Instrumental Metal

Liquid Tension Experiment – LTE3 Review

Liquid Tension Experiment – LTE3 Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on April 16, 2021 in Reviews, Instrumental Metal, Progressive Metal, 59 comments

“Believe it or not, it’s been roughly twenty-two years since the band’s last full-length. I know that LTE isn’t for everyone but it’s hard to deny the impressive instrumentation. Bringing acclaimed bassist Tony Levin on board took a potential this-is-just-Dream–Theater-without-James-LaBrie outfit, and made it mostly original. Sure, you can’t take the DT out of John Petrucci but, even then, it’s nice to hear the instruments without LaBrie’s voice.” Do androids dream of Liquid Tension Experiment theater?

AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö: Grabesfurcht – Wachkoma

AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö: Grabesfurcht – Wachkoma

By Carcharodon on April 5, 2021 in Angry Metal Guy's Unsigned Band Rodeo, Instrumental Metal, 15 comments

“Back in the primordial days of this here blog, we attempted something called “AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö.” The basic idea was to select a bunch of unsigned bands and give them the collective review treatment to find the most worthy buried gems. It was our humble effort to remind folks that the metal underground is still an important part of the world of metal.” Grabesfurcht in the morning.

Stellar Death – Fragments of Light Review

Stellar Death – Fragments of Light Review

By Carcharodon on January 11, 2021 in Reviews, Ambient Metal, Instrumental Metal, Post-Metal, 23 comments

“Well. Here we are, 2021 at last and I decided to ease myself into this new year of misery musical exploration with a pick that seemed to be safely in my wheelhouse, based on the genre tag at least: a nice slab of safe, comforting post-metal. Fragments of Light is the debut LP from Washington, D.C.-based Stellar Death. The two-piece comprises Scott Loose (also of While Heaven Wept) and Matt Kozar (Witnesses).” Soft landing.

October Falls – Syys Review

October Falls – Syys Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on November 1, 2020 in Reviews, Instrumental Metal, 21 comments

“If you haven’t gone back to the band’s humble beginnings, you’re missing a hell of a lot. And, not in the sense of the classic black metal of old. No, no. You’ve missed one LP (Marras) and two EPs (Tuoni and Sarastus) of acoustic beauty. There’re more acoustic guitars, pianos, and strings in that handful of songs than all the liquidated Guitar Centers combined. That said, don’t expect grandiosity and orchestral pretentiousness. October Falls‘s acoustic discs sound like a couple of guys with guitars sitting around a campfire. A couple of musicians playing simple music for the moon, for the woods, for themselves.” Moon music.

Scaphoid – Absent Passages Review

Scaphoid – Absent Passages Review

By TheKenWord on October 6, 2020 in Reviews, Instrumental Metal, Post-Metal, Progressive Metal, Progressive Rock, 46 comments

“Somehow, a disproportionate number of the promos I selected so far are debut records. I’m not sure if it’s coincidence or if I have some kind of n00b magnet in my brain somewhere, but one way or another fresh meat keeps passing through. The latest cut of which comes from Austin, Texas, and he calls himself Scaphoid. That’s right, this is a one-man project, courtesy of Matt Hobart. But it’s not raw atmo-black, no. This guy specializes in a post-rock prog-metal hybrid. With only a short EP under his belt, how fares his new, hour-long debut Absent Passages?” Scap metal.

B R I Q U E V I L L E – Quelle Review

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.

Titan to Tachyons – Cactides Review

Titan to Tachyons – Cactides Review

By Akerblogger on August 13, 2020 in Reviews, Instrumental Metal, 10 comments

“A Colin Marston produced release featuring Kenny Grohowski of Imperial Triumphant, and Matt Hollenberg of Cleric/John Zorn? What could go wrong? Well, a lot. But, also, there’s potential for some mind-bending magic to be cast through Cactides, the debut release by avant/instrumental trio Titan to Tachyons.” Spikey.

GOD – IV – Revelation Review

GOD – IV – Revelation Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on July 17, 2020 in Reviews, Instrumental Metal, Progressive Metal, Technical Death Metal, 65 comments

“Narnia is one thing. Try a band whose name says it all. Try GOD. All bold, all caps, almighty. I can see you looking at the genre tags, expecting words like ‘gospel’ and ‘power metal.’ Instead, you see ‘prog,’ ‘instrumental,’ and ‘tech-death.’ Do you believe in revelations? Well, you’re about to.” Get right with the Man.

Ghost Toast – Shape Without Form Review

Ghost Toast – Shape Without Form Review

By Master of Muppets on March 14, 2020 in 2020, Hungarian Metal, Instrumental Metal, Inverse Records, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Instrumental Metal, Progressive Metal, 48 comments

“It’s nice to have some actual dialogue after my solitary confinement to Shape Without Form. That’s right, tubthumpers: Ghost Toast are an instrumental band! There’s been a lot of that lately, and I’m not really sure why, but I was bound to deal with something of the sort sooner or later, and now here we are, Ghost Toastin’ it up.” Rye revenants abound.