“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.
Sep19
aswekeepsearching – Rooh Review
“You ardent readers may not agree, but it can be tough on one’s aural organs to blast metal for hours upon hours each and every day. That’s because in our tiny cubicles we don’t often get to crank the albums we love; we have to play the ones we’re reviewing. And after blasting my assignments from Cult of Luna and Monolord a combined twenty-seven times this month, my weeping ears needed a break. Something peaceful, serene, and calming. And since I wasn’t (un)lucky enough to be tabbed for In Cauda Venenum, I settled on what I hoped would be a sweet little morsel of post-rock: Rooh, the third album from Indian post-rock outfit aswekeepsearching.” Vacation for the ears.
Vitriol – To Bathe from the Throat of Cowardice Review
“2018’s EP Pain WIll Define Their Death showcased an act hellbent on utter annihilation. The band’s merciless modus revels in a perpetual motion so vicious it actively raised my heartbeat. Those three tracks have blasted wide the cut and made it on to debut To Bathe from the Throat of Cowardice. But context is key. What resounds as a roar in the confines of an EP may whimper in the expanse of an album.” Throatbather.
Sempiternal Dusk – Cenotaph of Defectuous Creation Review
“Two weeks ago, I drooled words all over Nightfell’s latest release and hinted in a footnote that drummer Tim Call might soon be making another appearance. Well, I’m not a liar (how do you know that I’m not lying when I say that I’m not a liar, hmm?) so today we’ll be dealing with another of Call’s Portland based projects, Sempiternal Dusk.” Lies, death and videotape.
Bhleg – Äril Review
“Leaves crunch as feet hit the concrete. The air contains a faintly sweet aroma as it passes through the trees. All the things that can be pumpkin-spiced are, indeed, pumpkin-spiced. In the United States, it’s officially autumn through most of its impressive landscape.[1. Where I live (Northeast Florida), all that’s changed is that I’ve gone from wearing sleeveless t-shirts to t-shirts with sleeves.] And what better way to bring in the season than with some atmospheric black metal with folk tinges?” Folk on the pumpkin.
Detraktor – Grinder Review
“Brewing a good cup of nostalgia is a delicate art. Being merely reminded of something—akin to South Park’s “Memberberries”—is fleeting and while the first sip is fine, the rest of the cup proves to be bland or even distasteful. The quality mixed with the aesthetic is what makes nostalgic stuff satisfying. It’s not enough to make a game that looks like Contra if it doesn’t play like Contra or perhaps even better.” Speed re-kills.
Vorna – Sateet palata saavat Review
“With the annual pilgrimage to dead leaves and perpetual darkness underway, an appropriate soundtrack is imperative to survival; I need something that will simultaneously sonically augment the surrounding scenery as well as shield me from its scheduled sadness, something which will bring this death to life and save me from it. Such a savior has arrived in the form of Vorna’s Sateet palata saavat, and though I am loathe to share such splendor with the likes ov you, the urge to babble about said greatness has temporarily overtaken my selfish recalcitrance: you’re welcome, yo.” The autumn wind smells like Muppet.
Cemetery Lights – The Underworld Review
“When I was younger, I didn’t care much about production. Usually, I would look past an album’s sound and simply focus on its riffs and songwriting. That’s changed in my time writing here, as I’ve listened to a lot more music and started to care more about how an album sounds. Even still, it’s rare to find an album whose production outright ruins it. Most of the time, awful production goes hand in hand with awful music.” Ruins to their memory.
Sleeping Ancient – There Is No Truth but Death Review
“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?
Kadavar – For the Dead Travel Fast Review
“When Ghost popped out of the ground/Vatican and started spinning their poppy, Satanic throwback rock for the masses, they inadvertently birthed a whole new wave of acts seeking to merge the same 70s rock influences with occult imagery and demonic subject matter. One of the earliest adapters of this “new” style was Germany’s Kadavar, who fused psychedelic rock with horror and occult themes in ways that were as good and sometimes better than anything Ghost had done before.” Now THIS is dead racing!