Pelican – Wonderbox Metal

KYOTY – Isolation (Review)

KYOTY are an post-metal/sludge band from the US and this is their second album.

KYOTY, (or Keep Your Opinions to Yourself), are an instrumental act that have an atmospheric approach to music, taking in styles such as post-metal, post-rock, and sludge, combined with an industrial edge. Gathering together nine songs that were released over the 2020 isolation period, along with a new track exclusive to the album, this is a 70-minute work of rich evocative soundscapes. Continue reading “KYOTY – Isolation (Review)”

Vow – Icarian (Review)

Vow are a UK post-metal band and this is their second release.

Is this an EP or an album? The promo blurb says album, but then it only contains two tracks and lasts a total of 17 minutes. Either way, it’s worth getting your hands on, as Vow’s experimental post-metal is very tasty indeed. Continue reading “Vow – Icarian (Review)”

Empress – Premonition (Review)

This is the debut album from Canadian doom band Empress.

I enjoyed 2017’s Reminiscence, with its psychedelic grooves and rolling riffs. It set out a strong opening argument for the band, which Premonition now ably capitalises on. Combining elements of doom, sludge, progressive, and post-metal into 49 minutes of expressive, mood-focused music, Premonition is a thoroughly convincing affair. Continue reading “Empress – Premonition (Review)”

Pelican – Nighttime Stories (Review)

Pelican are a post-metal band from the US and this is their sixth album.

Pelican play an instrumental post-rock/metal hybrid, and have been crafting affecting and enjoyable material for 18 years at this point. As their first new album in six years, I think it’s fair to say that Nighttime Stories has been greatly anticipated by fans of the band’s work. Continue reading “Pelican – Nighttime Stories (Review)”

Khôrada – Salt (Review)

This is the debut album from Khôrada, a progressive/doom/post-metal band from the US.

Featuring most of the members of the much-missed Agalloch coupled with the singer of Giant Squid, this album contains 55 minutes of contemplative, intelligently-composed music.

Now here’s an album with real emotive power. The music can be loosely termed as progressive post-metal, but there’s a multitude of different styles skilfully incorporated into this release. Continue reading “Khôrada – Salt (Review)”

Below a Silent Sky – A View from Afar (Review)

Below a Silent Sky are a German post-metal band and this is their second album.

I enjoy a good album cover, and this is one I very much like. Here we have an instrumental post-metal band that offers up 56 minutes of music that contains progressive and post-rock elements. Continue reading “Below a Silent Sky – A View from Afar (Review)”

Empress – Reminiscence (Review)

This is the debut EP from Canadian doom band Empress.

Although classed as an EP, there’s still 29 minutes of material here to sink your teeth into.

I’ll say it straight away – Reminiscence is a massively enjoyable release. Continue reading “Empress – Reminiscence (Review)”

Zaius – Of Adoration (Review)

Zaius are an instrumental post-rock band from the US and this is their debut album.

This is a multifaceted release of progressive/post-rock, fusing elements of bands such as Russian Circles, Red Sparowes, Pelican, Scale the Summit, Cloudkicker, and Between the Buried and Me into a rich, textured journey. As I’ve opined Continue reading “Zaius – Of Adoration (Review)”

The Sky Is – Télépathie (Review)

The Sky Is are a Polish post-metal band and this is their second album.

Here we have a decent-length slab of post-metal with stoner and doom elements chucked in for good measure. At just under 30 minutes in duration, it fills a hole that you may not have realised needed filling. Continue reading “The Sky Is – Télépathie (Review)”

Third Island – Dusk (Review)

This is the debut EP from Irish post-metal/doom band Third Island.

Building atmosphere with steady grace and gentle insistence, Third Island take a subtle, almost-sensual approach to their post-metal explorations. That’s not to say that they don’t know how to ramp up Continue reading “Third Island – Dusk (Review)”