“For post-metal fans, the big release this week is the Cult of Luna EP. But other bands are working hard in this genre as well, one of which is Canada’s Sarin. Their third album You Can’t Go Back drops this week, and while they don’t have the marquee name to go with the release, that doesn’t mean they should be thrust to the side as we all rush headlong into The Raging River.” Breathe deep.
“Any old fool can say, “The sea is beautiful.” Using music to evoke the feelings inspired by that beauty is far, far harder. To some extent, that’s something all instrumental bands have to do: since there are no lyrics to tell you what to feel or think, the music has to inspire emotion and sensation all on its own. Instrumental music is both brave and dangerous In this respect – there is simply nowhere to hide. Berlin’s Neànder aims to achieve this lofty goal by combining the density of doom, the introspective melancholy of post-rock, and the fury of black metal, all with the focus solely on their instruments.” eremit the fog.
![HarborLights – Isolation Ritual [Things You Might Have Missed 2019]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/HarborLights-Isolation-Ritual-01-768x768.jpg)
“Back in August, I stumbled across an absurdity of the other writers loitering near the skull pit, waiting for the cleaners to finish. To pass the time, I suggested my fellows check out the advance tracks for HarborLights’ new record, which I misdescribed as instrumental post-metal.” Skull pit gossip and marina lighting.
“Flow is one of the hardest elements of songwriting to capture. It’s a combination of the fluid transition between song sections as well as a product of the interplay between rhythm and melody that creates a cascading feeling, and it often hides in the smallest details. I’d also argue it is one of the most important emergent properties of post-rock and post-metal, particularly the instrumental type. The illusion of being dragged along a river is among the genre’s most significant qualities. Ghosts of Glaciers is an instrumental post-metal band, set to release their third record of the decade, and their first since signing to Translation Loss. They are up against some stiff competition this year, including Russian Circles and Cult of Luna. Have they mastered the art of the flow, or is the river all dammed up with nowhere to go?” When the levee breaks.
“Very few days are monochromatic. For every yin, there’s a yang. The day you get promoted at work is the day your beloved pet dies. The day the attractive girl (or boy) rejects your advances is the day your brother gets engaged. Even something as simple as white-hot fury is, if examined truthfully, usually mixed with at least a healthy dollop of sadness. It is for this reason that music that captures different tones and moods feels more authentic than that which simply focuses on one emotion.” Can I borrow a feeling?
“This summer saw a couple of top-notch releases from instrumental post-metal vets Russian Circles and Pelican. Both albums were worthy entries in the genre, but we should consider them appetizers, or warm-up acts, because one of the heavy hitters just walked in, and they have something to say.” Drink this Kool-Aid.
“As always, Wovenhand were on a blinder and played a great show but their co-headliners, then completely unknown to me, blew me away. They were Chicago natives Russian Circles. I can’t now remember whether Wovenhand or Russian Circles played first but it doesn’t matter because, whichever way round it was, this was Circles‘ night. This three-piece, playing expansive, heavy instrumental metal, held the Scala in the palms of their hands that night.” From Russia with blood.
“Metal, especially doom metal, is uniquely equipped to convey the existential threat of environmental disaster at the largest scale, the human systems that are causing it, and the inadequacy of those same systems to mitigate it. Enter eco-doom band Sūrya. Greg, one of the guitarists, had this to say in a recent Cvlt Nation interview: ‘Some metal bands like to write songs about fucking wizards and Satan and I’m fully into that as theater and entertainment. But the sheer rapacity of capitalism and the epoch we find ourselves in, the Anthropocene, is the scariest thing imaginable. It’s just so fucking bleak.'” The future bleak.
“In which we fall under the Russian sphere of influence and cry about it.”
“I suppose I’m a fan of the Chicago post-metal scene: I’ve got plenty of Pelican and Russian Circles albums, and was lucky enough to see the latter live last year (which, when you live where I do, is a minor miracle). Pelican haven’t been on the same trajectory as their cousins, though, but it’s not completely their fault. Life gets in the way sometimes, and many things happened to these guys since their last full-length, 2013’s Forever Becoming. The biggest catalyst for the writing of Nighttime Stories was the death of Tusk vocalist Jody Minnoch in 2014.” Darkness as catalyst.
