“I’d hazard a guess that few cultures are represented so completely across metal’s myriad sub-genres as Norse mythology. Even bands flung far from Scandinavia write on the subject, including in this instance the less distant Poland. While Midgards and world serpents more typically feature in black metal and its derivatives, Pandrador have returned in 2023 with a release steeped in Norse mythology but channeled through death metal.” Death and bravery (and glory).
“Yakuza over the course of their 20-plus year career explore through the duality of reverent and incendiary identities how sound too can transform through iteration. Having not yet graced the halls of AMG, and generally living on the outside of the metal limelight, Yakuza‘s hazily hypnotic, startlingly shredded, and warped woodwind take on metal will catch you off guard. Sutra will help you find the light.” C’mon Sutra.
“Twenty-twenty’s follow-up, Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic | Cenozoic, dragged us through the Triassic and Jurassic periods, bringing us to our current epoch of existence—the Holocene. Ending that album with ‘Holocene,’ the closer stood out among the rest. Its lavish textures and feel-good beauty separated it from the violent cacophony of the back-to-back ‘Triassic’ and ‘Jurassic.’ An approach that the band takes for almost the entirety of Holocene. Switching gears ever-so-slightly to a softer approach, this new epoch in The Ocean’s journey embodies birth, growth, and life. But does Holocene capture the true spirit of this final leg? Is it worthy enough to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Phanerozoic I and Phanerozoic II? As with all great things, only time will tell.” World building.
“When I reviewed Chrome Waves’ last effort, 2021’s The Rain Will Cleanse, I described its languid, whimsical tones as the epitome of great work music. While not intended as a slight to the band, as everyone needs great work music, it was hardly a ringing endorsement for the Midwest post-black metal quartet. I finished that review, however, by saying that the band had done enough (on tracks like “Aspiring Death”) to make me think they had a great record in them. Mark Z., who had also awarded a 3.0 to the band’s previous record, A Grief Observed, materialized unbidden in the comments to agree with my assessment.” High tides of potentiality.
“Voids are not an uncommon thing to discuss in metal. Somehow putting to music the vastness, the unfathomability, the colossus of nothingness is a feat in and of itself, and many have attempted to bring it to life. It’s the ultimate futility, the great vanity. While many have tried, from the mysterious Prava Kollektiv’s Voidsphere, the Swiss enigma Death. Void. Terror., and the dense death metal of Desolate Shrine or Abyssal, they are mere glimpses of the monument, the perspective of madness. When the cold nothingness attaches to the skull and does not shake, will Predatory Void provide the siren’s song sprinting to the early grave?” When voids attacks.
“Egolution was a tough nut to crack. I picked up the debut from Sweden’s Black Oak based on the promo’s bold namedrops of Cult of Luna, ISIS, and Palms. When I started listening, I expected standard sludgy post-metal. I was wrong. Fifty-three minutes later, my head spinning with variants of “what the hell did I just listen to,” I panicked. Black Oak’s restless blend of post-rock and hardcore with electronic influences, prog, classical flourishes, and more left me confused.” Let go my Ego.
“Gentleness is a trait rarely exhibited in extreme music – perhaps for obvious reasons. The petals of flame that flutter to the earth are too often wrenched by relentless gravity, dream worlds meet their end with violent sound, and meditation that offers healing is ripped open like a scab. Therefore, gentleness is a scar for Milanku, a weariness with the wounds suffered and a soundtrack of healing – of a busted bone never set quite right.” Beauty in the darkest places.
“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.
“In all my years of being a music consumer, I’ll freely admit that little surprises me anymore. Sure, every now and then, something will come along and provide an unsettling moment, like a ragtime ditty or a handclap breakdown, but overall, well… we know what to expect from just about everything these days. Even within the confines of metal, things have gotten a bit comfy and cozy. So when Belgian quartet Lethvm drops a mixture of post-hardcore, post-metal, doom, and black metal on my furry lap in the form of their third album, Winterreise, I cracked my murder mittens, donned my noise-canceling cans, and kept my mind as open as felinely possible.” Blacknip.
Our promo sump feels piled these days, a good thing! And, it may be my attention to these distinctions that has grown over the year that I’ve now been with AMG, or it might just be the world we live in, but the independent release sub-pool seems to be growing drop by drop every day too. This fledgling, self-guided troupe, who funneled from afar to Australia, hasn’t even yet landed on the Encyclopedia Metallum (though they qualify), but they’ve graciously given us 2.4 gigabytes of WAV files to review for their debut outing The Spiritual Beast.” Forest packages available.
