Post-Metal – Page 55 – Wonderbox Metal

A Secret Revealed – The Bleakness (Review)

A Secret Revealed are a German Post-Metal band and this is their début album.

This is emotive Post-Metal that has a good mix of upbeat misery and negative energies.

The Bleakness is an interesting listen as it combines a few different styles of Modern Metal into a coherent assault on happiness. Post-Metal, Modern Metal, Post-Hardcore and even the odd bit of Doom, Shoegaze and Extreme Metal all get incorporated into their overarching depressive aesthetic.

The vocals consist of impassioned screams that are very much in the blood-curdling, emotive Hardcore style.

The music is nicely varied and revolves around the central motif of the band which is ultimately one of bleakness, it seems, (hence the album title).

Although it’s largely a heavy affair, the band never go too far into ultra-heavy territory and instead use the guitars for maximum emotional content. This is backed up and reinforced by the expressive leads and melodies as well as the odd bit of orchestration here and there.

This is a band who are enjoying the freedom of Post-Metal by doing their own thing with contemporary Metal music. They have eschewed the Doom route that most Post-Metal takes and instead has chosen the road less travelled by bands like Deftones and Devil Sold His Soul, only more Metallic.

The Bleakness may be just that, but it’s also a triumph.

Highly recommended.

Sea of Disorder – Merging Land and Sky (Review)

Sea of Disorder are a Post-Metal band from Austria, and this is their début album.

The band play a combination of Post-Metal and Doom that combines the atmospheric with the harsh.

As well as the standard instrumentation Sea of Disorder also use keyboards and effects to get the sound they like, as well as including a fair few guests from other bands.

As alluded to earlier, Sea of Disorder mix the lighter, more introspective elements of Post-Metal with the louder and heavier aspects of Doom to create long songs that tell a tale in atmospheres and moods.

Deep vocals that seem to come from the bowels roar out accompanied by large riffs and atmospheric heaviness. This is juxtaposed against the more Post-Rock instrumental moments of tranquillity as the band build themselves up to a peak.

Cleans also appear on As the Clouds Disperse and they fit Sea of Disorder’s style well.

Overall I liked this quite a bit. Check them out.

In Cauda Venenum – In Cauda Venenum (Review)

In Cauda Venenum are a Post-Black Metal band from France and this is their début album.

Consisting of only two tracks, each lasting a touch over 21 minutes in length, this is an ambitious release that makes good use of the longer playing times to explore darkened themes and Blackened music.

Post-Black Metal is such a rich sub-genre that has so many opportunities to impress, and In Cauda Venenum take advantage of all of these.

The band play harrowing Black Metal that’s epic in scope and spiced up with enough Post-Rock/Metal elements to claim the Post-Black Metal tag as its own.

The music is masterly crafted and very atmospheric. Blackened riffs and blasting drums meet introspective restraint and Progressive explorations.

Both songs are very well written and it’s clear that a lot of time and effort has gone into their composition. Dynamics, pacing and mood have all been carefully considered and the end result is 42 minutes of elite Post-Black Metal that in many ways skirts the best that both genres have to offer.

The vocals are of the ultra-high, almost-static variety that work so well with Atmospheric Black Metal.

The recording is a quality one with the guitars in particular having a good tone. A clear, powerful sound gives the drums plenty of strength and as a whole the production strikes the right balance between underground ice and polished darkness.

As I say; in addition to the vocals and drums though, I do particularly enjoy the guitars on this album. They have the requisite Blackened bite and melodics in spades but they also benefit from being heavier than the norm for the style and employing some choice riffs throughout the songs.

A hugely impressive release. In Cauda Venenum have produced two remarkable songs of high Blackened art.

Top work.

Irk/Wren – Split (Review)

This split is made up of two bands from the UK. Irk play Noise Rock and Wren play Post-Metal/Sludge.

Irk are first with four tracks totalling 13 minutes.

This is angular, Mathcore-style Noise Rock. The bass has a good, heavy presence and drives the music forwards. It maintains a constant, prime position throughout the recording.

The vocals are impassioned and kind of fall halfway between shouting and some form of demented pseudo-singing. It’s an acquired taste yet works well juxtaposed against the solidly-constructed, almost mechanistic music.

The band have the feel of a DIY punk band only with edgy grooves and a detached riffing style.

They remind me of a cross between Hawkeyes and Association Area with a bit of Sultans of Ping FC mixed in. It’s a good, jagged ride they take the listener on and it’s certainly a memorable one. I think the vocal style won’t be for everyone but if it works for you then there’s a lot to enjoy here.

After this it’s now down to Wren to play us out. They offer up 3 tracks totalling 16 minutes.

Theirs is a murkier, slower sound than Irk. Wren take the Post-Metal/Sludge template laid down by Neurosis/Isis/Cult of Luna and make their own mark on it with impassioned playing and heavy riffs.

Walls of heavy guitars mix with transcendent Post-Metal melodies and a Sludgy core. There’s a high level of emotional content to a band like this and it’s all powered along by the relentless heaviness of the guitars.

Shouted vocals make an appearance on the second song and seem to merge with the guitars, providing pointed highlights to the aural onslaught of the six-stringers.

These are very enjoyable songs and if you’re a fan of the heavy Post-Metal style then Wren deliver in spades.

This split is a little unusual when compared to a lot that get released as the bands involved are quite different from each other. It’s a recommended listen for sure though, featuring two bands that show a lot of promise for the future.

Favourite Track: An Approach by Wren. The best is saved for last. Driving, heavy riffs, emotive violence and reflective chaos. Class.

Minsk – The Crash & The Draw (Review)

Minsk are a Post-Metal band from the US and this is their fourth album.

I’m a big fan of Minsk’s 2009 album, With Echoes in the Movement of Stone, so have been eager to hear this latest release of theirs.

Coming from a Post-Metal view that takes in the stunning panoramas of Isis, Neurosis and Cult of Luna, Minsk were never as well-known as their contemporaries but still managed to hugely impress those lucky enough to hear them.

They have now roused themselves from their six year slumber and produced a hefty piece of work in The Crash & The Draw – 11 tracks, 75 minutes of music.

Well, there’s a lot going on here. Minsk certainly don’t lack for either ambition or talent. This is an album of moods and atmospheres. In the best Post-Metal tradition they know how to build you up and then knock you down.

Psychedelic, Progressive and heavily percussive elements work alongside the crushing guitars and expansive sense of space that the band create.

Emotionally these tracks take in pretty much everything, from the beautiful to the nightmarish, sometimes even in the same song.

The songs are varied, multi-textured and rich with evocative and emotive soundscapes. There’s a lot of depth and nuance to these compositions and it takes a good few spins to fully grasp what’s going on here in some instances.

Much like Nero Di Marte‘s latest work, The Crash & The Draw seems to build upon itself with each listen until the music acts like waves, reinforcing itself so that eventually it just drowns everything else out and you truly begin to wonder how you ever thought there was anything else.

This is truly an album of wonders and otherworldly journeys.

What’s stopping you from listening to this right now?

Crawl – Old Wood and Broken Dreams (Review)

This is the debut album by US Sludge band Crawl.

Crawl have come to stink up the place with their dirty brand of Sludge.

This is Southern-tinged Sludge Metal with a healthy swagger and a groove that won’t quit. Heaviness is a given, of course; you can’t play Sludge any other way. Crawl build on this core of heaviness with enough attitude and confidence to knock over the hardiest drunk.

Crawl have a meaty sound that’s bound to satisfy all of your dark cravings. It brings out the best, (worst), in the band and they sound both professional and murky at the same time.

The vocals are as unhinged and venomous as you would expect. Sounding highly acidic, they rip themselves out of the swampy music to violently scar anyone unlucky enough to be caught in their way.

These songs are infectious and instantly appealing if you have a love of all things filthy and downtrodden. The inclusion of some longer tracks gives the band an interesting edge over some similar bands and only adds to their appeal.

Unusually for a band of this ilk, there is a bit of light included here and there. Some songs have a few passages that can almost be described as hopeful. It’s a slight Post-Metal edge to their Sludge that adds another layer to their already impressive sound; the extended intro to Pilldust is a perfect example of this.

This is a firm winner for fans of Eyehategod, Fistula, Servants of the Mist, Corecom, Primitive Man, Dopethrone, etc.

One to get your grubby mitts on for sure.

Below the Sun – Envoy (Review)

Below the Sun are a Sludge band from Russia and this is their début album.

This is Atmospheric Sludge Metal that’s as heavy as a rhino and as daunting as a pack of predators. Their sound also includes elements of Funeral Doom, Post-Metal and even a bit of a Black Metal feeling in places; anything to heighten the atmosphere and draw the listener further in to their dark domain.

Absolutely colossal vocals stab out of the swirling darkness like natural disasters striking the unwitting and the unwary. They’re loud, inhuman and utterly compelling. They’re also used sparingly, and for the vast majority of the 59 minute playing time the instruments are the firm focus of attention. This works well, as the vocals are so terrifying that any more exposure to them might have the listener running for the hills in fear.

Below the Sun excel at Post-Metal build-and-release mechanics and wrap this up with a Sludgy ambience and general aura of pessimistic negativity that really is quite powerfully done.

The guitars batter, pamper, bruise and heal. At the end of the album you feel like you’ve been through the wringer both physically and emotionally, but you’re more than willing to do it again. This is an album that can only improve with age and repeated spins. Initially you can tell it’s obviously very good indeed, but on subsequent listens it really reveals its delights.

Music like this is never going to be a disappointment. The emotional investment of a band like this is always worth it and there’s so much here to discover and respond to. Envoy is an apt name, as it feels like you’re entering an unknown landscape, the first to explore these strange, exotic climes. You’re not alone though, as Below the Sun are your guides, shining a black light into all of the scary places and somehow making them feel even more harrowing, yet enticing at the same time.

If you’re a fan of Doom, Sludge, Post-Metal or just emotive and engaging music in general then Envoy is an album to journey to far off places to.

Very highly recommended.

Ur Draugr – The Wretched Ascetic (Review)

Ur Draugr are from Australia and this is their début EP.

This release is 20 minutes long and features Ur Draugr’s captivating take on Atmospheric Death Metal.

Unseen Golgotha is just under 7 minutes long and opens softly, with some light acoustic guitar guiding the way.

This slowly builds in atmosphere until the crashing guitars and thundering drums enter proceedings. Finally we get pitch-black growls entering the song and the dark atmosphere is ramped up by a factor of ten.

Tense melodies and charismatic music means that this song is an instant revelation.

Up next is the title track The Wretched Ascetic. This serves as the EP’s centrepiece at just over 10 minutes in length.

It’s a churning maelstrom of a song that builds like an oncoming storm with a heavily percussive backdrop and immense rhythms powering it along.

Like the first song, this second track is extremely impressive and ably showcases the band’s aesthetic of organic, atmospheric Death Metal that has some undertones of Black, Post- and Progressive Metal.

The final track on this wonderful début is Sombre Moribund. At 3 minutes in length it’s the shortest track here and serves as a gentle outro to the EP.

If you long for the olden days of classic Opeth but don’t want an Opeth rip-off band then Ur Draugr are the band for you.

This is a hugely impressive release. I can only imagine how good their eventual album will be. Here’s hoping and waiting expectantly.

Wells Valley – Matter as Regent (Review)

Wells Valley are a Portuguese Post-Metal band. This is their début album.

Blending the claustrophobic swirl of Neurosis with the exploratory mindset of Tool and a touch of the Avant-Garde, Wells Valley have created an album that plays by its own rules and lives by its own aesthetics. I think the closest comparison would kind of be a cross between Rabies Caste and Scarlet.

This is not a normal album, and I mean that in an entirely good way. The band have chosen to take a sub-genre that has pretty lax rules at the best of times and experiment with it to create something that may not be entirely new but it’s as close as we can reasonably expect these days.

The band play around with the Post-Metal formula just enough so that Matter as Regent sounds innovative and fresh, but not so much that it strays to far from what makes Post-Metal such a compelling and interesting listen.

The music is involving and engages the brain as it twists and turns through its various incarnations. The band write songs that seem to be mutations of the standard template; it’s as if the music has been stripped back to the bare bones of the style and then rebuilt in Wells Valley’s vision of what this kind of music should sound like.

The emphasis on the diversity, dynamics and pacing of the songs on Matter as Regent is noticeable, both in the music and the vocals. They don’t seem to like to repeat themselves too often.

The guitars are set to a level where they’re intense and emotive without being overly heavy. Expansive riffs and atypical rhythms run the gamut from expressive to functional to esoteric; there’s enough instant appeal to be endearing but enough depth of composition to keep you returning for more.

Wells Valley have released an intriguing and ambitious album that not only largely succeeds in being greater than the sum of its parts, but also achieves the even greater accolade of sounding mainly like itself.

Quality.

Abstracter – Wound Empire (Review)

This is the second album from US Sludge/Doom band Abstracter.

After really enjoying their 2012 debut album Tomb of Feathers, this is a release that has been eagerly awaited in these parts.

The first track, Lightless, seems to slowly writhe up out of a dark pit of urban decay, attempting to smother the land with its malignant spread. It’s an insidious start to the album and before you realise what’s going on you’re trapped in a nightmare landscape of pitch-black smoke and evil.

But oh dear Lord is it good. Rarely has cloying, suffocating Sludge felt so visceral and nastily enticing.

Abstracter are heavy and grim in the best ways that Sludge and Doom can achieve. These songs are essays in crawling malevolence and destructive passion. The band emanate a very raw darkness that you can feel like a physical presence.

I like the combination of nuanced riffing, heavy guitars and brutally gorgeous delivery. Abstracter effortlessly combine the beauty of Post-Metal with the dirty horror of Sludge. Their songwriting skills are such that moments of ugliness and transcendence are merged together. When the shades of light and dark clash there’s only ever going to be one true winner, but even though the menacing and murky atmospheres encase everything, the light isn’t totally consumed; you can feel it pulsing, straining against its captivity by this Hellish beast. This tense undercurrent is what gives Wound Empire its hidden beauty.

There’s a Black Metal influence to their sound that fits flawlessly into what they do. It’s not overbearing and doesn’t detract from the Doom, it just adds a further layer of thickly encrusted grime to songs that are already intimately familiar with all things subterranean.

With each of these titanic monuments to apocalyptic dystopian futures, I think that Abstracter have outdone themselves and actually managed to top their début album. No mean feat.

With true depth of composition and a talent for wrapping the listener up in their vision of all things gloomy and heavy, Abstracter have produced an album that has blown me away.

Fans of Neurosis, Altar of Plagues, Indian, Inter Arma, Amenra, Yob, Wolvhammer, Thou, etc. should perk up and take notice now.

Essential listening.