“As I write this, it is an unseasonably hot day and I am hunkered down trying in vain to keep the dark in and the heat out of my little world. All around me, coworkers and friends marvel at the gorgeous, sunny, life-bringing weather we’re experiencing, and I’m here thinking it’s all stupid and I’d much rather it was cold again. All this is to say, I think I’m in the perfect state of mind to be listening to and reviewing Against Leviathan!, the third full-length release from Bonjour Tristesse.” Black n’ cold.
King Apathy
Tersivel – To the Orphic Void Review
“Few bands in metal have the combination of popularity and totally idiosyncratic sound that Gojira enjoys. The first time I saw the band perform, it was still playing support for Fear Factory; nowadays that’s hard to imagine, and would most likely be the other way around. On top of that, its style is instantly recognizable; mechanistic, multi-stage, palm-muted riffs full of syncopation and odd time signatures combined with complex drum fills and patterns. It’s so readily familiar, in fact, that the band have begun to sound like a flanderized version of itself, and any band taking inspiration from the Frenchies is bound to run into copycat accusations. That didn’t stop Tersivel from trying anyway.” Ape the best, ignore the rest.
Mental Health Awareness: Interview with Nils Groth of Heretoir
“Nobody likes being depressed, plain and simple. It inherently brings us somewhere cold, dark and painful, and conversations centered around the subject can often lead to similarly unpleasant destinations. As important and necessary as communication is, whether we’re struggling with mental distress or walkin’ on friggin’ sunshine, depression and anxiety are often able to plant themselves directly between the affected individual and their ability to effectively convey their struggles—and that sucks, yo.”
Gardenstale’s and Ferrous Beuller’s Top Ten(ish) of 2019
The lists continue as GardensTale and Ferrous Beuller regale us with their Top Ten(ish) picks for the year. Pay attention.
Master of Muppets’ and TheKenWord’s Top Ten(ish) o’ 2019
Master of Muppets and TheKenWord with their very own Top Ten(ish) of 2019 lists? There goes the neighborhood!
Hypno5e – A Distant (Dark) Source Review
“Genres are one of the most contentious features of music in general, and metal in particular, considering the wide sprawl of sub-subtypes we have dug around ourselves. I won’t dive into the deeper discussion about the merits of this labyrinthine web here, but I will make the case for ‘cinematic metal’ to be the most useless genre tag in the metalverse. Bands ranging from power metal to black metal and everything in between have laid claim to it, and the argumentation for it rarely stretches beyond ‘there’s a story in the lyrics.’” Sourcing a feeling.
CLEARxCUT – For the Wild at Heart Kept in Cages Review
“It’s not exactly a secret that I hate you humanity and love King Apathy, so when I was presented with the opportunity to review the debut act of a band featuring Matthias S of King Apathy and ascribing to the same neo Cattle Decapitation lyrical teachings, it should come to roughly no one’s surprise that I squealed like a mildly surprised Kenword jumped at the chance to do so. This was a wish come true.” Wish or curse?
King Apathy – Wounds Review
“As a pledged and proud purveyor of pessimism and particularly powerful pieces ov post-black pain, it’s probably presumed by you plebs that this puppet perceives positivity and pleasure as pointless and pathetic, practically on par with such unpalatable practices as publicly popping pimples or pooping in the pool. Well, be proud, you presumptuous phucks poopyheads: you’re right. Everything sucks and it’s all your fault. It’s hard for a Muppet to make much meaning of mankind’s minute moments of mirth when there’s just so much wrong with the world. I could go on forever about how humans are just the absolute fucking worst, but it wouldn’t sound anywhere near as glorious as King Apathy’s latest sonic assessment of the essential suckiness of our species. So, in the interest of avoiding my transforming into a velvety Lewis Black, let’s rant talk write about that instead.” And this guy thinks the SCORE he’s giving these guys is the thing that’s gonna get him fired…
Downfall of Gaia – Ethic of Radical Finitude Review
“Downfall of Gaia hit me hard in recent years, blowing me away with 2014’s Aeon Unveils the Thrones of Decay and 2016’s Atrophy. Both albums explored the idea of a world in decline with a combination of post-metal and black metal that proudly upheld the torch of the almighty (and sadly defunct) Altar of Plagues. Yet fifth full-length Ethic of Radical Finitude initially made me nervous due to its somewhat pretentious title and the fear that the German quartet had no tricks left in the bag.” Is the downfall upon us?
Groza – Unified in Void Review
“I picked Groza from the promo bin for one simple reason: Mgla is a great fucking band, and Groza share their name with Mgla’s debut album. That’s not by accident, either. The promo blurb that accompanied Unified in Void was frank in its admission of Mgla influence, leaving me quite excited to hear what this German quartet had to offer.” Choose the form of the Destroyer.