“Among the Rocks and Roots explore semi-free form compositions, relying as heavily on hypnotic repetition as they do shifts in style and tempo. The concluding part of a trilogy that has explored the battle to conquer addiction, Pariah fairly seethes with an unstable anger.” Rage against the hunger.
“I am worried. I find myself in the midst of an unfamiliar situation that I am not sure I am equipped to handle. I am not talking about the global pandemic—I know I am not equipped to handle that. No, the situation I am talking about is that I am staring down the barrel of awarding another 4.0. You need to understand that, when March began, I had awarded a total of three 4.0s across my whole time at AMG. Now, I am very seriously considering awarding a third this fucking month!” The struggle is real.
“Our sharky hero runs, surgically-repaired legs pumping, swag clutched to his chest. He doesn’t look back. He doesn’t need to. He knows what’s chasing him: a velveteen puppet and a number that is two times six. Eventually, lungs heaving, he sinks down behind a dumpster to study his haul… This, dear reader, is a more a less accurate depiction of what it takes to successfully smuggle something tagged as ‘black folk metal’ out of the promo sump and how I come to be reviewing Minnesotan duo Canis Dirus’ third full-length, Independence to the Beast.” Free beasts and folk thieves.
Master of Muppets and TheKenWord with their very own Top Ten(ish) of 2019 lists? There goes the neighborhood!
“Have you ever listened to a band and just known that they have an incredible acoustic album in them? Since the first time I heard Swallow the Sun, I’d been waiting for their acoustic release. Winterfylleth’s The Hallowing of Heirdom was a surprise to me – and also one of my favorite albums of its year and style. When you listen to Miasma, the debut album by Polish post-atmoblack group Rosk, you can just hear the acoustic album waiting to break free. The quiet, intimate passages between songs on Miasma were deeply affecting and begging to be explored further. Only two years later, here it is: Rosk returns with remnants, a fully acoustic, stripped-down, intimate dark folk album with clear atmoblack and doom metal inspiration.” Heartstrings.
“There are some truths which we all hold to be self-evident no matter who we are. Examples of such universal certainties include that you will breathe oxygen under a blue sky, fire will be hot eleven times out of ten, and that, one day, you will die. Most do their damnedest to disarm that last trvth bomb, but it’s the only thing Germany’s Arkuum are thinking about on their sophomore effort, Die Letzte Agonie. With a fittingly foreboding production and a staunch refusal to smile, one man fatalist army Arkas cradles that aforementioned bombshell like a kvlt and cvddly baby, singing life itself to sleep with a 50-minute blackened lullaby.”Hvsh little baby.
