Two N00bs take a pass at Flight’s sophomore outing, A Leap Through Matter and it’s retro 70s goodness. So many N00bs, so little waiting.
Nov18
Misotheist – Misotheist Review
“At its cold heart, black metal is supposed to be angry, dangerous, uncomfortable. And while the genre has broadened to include some generally more benign (and often very enjoyable) off-shoots of the originally evil vision, Misotheist, hailing from Trondheim in Norway, have arrived to remind us of how dark and malevolent black metal can be. The band, whose name means “Hatred of God,” combine the blasphemy of Batushka with the frozen hellscapes of Havukruunu, sprinkled with some dissonant elements of Deathspell Omega. Anonymous members playing evil music in black cloaks emphasize that the lush landscapes of some recent atmoblack albums are as absent as warmth on a Scandinavian midwinter day.” Miso thorny.
Record(s) o’ the Month – November 2018
“By almost any measure, 2018 has been a pretty solid year for music. November has once again left us with a list of excellent candidates for the best of the month. But while this month, we had some pretty big names put out some pretty big albums that, frankly, lived up to their reputations, I think we need to go a different direction. So damn the plebs and the lowest common denominators, here’s your Record o’ the Month!” Trench feet.
Black Oath – Behold the Abyss Review
“From their formation in 2006, it’s been clear that the oath the chaps in Black Oath have taken is to keep traditional doom/occult metal in the style of Candlemass and Black Sabbath alive and kicking. Their first full length, The Third Aeon was an unsurprising but competent slab of 60-BPM epic doom dirges. On subsequent releases Ov Qliphoth and Darkness and To Below and Beyond, the band evolved their style somewhat to incorporate Gothic rock and mild progressive elements into a more distinctive brew which frontman, bassist and vocalist A. Th (not a typo) has christened “Cursed Rock Musick” (also not a typo).” Diabolus in Musick.
Virgin Black – Requiem – Pianissimo Review
“There was a time when The End Records could do no wrong. Agalloch, Green Carnation, Antimatter, the label churned out a stream of genre-defining albums by metal bands large and small. So confident was I in their curation that I set upon buying practically every release The End Records put out, at least until the wheels fell off and the label debased itself by churning out mainstream dreck. But it was fantastic while it lasted, and Sombre Romantic, the 2001 debut record of Adelaide-based Virgin Black, was one of the early successes that left an indelible impression with its contrasting cries of doom and operatic embellishments.” A night at the opera.
Sons of Lazareth – Blue Skies Back to Gray Review
“I don’t do well in the heat. This n00b is a strictly cold-weather creature. Despite this, I do very much enjoy stoner-desert rock. I’ve done so ever since I first encountered Kyuss’ seminal Welcome to Sky Valley. So imagine my excitement when the promo bin – manifesting in the ominous shape of Steel Druhm – threw me Blue Skies Back to Gray, the debut album from Italian stoners Sons of Lazareth.” Left to die.
Valkyrja – Throne Ablaze Review
Valkyrja is a Swedish black/death outfit intending to channel “violence, deprivation, and loathing through means of extraordinarily potent audio emissions.” There are a million different directions black/death can take, and fourth full-length Throne Ablaze revels in a groovy, thrashy style a la Vredehammer or Horizon Ablaze. While it is flawed, there’s a likable simplicity about these Swedes, as it feels that their music makes no pretense about being the most atmospheric, heavy, or “kvlt.” Shame of Thrones.
Organic – Carved in Flesh Review
“In the 1980s and ‘90s, death metal greats like Asphyx, Grave, Bolt Thrower, and Entombed established the template for what the genre would be. And it’s tough to be a death metal band 20 or 30 years later competing with the iconic albums released by these giants of the scene. Italy’s Organic lists these greats as the influences for their debut outing Carved in Flesh.” The first rule of writing is to never overstate your case. Who here is worried that Organic is maybe a little out of their depths?
Sad Eyes – vIV0 Review
“As a wee lad, I met a guy at camp who was quite the contortionist. He delighted in the responses his disconcerting levels of flexibility granted him, basking in the wide-eyed, slack-jawed and mildly disgusted attention of his peers. However, his flexibility never garnered him any true friends. He was a spectacle, an object of attention, nothing more. Hailing from Spain, one-man death metal project Sad Eyes, helmed by Santi Gzlez, seeks to turn his project into a musical contortion of sorts, assembling an album with a list of collaborators longer than I’ve had friends.” Death metal camp is rough.
Kosm – Cosmonaut Review
“Kosm market themselves as a sort of cross between Mastodon and Tool, and between the burly power chord progressions and dark undercurrents of hammer-on riffs, this seems like a wholly appropriate comparison. Perhaps the band isn’t proggy enough to be dubbed henceforth as “Mathstadon,” but an over-reliance on rhythmic acrobatics may have very well ruined Kosm’s weighty, catchy grooves.” Dogs in space.
