ten year old band’s newest material, however, I couldn’t help myself from feeling taken aback and even pouting a little. Where are the beautiful, aching cleans and shimmering synths of 2013’s Restoration and 2015’s Ascension, I wondered? Amiensus’s first two albums, arguably more accessible than their latest, were especially formative for me. They pulled me into the metal genre deeper than any other metal albums I had listened to before, more so even than Panopticon’s Autumn Eternal.” Gourd songs.
Thurisaz – Re-Incentive Review
“Thurisaz is a Belgian band blending together an atmospheric concoction of black, doom, and death metal. Their latest album is heavy on the atmosphere and lighter on the death and doom. Despite being a part of the metal scene for over two decades now, Thurisaz’s sound on Re-Incentive is beautiful and unassuming.” Dark incentives.
Arctos – Beyond the Grasp of Mortal Hands Review
“The first day of fall, my favorite season of the year, is just around the corner. That means the Seattle drizzle has made an appearance, advertisements for Oktoberfest litter the streets, and the most basic of drinks (step aside White Claw), Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte, has already been available in stores for almost an entire month. Coffee drinkers and non-coffee drinkers alike, including those who consider pumpkin spice a season and not just a drink, came in droves to get their first PSLs on August 27th this year, the earliest launch ever. Thankfully, mid-September also means the release of Arctos’ highly anticipated debut full length Beyond the Grasp of Mortal Hands.” The blackness is on the pumpkin.
Oubliette – The Passage Review
“When a record feels right — truly right — you just know. No ramp-up is required. Nothing is asked of you but your admiration. Satisfaction is born in full, a sensation that mirrors the wholly filling quality of a spin free from reservations. Oubliette — a Tennessee meloblack outfit headed by married duo Emily and Mike Low, the latter of Inferi; some readers should be familiar with — comes dangerously close to that feeling with their second offering.” Marriage makes the heart blacker.
