“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.
“In the last decade, a cadre of death metal bands have stretched the limits of evil sound, using their technical skills to explore uncommon harmonic territories and bizarre anti-melody. First Fragment are not one of them. First Fragment are giant show-offs who stretch the limits of shred and use their technical skills to combine neoclassical melody with flamenco and swing, and I love them for it.” 19 pieces of flair.
“Quebecois trio Shezmu, formed in 2016, already sports a startup of two EPs and a demo compilation, ultimately culminating in their first full-length, À Travers Les Lambeaux. I hesitate to label the project, because if there existed a Venn diagram of black, death, and doom, it would be smack dab in the middle.” Extremity buffet.
“Death metal enjoys an incredibly unique lexicon and reviewing it is certainly no exception. It’s infinitely tempting to utilize the obvious descriptors to transcribe the genre’s density. One common metaphor that often fits the violent aesthetic is slaughter. The opportunities to wield synonyms for slicing and dicing, no to mention the anatomical possibilities, are rife. The French/Québecois compound Disowning know a little something about said extremity as evidenced on debut album Human Cattle.” Welcome to the abattoir.
