“When I reviewed B R I Q U E V I L L E’s third record, Quelle, I got tetchy about all the spaces between the letters, and various other pretensions. However, the Belgian project’s mesmerizing brand of instrumental post-metal won me over. Its bleak, misery-drenched tones conveyed everything that slightly uncomfortable-to-look-at album artwork suggested it might, ranging from a sludgy Bossk to Godspeed You! Black Emperor in tone. At almost an hour in length, and with a few strange choices in its composition, Quelle did struggle a little under its own weight but it still held my attention. Although the spaces now seem to come and go, it would appear BRIQUEVILLE have found a new way to irk me with their fourth record, IIII.” B r i c k by BRIQUE.
Pelican
Eave – Fervor Review
“The almost three years that have passed since Eave’s last album has not seen a dramatic change in style but rather several refinements, including in terms of the songwriting and the production. At its core, Fervor remains an atmospheric black metal record but the melodic elements of Eave’s sound have been upped significantly, without sacrificing the harshness.” Bird fight!
Lesotho – Through the Dying Light Review
“Look, I get it. You’re a new post-metal band trying to make it, but is it, maybe, a bit of a stretch to tout that your debut EP was recorded at the same studio that, 21 years ago, hosted the sessions for ISIS’ iconic Oceanic and has, at some point in the intervening two decades, changed its name? Yes, but I’d do it too. So, Boston-based Lesotho recorded its 2021 EP, Summer Wars, at The Bridge Sound & Stage, formerly known as Fort Apache Studios, where post-metal legends ISIS … Never mind.” Studio stalkers.
Ready for Death – Ready for Death Review
“I’m currently compiling Angry Metal Guy’s annual EP, demo, split and collaboration article, and it’s always a compelling reminder that less is more when it comes to song and album lengths. Only very particular artists can write long-form material which is truly engaging front to back, whereas everyone else can convey their best ideas in much shorter form. Enter Chicago’s Ready for Death and their eponymous debut album. It’s marketed as a full release but that’s a full release in grind terms; 10 tracks across just 22 minutes is all you’ll hear here.” Nasty, brutish, and short.
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.
Torii – Torii Review
Self-releasing an album can be a viable path to success in 2021, but if you’re still at it after seven tries, most bands would find it tough to keep the flame burning. This isn’t an issue for Torii mastermind Bill Masino, whose apparent need to create has seen him persist with the project through years, lineup changes and numerous shifts in approach. Their latest, self-titled platter finds the act returning to its origins as a solo outfit, intent on bringing Masino’s blend of post-metal, doom, and death metal to fresh audiences.” Torii is the word.
Five the Hierophant – Through Aureate Void Review
“The last time I encountered a hierophant, I 4.5ed it and slotted into the highly respectable – to me, at least – second spot on my 2020 List. While I dared not hope that London’s Five the Hierophant could reach such heights, a small part of me hoped that this band, which has been plying its trade since 2014 and bills itself as a psychedelic fusion of black metal, jazz, post metal and ambient drone, might just share some DNA with my beloved Hierophant Violent.” Holding out for a Hierophant.
Sólstafir – Endless Twilight of Co-Dependent Love Review
“Icelandic post-metal titans Sólstafir need little introduction but we at AMG Towers are fans of formulaic, masturbatory prose, so I’ll provide one anyway. Sólstafir is Icelandic for ‘radiating sun beams,’ something I have always thought to be wildly inaccurate as a name for this entity, which at no point embodies sunshine. In their early days, Sólstafir played raw, aggressive black metal, interspersed with hints of Viking metal and occasional atmospheric passages (see the debut, Í blóði og anda). Since then, with each release, Sólstafir have evolved, peaking, many would argue, on their fifth full-length, 2014’s Ótta.” Twilight of the Ice Lords?
GOD – IV – Revelation Review
“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.
DDENT – Couvre-sang Review
“DDENT is a French post-metal group from Paris, formed in 2013 and having released two full-lengths and an EP. Sporting a Pelican or Omega Massif vocal-less style, complete with post-rock dynamics, pummeling sludgy riffs, and a stunning sense of beauty within its uncompromising sound.” Post posts.