Tag: Electronica

Locrian – New Catastrophism (Review)

Locrian - New CatastrophismLocrian are a US experimental drone band and this is their seventh album.

It has been seven long years since 2015’s Infinite Dissolution, but Locrian have finally resurfaced to bring us a tale of apocalyptic decline and environmental decay. New Catastrophism is a different record to its predecessor though. It contains 36 minutes of new material divided into four tracks, and showcases Locrian at their sparsest, yet also their most immersive and atmospheric. Continue reading “Locrian – New Catastrophism (Review)”

Déhà – Decadanse (Review)

Déhà - DecadanseDéhà is a Belgian solo artist who plays in a vast multitude of bands, across a variety of styles. In his solo work alone he spans a wide range of genres. This album is his 26th, (I think).

Decadanse was unleashed into the world back in March, so I’m a bit late to this particular party, but what an insanely madcap and enjoyable party it is! Continue reading “Déhà – Decadanse (Review)”

Return to Earth – Oblivion (Review)

Return to Earth - OblivionThis is the third album from US industrial metal band Return to Earth.

Industrial metal is a rather nebulous and potentially misleading genre tag when applied to Return to Earth. Oblivion is a very diverse and idiosyncratic record, with elements of metal, post-hardcore, industrial, progressive rock, and electronica all present in the music. This Continue reading “Return to Earth – Oblivion (Review)”

Playgrounded – The Death of Death (Review)

Playgrounded - The Death of DeathThis is the second album from Greek progressive metal band Playgrounded.

Playgrounded’s progressive metal is skilfully combined with electronic elements to produce music that’s affecting and engaging. As a starting point for what you’ll encounter here, the promo blurb’s statement that this is for fans of bands such as Karnivool, Katatonia, Nine Inch Nails, Deftones, Moderat, The Ocean, Vola, Leprous, and Skyharbor is a pretty decent one. Continue reading “Playgrounded – The Death of Death (Review)”

Plebeian Grandstand – Rien ne Suffit (Review)

Plebian Grandstand - Rien ne SuffitThis is the fourth album from Plebeian Grandstand, a French black metal/hardcore/experimental band.

It’s been a while since the vicious malignant dissonance of 2016’s False Highs, True Lows, so how have Plebeian Grandstand spent the time? Mutating and growing, it seems. Continue reading “Plebeian Grandstand – Rien ne Suffit (Review)”

Label Roundup: Avantgarde Music – Mesarthim, Ikarie, & Olio Tähtien Takana (Reviews)

Wonderbox Metal gets sent a lot of new music, (which is great), but there’s no way that everything can get covered unfortunately, (which is not so great). This new column hopes to redress this balance, if only slightly, by taking a look at a handful of releases that a record label has recently sent out that might have otherwise slipped through the cracks.

A new release from Avantgarde Music is almost always worth exploring. Whenever I see a new record from the label on the horizon, I know to pay attention. With a strong track record for producing engaging and interesting black metal and doom albums, there’s always something good to discover… Continue reading “Label Roundup: Avantgarde Music – Mesarthim, Ikarie, & Olio Tähtien Takana (Reviews)”

Francis Root/Sconsacrata – Split (Review)

Francis Root Sconsacrata - SplitFrancis Root, (based in Norway), and Sconsacrata, (based in the UK), are both solo black metal acts who have teamed up for this split release, (both artists are also in sludge metal band Beggar).

Francis Root start us off, with 19 minutes of material. The style of the four songs we’re presented with is one that’s modern and progressive, with elements of electronica and industrial sewn into the music. Continue reading “Francis Root/Sconsacrata – Split (Review)”

Aborym – Hostile (Review)

Aborym - HostileAborym are an Italian industrial metal band and this is their eighth album.

The follow up to 2017’s Shifting.negative, Hostile contains 66 minutes of new material that finds the band incorporating elements of industrial, electronica, and metal/rock into a very solid album. Continue reading “Aborym – Hostile (Review)”

Arcaeon – Cascadence (Review)

Arcaeon - CascadenceArcaeon are a technical/progressive metal band from the UK and this is their debut album.

Cascadence contains 49 minutes of modern metal that takes from the technical/progressive metal/metalcore and djent genres to craft an engaging, well-rounded album. The promo blurb recommends this for fans of bands such as Periphery, Monuments, Devin Townsend, Intervals, and Architects, and it’s hard to disagree. Continue reading “Arcaeon – Cascadence (Review)”