“Molten Husk is an album built on a balance of synchrony and glitches, a duel of cohesive riffs and splattering experimentation. We embark on a journey with Abest, witnessing this dichotomy and wondering what the hell we do with its lesson. As the journey dwindles to its final moments, Molten Husk fully succumbs to the chaos. A corrosive and unforgiving beast, whose growls are abruptly interrupted by a spare moment of humanity in the haunting “Possessor,” it pummels and unnerves in a soundtrack of breathing darkness. But this is no black metal, though it makes sporadic appearances. This is not death metal, although listeners may be reminded of it. Although based in sludge, density is eschewed for a palpable crunch instead of earth-shaking weight. At the end of Molten Husk, Abest will challenge what you think about post-metal.” Abeast.
Isis
Conjurer – Páthos Review
“Conjurer purports to simply be “riff music,” but they’ve perhaps unintentionally made some of the most atmospheric music right alongside. Riffs, just as in the case of Mire, feel somewhere between Bolt Thrower and Isis, while passages of doom heft and post-rock clarity grace the negative spaces.” Genre hoarders.
HUSH – The Pornography of Ruin Review
“Sludge metal has been a frequent bedfellow of serious, art-y post rock almost since the beginning of the genre. I’m not exactly sure why, but as a product of multiple art schools myself, I can confirm that I and other likeminded insufferable wanks folks are generally drawn to the resulting aesthetic thanks to its confrontational formal elements. Seminal groups like Neurosis and Isis built a template of harsh elegance decades ago that many contemporary bands, Cult of Luna, for instance, are happy to follow. Meanwhile, acts like Vile Creature, The Body, et al up the esoteric factor by injecting drone, noise, or electronics for downright disconcerting sonic textures. New York’s HUSH fall somewhere between these two approaches.” Suave sludge.
Orochen – Anthroposcenic Review
“More than any other sub-genre of metal, post-metal relies on weight. The long songs, the patient build-ups, the lack of typical song structure… these only work if there’s real momentum to guide them along. When you listen to the early pioneers of post-metal (Isis, Neurosis), their albums are experimental, but they’re also heavy as fuck. Even the bands that hew closer to the post-rock side of things (Sigur Rós, Godspeed You! Black Emperor) maintain a certain density because nothing kills the “post-whatever” vibe more than inertia. Except perhaps progressive righteousness. Which brings us to Orochen.” Call the Orochen, man.
Novarupta – Carrion Movements Review
“I was not familiar with this post-metal project prior to snagging it for review. Carrion Movements is both the third album from Novarupta and the third installment in a conceptual four-part series based around the elements of fire, water, air and earth. This is the ‘air’ entry in the tetralogy, following 2019’s Disillusioned Fire and 2020’s Marine Snow, which seem to have caused something of a stir in post-metal circles. Can Carrion Movements trigger the reputational eruption many seem to think Novarupta deserves? Carrion, my wayward son.
Pyreship – Light Is a Barrier Review
“Post-metal and stoner rock both struggle to escape the shadows of their forebears. Nothing gets me off like a well-developed soundscape, but countless bands claim to be the next Neurosis or Kyuss while bringing nothing to the table but fuzzy minimalism. This Melvin can attest firsthand that the Melvins already exist, and imitating them is a losing battle. So I approached the sophomore release from Houston’s sludgy post-metallers Pyreship with high hopes and a raised eyebrow.” Riding posts.
Abraham – Débris de mondes perdus Review
“I have struggled mightily with Abraham. At its core, is it still Neurosis-core? Sure. Any post-metal release is bound to be. But there’s something especially tortured about its swaths of monolithic riffs and vivacious in its vocal variety, but above all, patient. It feels like an otherworldly ritual, as the drums pulse and the guitars plod with hypnotic rhythms to the beat of otherworldly suffering. While its former releases felt shining and hopeful, clean and precise, fourth full-length Débris de mondes perdus feels gritty, soiled, and unforgiving – but above all, hopeless.” Death of the sun/son?
Fostermother – The Ocean Review
“More so than any other genre of metal, doom relies upon momentum. If you cast your mind back to Ms. Johnson’s 6th grade science class, you’ll recall that momentum is a product of both mass and velocity. Which is to say: if you want more momentum, you either need more speed, or you need more weight. If you’re a doom band looking for a weighty metaphor, there is nothing heavier on earth than the damn ocean. And Fostermother, a trio from Houston Texas, are here to use that idea in their sophomore album to convey complex ideas about depression in a society which emphasizes personal greed over human connection.” Fostered by the sea.
Black Sheep Wall – Songs for the Enamel Queen [Things You Might Have Missed 2021]
“I remember when Black Sheep Wall “qualified” for an Encyclopedia Metallum profile with sophomore effort No Matter Where It Ends. Kind of pedantic and nitpicky, but then again, their blend of sludge metal, post-metal, doom, and post-hardcore is bound to be divisive. The California quintet offers their fourth full-length Songs for the Enamel Queen, an expertly written and superbly executed mass of concrete-thick sludge metal injected with tumorous melodies and shifty rhythms.” Of Sheep and sludge.
Heiress – Distant Fires Review
“”Heiress, wonder where they came up with that name,” snickered a member of staff called … um … Pronos, as I alerted all the writers who care Cherd to incoming melodic sludge. Now look, I get what Pronos was getting at but there was a time when Baroness were not a meme nor a byword for some of the worst production in metal alt rock. When split A Grey Sigh in a Flower Husk dropped in 2007, followed later the same year by Red Album, Baroness were offering something genuinely different and interesting, and there is a reason they have come to be such A Big Deal. Of course, they have now become a parody of themselves but that doesn’t mean other, less well-known acts need go down the same path.” Let them eat sludge.