Fere - Visceral

There is a definite cinematic feel to proceeding which will be 

rewarded by playing as a whole, rather than individual tracks. 

Unusual soundscapes come to life where gentle guitars mix with

 blast beat drums and heavy riffs. 

The atmospherics are helped by 

moments of dreamlike calm but not not fear, slow echoed drums 

morph into aggressive driving beats from which the guitars 

can surge over the top, giving plenty of opportunities for feet stomping. 

In an over-saturated genre, it can be hard to make your mark 

but this band pull it off. Don't be fooled into thinking that this is 

background music ...... play this loud and proud, 

let the whole experience wash over you.

Released by Raging Planer Records on Nov 15th 2012

Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster - The World Inside

 

Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster play post-rock arrangements but with 

the fire and aggression of sludge and post-metal.

                                They mix ambient soundscapes with loops and noise but never

forget to play as loud as they can when they want you to take notice. 

Echoed, picked guitar rings out in desolation, like a corpse

floating down a river before finally falling over a massive 

waterfall that drowns out all other sounds. 

The songs

avoid long drawn out passages, instead the constant ebb and

flow between loud and quiet quickly take the listener along

with mid paced tempos that brings anticipation to the next

part of the composition. 

 

There is a definite cinematic feel to proceedings which will

be rewarded by playing as a whole, rather than individual tracks.

 

Slow echoed drums morph into aggressive,

driving beats from which the guitars can surge over the top, giving

plenty of opportunities for feet stomping. 

 

In an over-saturated genre, it can be hard to make your mark

but these guys pull it off.

The Good Shit - 15th Feb 2021

 This is the music that has been making me jump 

up and down and bang my head.

Psychedelic fuzz rock coming from the heart of the desert. 
Jessica A.M. sings with with a hint of sleaze and danger.

Released on March 12th.

    Post-punk, shuddering and angular - intelligent lyrics that 

the music punctuates with sharp jabs to the ears.

Cult of Luna do what they do and do it well. You either dig this 

or ya don't. Me? I dig this big time.

Old school street punk. 3 chords and a heart of hate drive these
guys to go for the throat and take no prisoners.

An Autumn For Crippled Children - All fell silent, everything went quiet

Having come across the last AAFC release quite late,

I have been waiting for the next one with bated breath to

see if it could match up.

Well ,"All went silent, everything went quiet" does not let you down. 

Instrumental post-rock drive the song structures but 

when the distorted guitars kick in, the mood changes 

with the powerful riffs that deliver a punch that would 

not sound out of place on a sludge album. 

The ambient passages carry a real feeling of mood that 

build up into a post-metal explosion of tension and 

release. The guitar playing is not just mindless fret- 

wanking but carry the songs along with sustained riffs 

and some wonderful note progressions. This is classy 

stuff and the tracks have a definite epic feel to them. 

There are tiny flourishes that make this stand out from the 

crowd - there are some ghostly screamed vocals which are used 

sparingly but with great effect and thekeyboards that could of been 

overworked - instead, it sits behind the riffs and give the songs 

another dimension.

This is the good shit.

Bandcamp

Facethingy

When Icarus Falls - Circles

When Icarus Falls follow up "Aegean" from 2012 with four

powerful tracks that will make mountains crumble into

the sea and the moon move out of orbit. 

For me, post-metal has just about run its course, with only a handful

of bands capable of rising above the cut'n'paste copyists that seem

to litter this genre.

Luckily for us all, When Icarus Fall escape that trap with thoughtful

song writing capabilities that have an epic feel to them and yet still

retain a hardcore edge to focus the tracks with razor-sharp guitar riffs

that slice through the sonic denseness.

Atmospherics that are sparsely used do not overplay their hand,

instead they add, rather than distract from the rage and despair

being played out through the songs. Despite the power and

fury, there is a hypnotic quality due to the running order of the

tracks that brings a cohesive feel that just sounds right.

These guys just get better and better.

Buy from Bandcamp

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Many thanks to Jeremy from Black Wave for sending this to me.

Pyres - Year Of Sleep

Coming from Toronto, Pyres combine hardcore and sludge with 

quality hooks that are devastating with their power and passion.

Intricate song passages give the spiralling guitars room to breathe 

with clean notes before the distorted riffs return with a vengeance. 

These are riffs weighted down with aggression and control — with 

the  excellent production, everything is crystal clear without sacrificing 

any of the intensity. The growling vocals convey loss and hatred with 

equal measures ….. but always, a feeling of menace and doom are 

never far away. Post-metal  structures give an epic majesty to the running 

order of this album which demands to be played in one sitting.

I have had this for a while and keep hearing new, buried layers 

everytime I play the tracks. Repeated listens reward you with a

sonic palette into which you can lose yourself.

Probably one of the best metal albums of the year.

Buy from Bandcamp

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Usnea - S/T

With a sonic template made up of sludge, post-metal and

interspersed with black/doom elements, Usnea have produced

a debut album that I can see on a lot of peoples end of year list.

This fusion mixes up bleak ominous passages with blast beats

of pure ferocity that creates a juggernaut of unstoppable mayhem.

There are moments of atmospheric, almost psychedelic ambience 

which rather than just being there for the "loud/quiet" moments, 

adds a musical depth that engages the listener. The raw vocals

do not overpower the music and are mixed in perfectly with the

instruments, leaving room for the guitars to echo in the background

or to explode with violence.

This album has an epic feel to it, helped by the lengthy running

time of the tracks, giving the music time to evolve within the structure

of the song passages.

Band blurb:

USNEA’s self-titled LP fuses elements of funeral and death doom, sludge metal, black metal, and esoteric drone into an oppressive 30 minute journey of anger and despondency. Throughout, USNEA effortlessly walk a fragile line between the nastiness of sludge doom and the melodic, mournful sound of funeral doom, never allowing their sound to stay in one place too long. The use of dynamics is key on this album with nasty sludge riffs giving way to oppressively sad droning sections and (one) searing black metal interlude. This diversity of sound, texture and dynamics distinguish USNEA from the hordes of doom bands entering the scene today. 

This self-titled LP features beautiful black and metallic silver artwork, a black and white 11x 22 poster and a download card with the LP tracks plus two bonus tracks (55 minutes of music in all). It was recorded at Haywire Studios by Fester (Atriarch, Stoneburner, Knelt Rote, Nux Vomica, Rabbits, etc), mastered by Adam Gonsalves at Telegraph Mastering and released in February, 2013 by 

Orca Wolf Records. 

USNEA formed in July, 2011 in Portland, Oregon and feature a current/former member of Amarok and The Makai. Since forming they have shared the stage with Yob, Bell Witch, Atriarch, Whitehorse, Stoneburner, Black Tusk and many more. 

Members: Zeke Rogers - drums, Joel Williams - bass & vocals, 

Johnny Lovingood - guitar, Justin Cory - guitar & vocals 

Recommended for fans of: Neurosis, Thou, Laudanum, Khanate, Graves at Sea

Thanks to Orca Wolf Records for link.

Buy from Bandcamp

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Buy from Orca Wolf Records

Ocean Of Insects - Heathen Mythology

Band request from New York.

Ocean Of Insects have taken the musical template of post-metal

and overlaid it with stoner vocals and solos.

This might sound jarring but in fact they work it really well.

You have heaviness with eerie atmospheric samples and 

drones but overlaid with distorted, psychedelic guitar outburts

- what's not to like?

All you need to know it that it rocks like a bastard and sometimes

that is all I want. The complex song passages keep the attention

levels nice and high while the tracks run together to make playing

the album as a whole the only option.

If you want something that kicks arse but want to rest your

ears from the cut'n'paste cookie monster vocals that seem

to have taken over the world, give this a listen.

Name your price at Bandcamp

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Cryptodira - Recursions

Band request from Long Island, New York.

Cryptodira play progressive death/post metal which is not

something to set my soul alight with joy.

But.....

There is some amount of experimental song writing which adds

different layers to this genre. Complex passages are played

with enough technical chops to pull of the bewildering guitar lines

with ease and the bass just fucks with your ears.

What do I know? Check it out for yourself.

Name your price at Bandcamp

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Dead Empires - Waiting In Waves

Band request from New York.

If instrumental metal wants to make you gouge out your
ears with a rusty crucifix, rest easy - Dead Empires have
created an album that easily makes a vocalist redundant,
instead, letting massive riffs do the talking instead.

The world is getting very full of Pelican/Russian Circles type
clones - while there is certainly room for these bands, I do
not need to hear yet another slow, drawn out song that goes
from quiet to loud with an epic climax.

These guys do have the post-rock/metal elements but it is
heavy and can easily veer into thrash, stoner or even hardcore.

Nothing it what it seems - unexpected turns bring a song
passage down paths not often heard but the overlying
theme is heaviness and distorted guitars.

Trippy psychedelic intros are soon disturbed by a Motorhead
mentality that have prog-metal elements that do not bore the
arse off you, instead this music is meant to be heard loud and
not pushed into the background.

Give it a listen.  

Buy from Bandcamp

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The Ocean Doesn't Want Me - As The Dust Settles

Band request from South Africa.

The Ocean Doesn't Want Me meld equal measures of post-rock

and post-metal with impressive results.

Proceedings start off with Pelican style, majestic passages, intertwined
with clean vocals that are unhurried and almost dream-like that
crumble into dust as the next tracks explodes with a sonic
avalanche of fury ....... the guttural vocals telling the tale of
seven characters attending a funeral.

Crescendos are unleashed within the songs but the
multi-layered tracks (which are all pretty long) are skilfully
composed for maximun effect rather than just some cut'n'paste
loud/soft formula.

This is an album that should be listened to as a whole in order
to get the whole effect - do this and you will be well rewarded.

Name your price at Bandcamp

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Black Table - Sentinel

Band request from New York/New Jersey.

Black Table play experimental post-metal while the female
vocalist sounds like she gargles with razor blades and wolverine
toe-nails.

Complex song arrangements rub shoulders with technical

playing that is always on the aggressive side.

For a debut release, this is a very accomplished release - 

read their bio, have a listen and make your own mind up.

Black Table is an unsigned experimental metal band with members from Beacon NY, Monroe, NY and Jersey City, NJ. Originally from California, Mers Sumida performs vocals and guitar. Guitarist Ryan Fleming and drummer Michael Kadnar were in New Jersey metal band Randall Flagg and bassist Matt Mellon was a founding member of technical jazz metal act Mabus. We haven’t found an exact genre for ourselves, but others have described us as: “avant garde metal“ and “blackened metal meets post-metal with some progressive post-hardcore for good measure”.

In May 2012 we posted our DIY recorded demo “Heist” on bandcamp, which got us into the 2012 Winter is Coming Festival in New England, Ct. where we played with Vattnett Viskar, Ritual, and SIG:AR:TYR. Our demo song “Heist” and Ep “Sentinel” was reviewed on the music blogs Unhallowed Nation, Don’t Count on it Reviews, NashVile Reviews and a video from our last show is on Metal Injection, and Invisible Guy named “Heist” #5 on their Best Tracks of 2012 list. 

In August 2012 we released a special auditory project “DeepWell” on cd only, that we sold exclusively at our shows. An unsettling 20 minute instrumental ambient track that comes with implements to experience the music in the form of a ritual. Our Northeast Passage Tour was earlier this month with shows from Danbury, Ct to Nashville, TN to NYC. December 17, 2012 was the last day of our tour which was at Precious Metal in Manhattan with Meek is Murder, Tiger Flowers and I Am Heresy, also the last of Precious Metals’ 4 shows after 6 years. 

“Sentinel” was recorded and mixed at Trax East Studio with Eric Rachel, and mastered at West West Side with Alan Douches. A 12” vinyl will be released by Battle Stag Records in January 2013 but the digital download and cd is available  for name your price via bandcamp.

Make - Axis

Many thanks to Scott from MAKE for sending this to me.

After the mind exploding brilliance of "Trephine" - reviewed

Here., which went straight to my end of year list, I have been
waiting for the next development in their career.

Axis is an EP of 3 tracks that give you 30 minutes of drone/
post-metal psychedelic heaviness.

The first 17 minute epic tracks starts off with gentle guitar drones
and drifting post-rock elements, building up the tension so when
everything kicks in with a sludge like ferocity, it nearly tears your
fucking head off.

The other remaining tracks are just as strong, showcasing some
accomplished song writing and delivering the almost impossible
trick of inserting delicate, almost beautiful passages into a tsunami
of sonic heaviness.

As a taster for the next album, this should help cement their reputation
and propel them into much bigger things.

Highly recommended.

Buy from Bandcamp

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Rise Above Dead - Stellar Filth

Band request from Italy.

Rise Above Dead play ambient/sludgey/post-metal and as

you can expect, produce a pounding soundscape that
incorporates heaviness with clean guitars that balance
out the tension before descending back into the abyss.

Recorded, mixed and mastered by Lorenzo Stecconi 

(Ufomammut /Lento) this album has a huge sound to it

that confirms the title choice - Stellar Filth!

With song compositions sounding influenced by Cult Of Luna,

Rise Above Dead also have the power, tension and riffs of Yob,

giving them a template from which they have found their own voice.

Bio: The new record out on 26th of June it’s called “Stellar Filth” , recorded, 

mixed and mastered by Lorenzo Stecconi (Ufomammut /Lento)

“Stellar Filth” consists of 7 new songs where down-tempo sludge meets 

post/metal and ambient parts, for an amount of 48 minutes of music.

It’s release on 12’’ black vinyl on a special edition handnumbered 

produced in coperation with 3 labels (Shove record and Forever true 

(Ita), Moment of collapse (D)

Buy from Bandcamp

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Tesa - IV

Band request from Latvia.

Tesa play post-rock arrangements but with the fire and

aggression of sludge and post-metal.

They mix ambient soundscapes with loops and noise but never

forget to play as loud as they can when they want you to take notice. 

Echoed, picked guitar rings out in desolation, like a corpse

floating down a river before finally falling over a massive 

waterfall that drowns out all other sounds. Virtually instrumental

apart from some very faint screams of desperation, the songs

avoid long drawn out passages, instead the constant ebb and

flow between loud and quiet quickly take the listener along

with mid paced tempos that brings anticipation to the next

part of the composition. 

The three tracks are best played as a whole to get the full effect

of what Tesa are trying to achieve - monolithic slabs of epic,

haunting brutality.

Buy from Impure Muzik

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Taste The Void - Sun's Heat

Band request from France.

Taste The Void sound like the Hulk picking up a guitar and

playing through 200 foot high stacks ...... HULK SMASH PUNY

MUSIC! Fusing hardcore and post-metal is one of my listening

pleasures and this band do not disappoint.

Thick walls of sound set the template to which the band can

then proceed to layer with distortion and anger. There is

brutality but tempered with pieces of delicately picked guitar

which make the crashing, thunderous climaxes even more of

a tsunami that washes over you.

Amaury Sauvé has been brought in and has mixed these 

songs with devastating results, bringing everything to 

the front without losing the power or intensity. 

My description cannot really do this band justice - listen to the

tracks below and let them wash over you - Recommended.

Buy for an absolute pittance from Bandcamp

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Wolves Carry My Name - Amongst Ruins and Ashes

Band request from Germany.

This has all the elements I need to play again and again. 

Sludge heaviness combined with killer riffs? - Yep.

Post-metal atmospherics and a vocalist that sounds like a demon

trying to claw his way out of hell? - Check.

Fuzzed out stoner blues guitar solos with wah-wah? - Oh yeah.

Rather than fill space with empty words, just take my word

that this is heavy, thrilling and distorted. What more do ya need?

Check out the tracks and dig the free download from Bandcamp

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When Icarus Falls - Aegean

Request from Blue Wave Productions.

When Icarus Fall play post-metal with an intelligence sometimes

missing from this genre. Utilising song compositions that would

seem to be more post-rock, this collection of tracks have thundering

aggression melded with moments of delicate beauty.

Heavy but managing to retain an epic feel is a trick not easy

to pull off but here it works wonderfully. Riffs are played

that have a majestic feel and groove to them and are backed 

up with a pounding and hard hitting rhythm section. The vocals

are screamed out but resist the hoary old cookie monster sound,

instead actually containing the emotions of despair and disgust.

Sparing used keyboards bring moments of calm before the

atmospherics give way to a squall of controlled fury.

This is very good.

Buy from Bandcamp

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Asidefromaday - Chasing Shadows

Band request from France (thanks Aurélien)

Asidefromaday play post-metal but add an almost hardcore

spin on the sound to produce a satisfying album that is dense and

powerful. Monolithic riffs drive the songs along and have enough

diversity to stop them blending into each other.

The vocals are growled and pissed off but are still able to convey

emotion. The rhythm section are very much to the fore in the mix

and this really brings the song arrangements crashing out of 

your speakers. The guitars are razor sharp, enabling picked

strings to resonate before slamming back into chords. This is

a good solid release which please a lot of people.

Bio: With a sound firmly rooted in postcore, ASIDEFROMADAY relies just as heavily on ambience, atmosphere, and power as it does complexity, aggression and raw emotion. An original entity, ASIDEFROMADAY deliver music that consumes the listener with massive and hypnotic waves of sound. The band has played more than 250 shows all over Europe with such as band as Gojira/Envy/Baroness/Russian Circles...

All formats available from Bandcamp

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Process Of Guilt - FÆMIN

Band request from Portugal.

Process Of Guilt have produced a dark, hypnotic slab

of heaviness that uses post-metal templates to overlay

with hugely atmospheric and vicious sludge sounding

instrumentation. 

Droning riffs are played at mid pace which create a tension

over which the guttural vocals are spewed out.

The guitars are massive sounding and are driven along by the

superb tribal drumming, creating walls of noise that seem to
overpower with their deluge but you quickly realise that subtle
changes within the riffs are opening up different levels within
the passages. There is excellent interplay with clean, echo driven
guitar and the distorted, ferocious chords that explode out from
these tunes.

This should be the album that propels Process Of Guilt onto
bigger things - if you are tired of waiting for the Neurosis
release date to be finalised, give this a listen.

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