Avant Garde – Page 12 – Wonderbox Metal

Orbseven – .ismos. (Review)

Orbseven is a solo project from the US and this is the third album of Experimental Black Metal that the project has unleashed.

This is a combination of electric Black Metal, sleek Post-Black Metal and ambient/avant-garde darkness. It’s an interesting combination and the resulting album is an exploration of state-of-the-art Blackness and atmospheric expression.

Darkened sounds and interesting effects enhance the tracks in a way that’s subtle enough to not steal any thunder from the main driving force of the guitars but has enough impact to be noticeable.

The songs are propelled by Blackened melodies and experimental sound structures, but there’s also enough Post-Black Metal wanderings to allow the room for shades of both light and dark. They’re well written, have great dynamics and are potent affairs.

.ismos. fosters an atmosphere that’s vaguely mechanistic but overtly malevolent and mysterious. Everything about this album from the music itself to the album cover deals in these mysteries and although there are no answers forthcoming the search for them is what’s important.

The vocals are a curious and varied affair. Multiple styles collide as spoken/distorted words, barely audible pseudo-ethereal sounds and subtle cleans all appear at various times during the tracks.

If you think along the lines of Dødheimsgard, Aborym, Red Harvest and Arcturus then you’ll have a good idea of the basic building blocks of the Orbseven sound. There’s even a couple of riffs here and there that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Mastodon album.

Orbseven is a creative and novel approach to what Black Metal should sound like in 2014. Taking the basic Black Metal template and building/distorting it is common enough, but the always interesting thing is where the band ends up once they have done this. In the case of Orbseven we end up with Experimental/Post-Black Metal that rolls smoothly out of the speakers.

A great effort – show your support.

Taurus – No/Thing (Review)

Taurus are from the US and play experimental Drone/Doom with Psychedelia and Blackened influences.

This is genre-bending Doom full of ideas and Psychedelic darkness. The songs sound as if they have leaked from some sonic other-dimension and are strange translations of another musical language that can’t exist in its original form in our world.

Varied and strange vocals pierce the heady shroud of the music and are used as effects or instruments rather than traditional voices. A sound collage of extreme vocalisations set to unhinged music describing who knows what.

Twisting, angular rhythms and unusual soundscapes collide to produce Avant-Garde extremity and hypnotic time lapsed aural events. Taurus try to both lull and shock at the same time, producing an unexpected listening environment where transcendence is waved before you only to be snatched away and replaced with a veiled fist.

Each of these 5 songs is a nihilistic trip into other cultures that may or may not exist in our reality. It is a privilege to experience these slices of unreality and the band know this, revelling in their status as elite tour guides to places alternate.

Listen to Taurus if you have the constitution and self-confidence to explore uncharted climes and return unscathed. Enjoy reality while you have it.

Sunn 0))) & Ulver – Terrestrials (Review)

This is a collaboration between Sunn 0))) and Ulver, both well-respected artists in their own right. This is a worthy collaboration resulting in brilliance.

The first track Let There Be Light starts off slow and minimalistic, with a lone saxophone forlornly reaching out from a fog. It builds up and up until the only real way to describe it is to use words such as epic and cinematic. So there we are – epic and cinematic music.

Second song Western Horn is an ominous journey through dark corridors where the lights have all been smashed by persons unknown, for reasons unknown. It’s an eerie place and even though you suspect that you can sense salvation just on the edge of your hearing the overarching feeling of black despair is weighing down on you. You end up crawling through the maze of abandoned doorways crying to yourself, hoping that someone will save you and fearing that they will not. This song sounds like that.

The third and final track Eternal Return is a lengthy foray into ghostly melodics and features the only vocals on the album. Feeling like a twisted, warped version of Laura Palmer’s Theme by Angelo Badalamenti from the Twin Peaks soundtrack; it evokes similar feelings and drips hypnotic beauty.

An album for lonely nights. An album for sleep’s dark embrace.

Manes – Teeth, Toes And Other Trinkets (Review)

Norwegian band Manes have released this anthology album that collects together alternative versions, unreleased, obscure and live songs.

This is of the Avant-Garde style, replete with dark melodicism and atmosphere. It’s heavy on the electronics and effects, both of which are used skilfully to craft memorable songs and melodies.

Even if these tracks are essentially B-sides, the talent of the band is still apparent. Combined with the soulful, melancholic vocals the tracks portray the same kind of depth and nostalgic feelings as some of the best of 80’s pop/Darkwave music.

Some of the songs are unfinished or works-in-progress, but as a whole the album works surprisingly well and doesn’t sound as disjointed as one might expect from a release of this nature.

A quality band with quality songs; even though they are off-cuts this is an enjoyable collection. This should appeal to more than just completists and also serves to adequately whet the appetite for the next album that this always-evolving band release.

Code – Augur Nox (Review)

Code are from the UK and they specialise in Progressive Avant-Garde Black Metal that’s a triumph of both style and substance.

A good musical starting point of reference would be bands such as Arcturus, Dødheimsgard and Enslaved, as well as aspects of Opeth or Borknagar. This is only a starting point however, as Code definitely have their own sound as well as masses of talent and songwriting skills.

Gleaming, obsidian riffs crash against each other in a sea of percussive paranoia and nightmare orchestration. It’s as if someone has been having fantastical dreams about a dark future and they have sprung fully-shaped into life in the form of this album.

The vocals criss-cross all over the complex music and create the impression of power, synergy and importance. Very impressive and brilliantly realised.

There is so much colour and depth to these songs that most bands sound one-dimensional by comparison. Multi-layered vocals take centre-point while the music is no slouch either, effortlessly conjuring up the impressions and feelings that these songsmiths wish you to experience as you travel with them on this wild journey.

This truly is an exceptional and individual release; the kind of album that keeps Metal alive and kicking; stops it from becoming stale and stagnant.

Favourite Track: Garden Chancery. Vocal harmonies to die for. But really I could pick almost any song – Augur Nox is that strong.

This is for all fans of Metal, or just for those with heavier Progressive proclivities. If there’s only one album you get in the near future then make sure it’s this.

Night Heir – A Maze of Evenings (Review)

Atmospheric metal from the US. There is plenty of variety and individuality on display here, with varying styles from Black Metal to Doom, and everything in between. The band are not afraid to experiment, so you’ll find plenty to hold the interest on this album if you like your metal with a touch of the Avant Garde/experimental.

I also notice what seems to be an In The Woods… influence, so if you imagine a band like In The Woods… with extra Black Metal, Doom, Folk, etc. parts thrown in you’ll be on the right lines.

This will not be to everyone’s tastes of course, but if you are in the right mood then stick this album on and relax, zone out and just get swallowed up in the atmosphere and the journey.

If you’re looking from something a bit different then give them a listen – you won’t regret it!