“The heartiest slabs of sludge evoke a menagerie of crooked emotions. The cranking monotony of a repetitive riff, drenched in reverb and ambient noise, appeals to me at a most basic level. There’s something primal in the galloping crusty thump of a Conan track, something breathtakingly heart-wrenching in the western-tones of an Inter Arma track, something honest, stark and beautiful in the unique patterns of The Melvins. Each band balances creative flair with straight-forward aggression, though. When a voluptuous and extravagant song becomes too self-indulgent a switch to crushing straight-as-an-arrow slabcraft can drag it back into the dirty pits we crave.” Into the pits!
Post-Metal
Raum Kingdom – Everything & Nothing Review
“When post-metal is done right it’s so mothersludgin’ right. It gets a bad rap from some for its lack of definable riffs, pretentiousness, and bloated structures, but it’s one of those styles that can grip and shake your core like no other. It’s a patient, reflective, solitary sub-genre that does require a certain state of mind for the juice of an album to be extracted. Sometimes you’ll be met with a thick wall of repetitiveness that cannot be penetrated, other times with a sloppy mush of watery crescendos and vocals. Sometimes, though, you’ll encounter a beast of an album that throbs with the force of a membranous world-eater, an oozing, atmosphere-drenched annihilator that secretes a vitriolic self-loathing power into your mind as you listen.” Celtic rage.
Black Book Lodge – Steeple and Spire Review
“Swansong albums are a difficult subject. Most artists don’t know they are recording their final piece when they’re in the studio, dissolving between albums because of creative differences or members quitting or passing away. But occasionally, a band will decide before release that the next album will be their last. Such seems to be the case for Danish progressive outfit Black Book Lodge.” Dying swans, tragic losses.
Hegemone – We Disappear Review
“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.
Ewig.Endlich. – Auf Grund Review
“I love last year’s Ghost Bath release. I say this not to stir up yet another round of fruitless discussion debating the validity of the band, but rather to place this review in context. As much of a fan as I am of traditional black metal, I’m by no means a purist, and I see value in the genre’s post-rock inspired incarnation as a means of borrowing and remixing traditional blackened tropes in an unexpectedly serene context. Ewig.Endlich. displays an acute understanding of how this formula works; their debut LP, Auf Grund, runs the gamut from melancholic post-rock to traditional black metal and does so with a respectable level of competence.” Competence is its own reward.
The Ever Living – Herephemine Review
“I’m always on the lookout for something new, and in that regard, The Ever Living seemed pretty promising. Formed in 2016, this British quintet label themselves with the unusual tag of ‘cinematic metal,’ and their vocalist claims they aren’t even really a metal band at all. Nonetheless, the group’s self-titled EP earned positive acclaim from some major heavy music publications back in 2016, and two years later these not-ThunderCat-villains have returned with debut full-length Herephemine. Having no idea what ‘herephemine’ means and no prior experience with Living, is ‘cinematic metal’ worth the trip to the theater or are you better off waiting till this comes out on Netflix?” The Ever Living and chill?
Scientist – Barbelith Review
“Way back in 2016, Kronos reviewed Chicago-area band Scientist’s second album, the frustratingly-titled 10100II00101. Believe it or not, we had differing opinions on it. While our resident Lord of Brvtality wrote that the band featured “an effects-swamped bouquet of sludgy riffing, hoarse roars, and buzzing electronics,” I equated the album to an hour of average music with people shouting at me. Fast-forward to present-day, and here I am taking a shot at reviewing their third album, Barbelith, and for a number of reasons I find this effort much more palatable than their last.” SCIENCE!
Crone – Godspeed Review
“As I’ve mentioned around these parts before, I am first and foremost an emotional listener. Technical prowess means little to me if it doesn’t serve to elevate a certain subset of sensations. This explains a lot about my listening habits. Progressive metal, which frequently employs storytelling techniques to build towards crescendos of sentiment, is commonly my favorite subgenre.” Into the prog bog.
Soldat Hans – Es Taut Review
“There isn’t much more satisfying in life than the accidental stumble into something really cool. A relationship. A blog in which you would still be participating 7 years later. A record for which you had no expectations as you simply didn’t know it existed. It’s the last of these which is the feature of today’s review. I have much less free time these days so I spend less time sampling new music. A lack of interest in the first 2 or 3 minutes of a song is a death sentence for that record. Switzerland’s Soldat Hans and their sophomore album called Es Taut should have fallen at this first hurdle given its glacial pace. Should.” Es Taut, Cuervo?
Morrow – Fallow Review
“UK emokrust collective Morrow dropped a massive debut on my lap in 2016 in the form of Covenant of Teeth, an engrossing 4-song album that told a tale of a futuristic society where Earth was so ravaged by humankind’s assault of its natural resources that they became tribal again. The marriage of poetic lyrics, visceral vocals, and a sad-yet-ragingly-defiant musical backdrop lingered in my psyche long after my review was published. In fact, truth be told, it’s all I listened to this past Christmas season, not only to keep my mind occupied and my energy maintained, but also because the follow-up, Fallow, was due to drop in the spring of this year. So imagine my surprise when Fallow was released as a “name your price” release on the band’s Bandcamp over Christmas Eve last year, with a physical release soon.” Grymm surprises.