drone – Page 18 – Wonderbox Metal

Twilight Fauna – Hymns of a Forgotten Homeland (Review)

Hymns of a Forgotten Homeland is the fourth album from this one-man Black Metal project from the US.

This is a strange and, I would guess, deeply personal release. It’s an album that’s all about creating mood and atmosphere and will undoubtedly not appeal to the vast majority of music fans out there, probably not even most Black Metal adherents.

Why? Because this may be rooted in Black metal but it’s equal parts acoustic/Drone/Ambient in scope. The tracks seep together with dark ambience and seem to corrode at the edges when you listen to them.

The brain behind the project creates a harrowing soundscape of brittle Folk and Blackened Depressive noise. It’s an ode to nature filtered through the Blackened tar-stained lens of Black Metal.

Percussion is used sparingly on these songs, with the main propulsion being the guitar work and low key sounds of cymbals and other noises.

Vocals are low in the mix and are entwined with the music; a sort of agonised braying that tugs at the hidden places in the mind.

The journey through these tracks is fraught with distorted longing and a deep sense of loneliness. It’s not an expedition that most people will want to take, and those that do would do well to remember not to leave home unequipped and unprepared.

So, if you’re made of stern stuff and prepared to open your heart to what Twilight Fauna have to offer, then Hymns to a Forgotten Homeland will accompany you on a journey into the raw, lonely beauty of nature.

0 – Silence (Review)

This is the second release from 0, a Greek one-man Blackened Experimental Doom/Drone project.

0’s first album Simplifying a Demon was a surprisingly enjoyable slab of minimalistic Drone Doom in the vein of Khanate only with more Black Metal.

Once more the same foreboding atmosphere hits you. The cloying stench of something dark, dank, rotten and forgotten that slowly, agonisingly rises from the depths of some long lost pit of bleakness. But this time, something’s different.

This time around 0’s music is more considered and thoughtful. If Simplifying a Demon was the birthing throes of something horrific, then Silence is the sound of it growing and discovering itself, learning more about what it’s capable of.

Silence’s landscape is minimal and desolate, but for all this it is also a textured and alluring one. The songs wrap you in their deadly embrace and slowly take you into their world, warmly embraced by the darkness.

The Black Metal influence is still there on this release but it’s more subtle and less overt than previously. Silence has more of a droning Doom feeling, like some of the work by bands like Earth, Blackwolfgoat and Om, albeit a Blackened version of these.

The vocals have developed also. Black Metal shrieks are still in attendance but these are now very much a rarity. For the main vocals we are now treated to some very well performed and varied cleans that wouldn’t be out of place on more traditional Stoner Doom releases. Powerful and ominous.

Overall Silence is a positive progression for 0. The development shown on this album is really something and the songwriting has come on in leaps and bounds. I’m happy that 0 is not resting on its laurels and is continuing to push the boundaries of what a bass and a voice are capable of.

So get lost in the misery and enveloped in the Silence of 0.

N/ill – Black Marble Carapace (Review)

This is the latest EP from Germany’s N/ill. N/ill is a one-person project playing Ambient/Industrial/Drone/Electronica/Rock.

This is a collection of dark soundscapes that use electronics and sounds to create atmospheric pieces that are reminiscent of Shoegaze Post-Rock only from an Industrial/Electronica standpoint.

The songs are slow builders and rise and fall like the ebb and flow of the tide. Rather than sounding organic though these tracks are largely artificial sounding, but not in any bad way. They come from a place of technology and show that this is not any barrier to evoking real feelings in songs.

When vocals appear they are ragged and heartfelt, lending the tunes the feeling of a singer like Mark Lanegan set to a backdrop of Nine Inch Nails-styled proto-Industrial Rock mixed with a synthetic Earth. Or they are female and come across as a stitched together sample that permeates the music like permanent ink.

These compositions are well written and the 33 minutes of music here comes across as a bleak soundtrack to a post-modern film. Each track has its own identity and it covers a diverse range of genres and styles across the 7 songs.

Before listening to this I wasn’t sure what to expect – the cover and the name didn’t give much away, so I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the contents.

This release has the potential to transcend the usual genre limitations and make a mark for itself. With the right exposure/backing it could do well.

Black Marble Carapace is the product of a very talented individual. If you’re looking for something a little different then check this out and lend him your support.

Blackwolfgoat – Drone Maintenance (Review)

This is the third album from Blackwolfgoat who hail from the US.

This is Progressive Doom/Drone. I have enjoyed the previous Blackwolfgoat release Dronolith, and Drone Maintenance continues the core sound only with more variety than previously. Everything is still focused around the electric guitar but now there are added sounds and instruments, including acoustics, percussion and even the odd vocal.

Drone Maintenance is an enjoyably diverse release that comes off almost like one of the more commercial Electronica/Techno releases in the feel of the tracks, how they are made up, what they consist of and the diversity of delivery and expression – the only caveat to this of course is instead of this being delivered in an Electronica/Techno style it’s delivered in a Doom/Drone style. This impression is further increased by the various interludes and samples, etc. that are included on the album. The point is that this is an accomplished release that covers many bases and moods in the 37 minutes playing time.

The semi-concept of the album, (summed up essentially by the title and the lovely artwork), is also a pleasing one.

The musical journey that Drone Maintenance takes the listener on is one of subtle highlights and carefully crafted nuance. Sadly, this album is never going to have a huge audience and will probably be dismissed by the average music fan. This is a huge shame as it’s relatively easy listening and is orders of magnitude better than most of the nonsense that passes as popular music these days.

Blackwolfgoat has a massive amount of potential, most of which will go unrealised in the wider musical scene. Make sure that you don’t miss out though; get listening to this now.

The Haunting Green – The Haunting Green (Review)

The Haunting Green are from Italy and play Doom.

Featuring guitar, drums and electronics, The Haunting Green have an interesting sound that combines Doom, Post-Metal and a touch of Drone to create 28 minutes of dark, emotive music.

The soundscapes the band create are textured and impressively detailed. The added but relatively subtle electronics flesh out their sound in a way that enhances the tracks a great deal.

The vocals sound anguished and tortured which lends them a personality missing from a lot of generic shouters out there.

These are well-written songs that grow and spread the more you listen to them. The merging of Post-Metal and Doom means that we get to enjoy both the introverted subtlety of the one as well as the extroverted heaviness of the other.

I really like this release. It’s a very good example of music taking liberties and experimenting with the basic sound of a subgenre, resulting in something a little different from the average. The quality levels on this are through the roof and it’s a convincing, compelling and complete experience.

Give The Haunting Green some of your time. You won’t be disappointed.

The Von Deer Skulls – It’s Time To Paralyze (Review)

The Von Deer Skulls have their origins in many different countries and have a suitably unusual sound to boot.

I suppose the best way to describe this band is Experimental Rock with elements of Drone, Ambient and Electronica/Industrial.

The tracks here are largely laid back, relaxed affairs. Low-key riffs and sounds move the compositions forward whilst soft vocals and gentle noises punctuate the flow.

This is relatively easy listening and the overall mood is an atmospheric one. Although I wouldn’t describe them as having a dark sound per se, it’s certainly not a bright and hopeful one either. They seem to be aiming for a slightly creepy, unnerving sound and I think they’re headed in the right direction.

The guitars are largely lo-fi but the distortion is noticeable here and there. They even approach a Rocky beat in places.

This is a good release from a band who are still finding their sound and these songs give them a good base to work from. If you enjoy this kind of Experimental Post-Rock then The Von Deer Skulls should be right up your street.

Give this band some of your time and see what you think.

Ommadon – V (Review)

Ommadon are from the UK and play Doom.

I love Doom. I especially love the kind of crazy-heavy doom with thunderously slow drumming that makes up these two colossal tracks. There’s over 1 hour and 25 minutes of music on this release and all of it is pure agony of the most exquisite variety.

The band play lumbering, slow Doom. It’s wave after wave of noisy guitar assault and deafening barrage. The relentless crashing of the instruments is a thing of down-tempo beauty.

The sustained nature of the riffs and the utter disregard for anything other than massive sonic excess is a form of purity in itself. This is not music for the casual listener; this is for hardcore Doom fans alone and even then this would challenge even the hardened of these. Listening to these two tracks will be a feat of endurance for some and torture for others. A rare subset, however, will find blissful relaxation in the aural assault that Ommadon bring. This is music to hypnotize the Doom devotee to. It’s an experience to get lost in and forget all other forms of music to. This is aural enjoyment of slow extremity at its most clear.

There are no vocals. Guitar and drums is what we get and there is nothing to disturb the trance-like state this music can bring you to if you let it.

I say it again; I love Doom, in all its incarnations and guises. V is like the very distilled essence of Doom, of slowness and crushing heaviness. It’s a love affair that most won’t understand, but who cares? This kind of music is never going to have a mass appeal. It’s never even going to have just a small appeal; less than small in fact. This is for the people who have a real connection with heavy, extreme music and everything that comes along with it.

This is music that’s big, grand, large, in every sense. It’s huge, monolithic, monstrous, gargantuan…it’s an utter beast of devastating intent and purity of purpose. Ommadon have crafted a veritable masterpiece of Doom art.

Nights Amore – Subscribers of Death (Review)

This is the début album from Nights Amore from Sweden, playing Dark Ambient.

The album deals in weighty subject matter and negative emotions. These are realised through pianos and dark Electronica.

I’m not normally a massive fan of these kind of releases as they are not usually done that well and I can tire of them easily. The good thing about Nights Amore, however, is that they don’t really go in for the Drone aspect of this kind of music as much as some. Here, the songs develop and breathe rather than just repeat and turn stale.

That’s not to say, of course, that this is wildly dynamic and full of energy; by its very nature this style of music is slow, mournful, quiet and introverted.

It’s not pure misery though, as there are elements of their sound that sound almost hopeful in nature. It’s not all of the time, but it’s an aspect of their sound that prevents the album from becoming maudlin.

Musically this is good stuff, although there are too many samples for my liking; for the most part I think the music would be better off without them, but that’s just me.

This is late-night bedtime music; the kind of thing to throw on when you want to relax and soak up the melancholy.

If you’re in the right mood and have had your fill of Extreme Metal for the day then check out Subscribers of Death.

Wolves in the Throne Room – Celestite (Review)

Wolves in the Throne Room are from the US and play Cascadian Black Metal, at least they do normally.

Celestite is different. Stylistically still rooted in the Black Metal genre, the band have stripped out the drums and vocals and instead created five atmospheric soundscapes to captivate and entrance the listener.

Synth-based exploration and orchestrated Blackened sonics give this the air of an extended film soundtrack. This is cinematic music with grand musical vistas and sweeping arcs of ambitious beauty.

In the wrong hands this could easily sound trite or just plain dull, but Wolves in the Throne Room prove that they can take the atmospheric build-and-release dynamics that they honed so perfectly on their Black Metal work and transfer this intact to the compositions on Celestite.

This is an album crafted with lofty aims and I’m pleased to say that it works. Each track successfully conjures the majesty of celestial imagery and awe-inspiring wonder at the breathtaking scenery that nature can deliver. The album cover is truly appropriate at putting across just what the music feels like.

This may be an experiment for the band compared to their usual work but it’s a roaring success. The ideal accompaniment to watching the night sky.

0 – Simplifying a Demon (Review)

0 is a Greek one-man experimental Black/Doom Metal project. The aim is to see “how far one man with one voice and a four string bass can go”.

So what do we get? There are 7 tracks and just under 35 minutes of music on this release. As is expected it’s ultra-minimalistic stuff, but surprisingly there actually is more going on here than you might be expecting.

An obvious reference point would be the minimalistic bleak Doom landscapes created by Khanate. 0 don’t have anywhere near the same length in songs though, and if anything 0 are even more minimal as Khanate employed a full band of musicians with various other instruments and sounds rearing their ugly heads in their work. It’s a good starting point for what 0 sound like however, and obviously there’s more of a Black Metal feel to the tracks here as well.

The Blackened Drone displayed on Simplifying a Demon is really well done; at first it may be slightly jarring listening to just bass and shrieking, but you very soon get into the zone and slowly the atmosphere overtakes you and you just start sinking into the riffs and the dirge.

The vocals are a revelation in some ways – unexpectedly rhythmic and, almost, catchy. The pronounced accent to the words works strange wonders with the measured incantations and they seem to pulse with an inner malevolence that has an innate feel for timing and pace.

As time goes on I find this more and more endearing and enjoyable. It really is the very definition of a record that grows on you. Of course I’m aware that it will also be somewhat of an acquired taste for most people, but I enjoy this more than I thought I would so maybe you will to?

Give 0 a listen – you may surprise yourself.