“Once named Aetherium Mors, this two-man project since altered their moniker so as to better refine their brand of blackened extremity. The material contained within the self-titled debut is proficient and mature in its composition. But sometimes, the often overlooked simplest tenets are the most necessary in creating a truly stirring compound.” Refining darkness.
“What does it mean for an album to be memorable? Usually we consider it a good thing, as a good hook that sticks with you can prolong the enjoyability of a record, sticking with you even beyond your listening sessions. But shitty third-tier pop music often keeps inadvertently muscling its way into your brain, especially for those who are forced to listen to the tripe during work hours (trust me, I’ve been there.) Conversely, some powerful music may not have a high memorability, particularly when it’s of the atonal or atmospheric proclivity. The latter is decidedly not what Morass of Molasses are attempting, though.” Attach the Stone of Sludge Fuzz!
“If you missed the tongue-bathing AMG gave their last album, Gloryhammer are one of the best active Rhapsody-style epic power metal bands, and also a loving, self-aware parody of same. They’re founded first on quality and second on overly-amped up tropes—D-tier speculative fiction plot, non-native English speaker lyrics, etc.—to the precise point where they become obviously funny. It’s not so overdone that it becomes tiresome, and it works because of the attention to detail and cohesiveness of the whole: take a couple of elements away and you might wonder whether they were actually serious all along.” Get hammered.
“A few weeks back, I received a cube-shaped item from Madam X. After spending the requisite time aligning the mirrors in my chamber of decoding, the sun’s light finally shone upon said box which opened to reveal a promo and the following message: “Steel thought you might enjoy this one.” With enormous shame do I remember the arrogance and ungratefulness I exhibited upon that day when I dispatched the coif-clad courier back to AMG HQ with said promo and some form of “Thanks, but I’m good.” While I thought I had moved on and gone about my business, over the following days an almost imperceptible sound began to grow into a still, small voice and finally erupted into a siren’s wail, drawing me to the edge of the promo bin upon my hands and knees. With all of my might, I screamed my repentance towards the sky — “I must have the Amulet!”” Don’t sass the Steel.
“I’ve never made it a secret that I’m a big fan of Pink Floyd. Nor am I alone in that adoration. The Brits had a huge influence on music in every genre, and their footsteps still impact artists across the globe. Their biggest crater is of course left in their home country, where Bright Curse sprang up over half a decade ago. With only vocalist Romain Daut remaining from the debut’s line-up, the young band has evidently been through some tumultuous times, but this hasn’t stopped Daut nor his three compatriots from hitting the studio and cranking out sophomore album Time of the Healer.” Floydcore.
“Summer is fast approaching—for those who have four seasons, anyway. That means all of the deathcore in the whole world is about to flood the markets and beat down the public just as the blazing Southern sun beats down pasty nerds such as I. English quintet Osiah opted to join the front lines of that inevitable invasion of breakdowns and br00tality with their sophomore album, Kingdom of Lies. This will also be their first outing signed onto Unique Leader. Most of you could guess what to expect from that fact alone, but let’s break it down anyway, shall we?” Break like the wind.
“The astute reader may have noticed this review is, as the youngsters say, hella late. But to err is human, and even the lords who guard the jail cells above the skull pit are of our own kind, they may begrudgingly admit. So when I saw the spectacular Wheel open for Soen and immediately sought an explanation for why we hadn’t reviewed them, the voice through the trapdoor thundered in its brazen might: ‘Whoops.'” Mistakes were made.
“Back in the olde days, if a band took two years between releases they were considered to be “on sabbatical.” Nowadays, if a band puts out an album faster than every two years, we wonder why they’re rushing things. An album a year used to be the rule, and that’s a rule that Cracked Machine seem to be adhering to early in their career. The Call of the Void comes hot on the heels of the Wiltshire quartet’s 2018 debut, I, Cosmonaut. Maybe it’s easier to write post-rock songs with psychedelic overtones, or maybe these fellows just have a lot of ideas swimming around in their heads.” Grinders.
“I’ve never been much of a post and/or alt-rock guy, but the expertly crafted promo blurb for unsung U.K. act Final Coil captured my interest enough to review their 2017 debut, Persistence of Memory. It was an engaging little album too, mixing post-rock, restrained prog and grunge for a fairly unique sound. The album had its flaws, but I sensed a band that could go on to bigger things. Now a mere year and a half later, their sophomore effort The World We Left Behind for Others arrives with little fanfare, but that same sense of potential and promise.” What we leave and what we keep.
“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.
