Beak

Bleeth – Harbinger Review

By Carcharodon on May 28, 2021 in Reviews, Post-Metal, 21 comments

“It gets a bad rap around here, I know, but I’ve admitted before to being a post-metal fan. I’m not alone in this among the writers but I won’t out Doom_et_Al or Sentynel or the other post fans in case they’d rather keep it to themselves. What do I like about post-metal, I hear you ask. Well, since you were so nice as to inquire, let me tell you. What hooks me about the best bands of the genre – the likes of Isis, Cult of Luna, The Ocean, Neurosis, to name but a few – is their ability build atmosphere and tension, layering delicate melodies and mellifluous harmonics in repetitive, swirling streams, before you slam into a wall of crushing guitars that rewards you for your patience. In some senses, it’s all about the pay off but, at the same time, that pay off feels so much greater because of the journey the band takes you on. With their sophomore effort, Harbinger, Miami trio Bleeth ask whether the same can be achieved in dramatically shortened form.” Harbinger of sorrow?

B R I Q U E V I L L E – Quelle Review

By Carcharodon on September 30, 2020 in Reviews, Instrumental Metal, Post-Metal, 23 comments

“B R I Q U E V I L L E. Yes, the promo blurb immediately reassures me, the “spaces between the letters are indeed part of their moniker.” And I roll my eyes and dispense with the spaces. Quelle is the third record from this Flanders, Belgium collective and the first to have a title, following 2014’s self-titled debut and 2017’s II. The title is a linguistic play on Quelle‘s differing meanings in German and French, ‘source’ and ‘which,’ respectively, with the “theme of a ‘source’ and the ‘which’ linking it reflexively to our previous album artwork,” quoth the raven Nazgûl-robed, golden-masked BRIQUEVILLE member.” Another BRIQUE in the wall.

Contrite Metal Guy – Mistakes Were Made

By Carcharodon on June 29, 2020 in Blog Posts, 86 comments

“The life of the unpaid, overworked metal reviewer is not an easy one. Cascading promos, unreasonable deadlines, draconian editors and the unwashed metal mobs – it makes for a swirling maelstrom of music and madness. In all that tumult, errors are bound to happen and sometimes our initial impression of an album may not be completely accurate. With time and distance comes wisdom, and so we’ve decided to pull back the confessional curtain and reveal our biggest blunders, missteps, oversights and ratings face-plants. Consider this our sincere AMGea culpa. Redemption is retroactive, forgiveness is mandatory.” Tiny missteps.

Heron – Time Immemorial Review

By Carcharodon on May 20, 2020 in Reviews, Sludge, 14 comments

“The AMG staff room—virtual only at the moment, of course, with even time in skull pit restricted to one scribe at a time—is divided sharply on sludge as a genre. Some of the hacks view it as tedious, talentless and almost beneath contempt. They are, of course, wrong. Those holding the correct view, including Cherd’s magnificent beard and yours truly, have a huge soft spot for its crushingly abrasive doom-laden awesomeness. And it’s just as well for East Vancouver natives, Heron, that it’s me reviewing this, and not one of those haters.” In sludge some trust.

Beak – Let Time Begin Review

By Steel Druhm on September 23, 2014 in Reviews, Post-Metal, 2 comments

“Post-metal has had a lot going for it in the past year. If you count it, The Ocean’s Pelagial was a remarkable work of art, as beautiful as it was heavy. Cult of Luna returned with the monstrous Vertikal last year and even gave fans more music with Vertikal II, the companion EP. And to add to it, Rosetta gave The Anaesthete to the world via Bandcamp, essentially for free. It’s a great time for post-metal…” Can Beak keep the post-metal golden age rolling or are the good times all over?