“While I’ve enjoyed some Pelican, Isis, and Light Bearer in my day, often the genre’s huge soundscapes and slow-burning buildups are simply too demanding for me to enjoy on a regular basis. On 2014’s debut Omonoia, Greek quintet Allochiria seemed to fit largely in this same mold. Drawing comparisons to the sludgy expanse of Year of No Light, a cursory listen revealed a layered, cerebral album whose dystopian atmosphere was delivered via a measured, methodical pace. Throes, however, is a much different beast — and one I think I’ll be spinning far more often.” Post beast is the new game in town.
Pelican
Arcade Messiah – III [Things You Might Have Missed 2016]
“As I sit here on a snow-covered porch, watching the snow dissipate below the rising sun, it dawns on me just how much I dislike the term “post.” I hate Post-It notes, post holes, fence posts, and (the worst offender of them all) post-hole diggers. I hate the terms “post” (position), “flagposts” (they’re fucking “flagpoles”), and “man-posts” (penises). But, for how much I hate all these terms, I hate post-black, post-rock, post-hardcore, and post-metal the most.” Post no bills (or man-posts).
MOASE – Vertigo Review
“Post-metal thrives or dies based on its ability to evoke emotion, imagery and thought. This is doubly true for instrumental acts, where words have been abandoned in favor of ambiance and atmosphere. Enter Memoirs of a Secret Empire (MOASE).” Yes, hmm, hmm, now for the next question: Does emotional music have quite an effect on you?
Summit – The Winds That Forestall Thy Return Review
“Solo projects are a mixed bag for me. On one hand, you’ll occasionally get a musician’s pure, unencumbered vision, free of competing egos, stylistic conflict, or bullshit social media drama that inevitably leads to a nasty breakup and months of blog posts detailing the extended legal battle over rights to the band name. More often, however, you get good ideas and musicianship hampered by a lack of self-awareness or weakened by the absence of an additional creative force. To paraphrase Stephen King, writers are often the worst judge of their own work.” And that’s where we come in.
Mortichnia – Heir to Scoria and Ash Review
“With a name as depressing and hopeless as Mortichnia, it shouldn’t be surprising that this five-piece Irish outfit creates dark, brooding, blackened doom meant to squash all happiness from your life.” Sadness is the new Xanax.
Zhrine – Unortheta Review
“Hailing from the Kópavogur area of Iceland’s capital Reykjavik, Zhrine rose from the deathly remains of Gone Postal. Somewhere between taking top spot in the 2012 Wacken Metal Battle and and today, the voices behind Gone Postal noticed their sound growing darker, becoming more atmospheric and permeated with despair.” Iceland keeps the fires burning still.
Abigail Williams – The Accuser Review
“Few bands have ever achieved the feat of satisfying their loyal fan-base one day and pissing them off the next. And all within a single decade. Having never been a fan of the early days of Abigail Williams, I avoided the apparent “hardship” many fans went through come the release of 2012’s Becoming.” We hardly even knew ya, Ms. Williams.
Tempel – The Moon Lit Our Path Review
“If you’re like me (and you should be, because come on) instrumental metal has never gripped you deeply. While Pelican or Scale the Summit are fine now and then, typically the music just induces a pleasantly reflective mood, with occasional thoughts of “hey, that’s pretty” or “well, that’s a neat riff.”” Metallic mood music has a place, doesn’t it?
Område – Edari Review
“There’s just something about Seldon Hunt’s artwork that draws me deep into the full concept and mood of an album. Hunt is somehow able to match auditory art with an observable one. And Område’s Edari is no different. Hunt’s work conveys a sense of beauty, confusion, and uneasiness that perfectly encapsulates a band that compares themselves to influential acts such as Manes and Ulver.” What’s with all the avant-garde metal this year? Must be due to global climate change.
Pelican – The Cliff Review
“Pelican is no stranger to EP releases and I’m no stranger to Pelican EP releases (I own every one of them). Their choice to do an EP is based solely on (as far as I can tell), mood. Some of their EPs stand alone as original releases (Pelican and Ataraxia/Taraxia), while others carry a song that will appear on an upcoming full-length. However, The Cliff goes in a different direction by kidnapping a song off the preceding full-length and fucking with it three times over with vocal and/or industrial remixing before closing out with the only original track.” An EP of remixes and remashes. Joy.