Jazz – Page 2 – Wonderbox Metal

Sumac – The Healer (Review)

This is the fifth album from Canadian post-metal/sludge band Sumac, (who boast current and ex-members of bands such as Baptists, Genghis Tron, Isis, Old Man Gloom, Russian Circles, and These Arms Are Snakes in their ranks).

It’s been a while since I caught up with Sumac – 2018’s collaboration with Keijo Haino in fact, as well as their full length from the same year, Love in Shadow. I even had the privilege of catching them live in 2019. Apparently they also had an album out in 2020 called May You Be Held, which I somehow completely missed, which is a shame. All of which brings us to the immense 76 minutes of material on The Healer. Continue reading “Sumac – The Healer (Review)”

A Burial at Sea – Close to Home (Review)

A Burial at Sea are a post-rock band from Ireland and this is their second album.

Close to Home contains 43 minutes of exquisitely rendered post-rock. Boasting contributions from shoegaze, jazz, and progressive rock, this is a non-standard album for lovers of broad soundscapes and brass-enriched musical vistas. It’s mostly instrumental, and paints wonderfully textured pictures with sound.

Continue reading “A Burial at Sea – Close to Home (Review)”

Alkaloid – Numen (Review)

Alkaloid are a German progressive death metal band and this is their third album.

Containing current and ex-members of bands such as Defeated Sanity, Hate Eternal, Howling Sycamore, Obscura, Obsidious, and many others, Numen is an album that benefits from a wealth of experience, and it shows in all aspects of this professionally crafted record. Continue reading “Alkaloid – Numen (Review)”

The Gorge – Mechanical Fiction (Review)

This is the third album from US progressive metallers The Gorge.

Mechanical Fiction contains 45 minutes of modern, heavy music. The Gorge are an interesting band, in that they are ostensibly a band you’d give the tags of progressive metal and technical metal too, but they also incorporate avant-garde and jazz elements into their style, as well as having an underpinning hardcore/sludge influence that’s formative. Continue reading “The Gorge – Mechanical Fiction (Review)”

Tangled Thoughts of Leaving – Oscillating Forest (Review)

Tangled Thoughts of Leaving are an Australian post-rock/metal band, and this is their fourth album.

Despite there being many great instrumental bands out there, I’m always put off listening to a band when there’s no vocalist. I’m well aware that this is my loss, but I can’t usually help it. However, there have certainly been many exceptions over the years to this, and Tangled Thoughts of Leaving are definitely one of them. Continue reading “Tangled Thoughts of Leaving – Oscillating Forest (Review)”

Weite – Assemblage (Review)

This is the debut album from Weite, an international rock band.

Featuring members of Elder and High Fighter, Weite play a charismatic mix of 70s psychedelic, progressive, and experimental rock, with jazz elements. Assemblage is an instrumental record, and spends 39 minutes taking the listener on an expansive worldbuilding journey. Continue reading “Weite – Assemblage (Review)”

Another Black Autumn – Resplendent Apparitions at the Dawn (Review)

This is the debut album from US black metal band Another Black Autumn.

Containing members of Canis Dirus and Crown of Asteria, Another Black Autumn play atmospheric black metal. Across 31 minutes the band demonstrate a keen ability at producing black metal that doesn’t always do what you expect it to do. Continue reading “Another Black Autumn – Resplendent Apparitions at the Dawn (Review)”

OK Goodnight – The Fox and the Bird (Review)

This is the second album from US progressive metal/rock band OK Goodnight.

The Fox and the Bird contains 52 minutes of modern progressive metal that brings together a variety of influences into a multifaceted whole. A foundation of progressive metal and rock is enriched with elements of pop, jazz, and indie to create music that’s charismatic and highly textured. Continue reading “OK Goodnight – The Fox and the Bird (Review)”

Yakuza – Sutra (Review)

This is the seventh album from US avant-garde/experimental doom band Yakuza.

Sutra is a 54-minute journey into the unexpected and the atypical. Few genre tags will do this justice, so I’ve settled on avant-garde doom, which is vague enough to be relevant, so why not. Whatever you call them, Yakuza have provided a multifaceted metal album that’s diverse and enjoyable. Continue reading “Yakuza – Sutra (Review)”

Cicada the Burrower – Blight Witch Regalia (Review)

This is the fifth album from one-woman experimental black metal band Cicada the Burrower.

The follow up to 2021’s very enjoyable Corpseflower, Blight Witch Regalia brings us 31 minutes of new material from this talented artist. Although tagged as black metal, this record has moved on from that description really. Fans of the classic blackened sound are Continue reading “Cicada the Burrower – Blight Witch Regalia (Review)”