Post-Black Metal

Falaise – A Place I Don’t Belong To Review

By Grymm on April 3, 2019 in 2019, A Sad Sadness Song, Black Metal, Italian Metal, Post-metal, Reviews, Black Metal, Post-Metal, 30 comments

“Stagnation is an ugly thing. Waters, once teeming with life, become rancid without a flow of movement. It’s also been said that once we stop learning, we should effectively be dead. If we retread familiar soundscapes, eat the same damn foods all the time, and generally never leave that comfortable, insular bubble that we willingly trap ourselves in on a day-to-day basis, are we really growing? Have we gotten so used to where we are, as individuals and as a society, that eventual growth is not only impossible, but also not desirable?” Glazed with shoegaze.

Déhà – Cruel Words Review

By Master of Muppets on March 28, 2019 in 2019, Black Metal, Doom Metal, Naturmacht Productions, Post-metal, Reviews, Black Metal, Doom Metal, Post-Metal, 105 comments

“Déhà’s use of music as a means to channel bipolar depression is something that frequently resonates in my heart holes as well as my ear holes. My point: I knew there was no way I’d be objectively qualified to handle reviewing such a surefire goldmine of top-tier tearful tunes. I concede this point, but riddle me this: since when am I qualified to review anything, yo?” Lord ov Feelz.

Chrome Waves – A Grief Observed Review

By Mark Z. on March 3, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Black Metal, Disorder Recordings, Reviews, Black Metal, 22 comments

“I’m always fascinated by bands that could have been. Not ‘could have been famous,’ but could have been anything. They’re the bands that muddle about in the underground, release an EP or two, and then fade into the ether without ever releasing anything again. For years Chrome Waves were one of those bands. Formed in 2010 by famed American black metal musician Jeff Wilson (formerly of Abigail Williams, Wolvhammer, and Nachtmystium) and drummer Bob Fouts (formerly of The Gates of Slumber and Apostle of Solitude), the group released a self-titled post-black metal EP in 2012 before going totally silent.” Waves from the void.

Joyless Euphoria – Dreaming in Ultraviolet Review

By Kronos on February 25, 2019 in 2019, Austrian Metal, Black Metal, Boersma Records, Reviews, Shoegaze, Black Metal, Shoegaze, 77 comments

“Even before Sunbather set off a scene-cred melee best likened in both intensity and contrivance to the Hedley Lamarr goons/Rock Ridge citizens brawl in Blazing Saddles, post-black metal was no spring chicken. James Kelley of Altar of Plagues suggested that the band’s change of direction on Teethed Glory and Injury was at least in part due to boredom with a stagnant scene and despite the downright bacterial rate at which post-black metal bands spawn, I can think of very few remarkable records in the style that have come out in recent years.” Blue light special.

Asu no Jokei – Awakening [Things You Might Have Missed 2018]

By Dr. Wvrm on December 11, 2018 in 2018, Black Metal, Japanese Metal, Pest Productions, Post-metal, Reviews, Things You Might Have Missed 2018, 79 comments

“I’ve loved Japanese music for fifteen years, but, except for Asian Kung-Fu Generation, that affinity never really made its way south of anime heaven. Rank-and-file melodeath like Blood Stain Child and Gyze pale next to foreign counterparts thanks to lesser execution, if not always lesser vision, and the specter of Japan’s inescapable demon, Ear-Guro. But the best that the Land of the Rising Sun can bring to the table, accomplished legends like Galneryus, Boris, and Sigh, ride in a palanquin borne by the dual tenets of Japanese metal: diligent virtuosity and off-the-walls eclecticism.” Eastern extremes.

Unreqvited – Mosaic I: L’Amour et L’Ardeur Review

By Carcharodon on November 19, 2018 in 2018, Black Metal, Canadian Metal, Northern Silence Productions, Post-metal, Reviews, 83 comments

“Time for a confession, dear reader, one that I hope will not cost me the “exalted” position of Nameless N00b_17: I am not a follower of the trve faith and, try as I might, cannot enjoy black metal. I know, I know, it’s all about the atmospherics, the stripped-back aggression, the chilling extremity… but, to be frank, I find myself unable to appreciate the, um, subtleties of Gorgoroth or Marduk. So it was with a certain sense of trepidation that I approached Mosaic I: L’Amour et L’Ardeur, the third album from Canada’s Unreqvited.” Northern sadness.

Lascar – Wildlife Review

By Dear Hollow on October 28, 2018 in 2018, A Sad Sadness Song, Black Metal, Chilean Metal, Reviews, Black Metal, 27 comments

“My relationship with Deafheaven is “it’s complicated” on Facebook. I don’t even know if that’s a thing anymore, but you see, I enjoyed 2015’s Sunbather for its heart wrenching combination of post-rock and black metal. However, what really grinds my gears is the carnage that the band left in their wake, as suddenly legions upon legions of fanboys, ripoffs and mimics started flooding the scene. Lascar, clearly one of these fanboys, is a one-man post-black act from Santiago, Chile, signed to Italy’s A Sad Sadness Song Records.” Sunbathing and trend aping.

Bosse-de-Nage – Further Still Review

By Dr. Wvrm on September 13, 2018 in 2018, American Metal, Black Metal, Hardcore, Post-metal, Reviews, The Flenser, Post-Hardcore, 41 comments

“When Bosse-de-Nage’s All Fours released in 2015, my familiarity with post-metal started and ended with the clusterfuck that was Deafheaven’s Sunbather. All Fours, needless to say, caught me completely off guard. It was raw and intense, evocative without overacting, and certainly more committed to metal than the internet’s collective bitching led me to expect. Further Still has some big expectations to live up to.” Bosse or Bath.

Hegemone – We Disappear Review

By Kronos on May 15, 2018 in 2018, Black Metal, Debemur Morti, Polish Metal, Post-metal, Reviews, Post-Metal, 57 comments

“While all things black, post-, and continental usually fall to the voracious maw of Muppet, every so often there comes a time for more level-headed reviewers to rate these albums below a 4.0. After all, the kid just recently learned of the existence of Throatruiner Records, so he’ll have to take some time to deal with that boon in private. Your guide today is taking time out of a bustling schedule of mediocre death metal to thrash out the merits and demerits of the sophomore offering from Poland’s Hegemone, entitled We Disappear.” Things the Muppet missed.

Totalselfhatred – Solitude Review

By Treble Yell on May 7, 2018 in 2018, Black Metal, Finnish Metal, Osmose Productions, Post-metal, Reviews, Atmospheric Black Metal, 42 comments

“The Australian summer is defined by a great many things but none more so than the irresistible sanctuary of our sprawling beaches. Umber bodies glisten and preen, hot chips sting the air with vinegar and the roar of the surf is a siren that beckons with a deafening song. Those sun-dappled waves bear a deception, however, because beyond the surface of their undulating splendor belies the dark rips that drag people down into an airless oblivion. I kept thinking about this frightful dichotomy as I listened to Solitude by Finland’s Totalselfhatred, a musical cry for help bifurcated by aching beauty and self-destruction.” Fear and loathing at the beauty parlor.