Moanaa are an Atmospheric Sludge Metal band from Poland and this is their début album.
This is an interesting and multi-faceted release that combines elements of Sludge, Post-Metal and Progressive Metal together into an overarching framework of Atmospheric Sludge lasting just under 60 minutes.
Soft acoustics and Post-Metal melodies clash with harsh Sludge and Progressive workouts. Heavy riffs and ethereal melodies create soundscapes that merge the best of both. This is a richly textured and layered album and the songs have a lot of depth and dark energy. Even when the tempo drops there’s a brooding undercurrent of repressed power and understated grandeur.
The vocals snarl and gnash their way through the songs. Ugly, vicious and essentially Death Metal in style, they’re juxtaposed against cleaner vocals nicely, in the same way that the music trades brutality with transcendence, darkness with light. There’s a lot of shading here though and the vocals pretty much run the whole spectrum from ethereal cleans to deep growls and everything in the middle.
The playing is tight and the recording perfectly judged. The album sounds great in every way.
I love albums like this. Quality songwriting and flawless execution combine to result in an album that’s an engaging journey and a real treat for anyone into atmospheric music, be that Sludge, Doom or Post-Metal.
Tempel are from the US and this is their second album. They play Progressive/Post-Black Metal.
Tempel are an Instrumental Black Metal band. Their music is a combination of the Melodic and Progressive styles, giving The Moon Lit Our Path an epic scope and even epic-er, (it’s a word, honest), songs.
Their tracks harbour provocative imagery in the music. Without vocals to hide behind, the music is laid bare for all to see and relishes in the fact. Tempel are as expressive with their music as many singers are with their voices.
This is music that you can get your teeth into; music to get involved with; music to get lost in. Involving, engaging and compelling; Tempel have created a richly textured musical landscape across these 54 minutes.
Tempel are slowly shedding their Black Metal roots. This album still has its fair share of Blackened influences, but less so than their début release. On The Moon Lit Our Path there are more Post-Black Metal and Progressive Metal elements to their sound. It ultimately doesn’t matter, of course, as the important thing is the music itself and the journey it takes you on as you get absorbed by it.
Riffs, solos, leads, atmospheres, moods…Tempel excel at each of these and the songs on this album are filled to the brim with musical content and features.
This album may have a Blackened base but it transcends Black Metal, as Post-Black Metal must, As such, this has a potentially wide-reaching audience and any fan of Progressive Metal can and should enjoy this.
Neck of the Woods are a Progressive Metal band from Canada and this is their début EP.
Music like this is an exciting prospect; birthed of Metal in all its glorious forms, Neck of the Woods don’t constraint themselves with just one style and instead coherently incorporate lots of influences into their musical framework.
This is interesting, stimulating music for fans of Converge, Between the Buried and Me, Devil Sold His Soul, Mastodon, etc. – essentially any band that’s pushing the envelope, playing music from the heart and daring to be a bit different.
Under the overall aegis of Progressive Metal, Neck of the Woods pack Modern Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Post-Metal and Technical Metal into nearly 29 minutes of playing time.
The throaty roar of the singer’s voice carries the deep resonance of Extreme Metal while the music explores the boundaries of its self-created domain.
The band can certainly play and they have a good side-order of technicality dished up with their meals. The complexity serves the songs though, rather than the other way around; the guitars carry the listener through landscapes that are familiar and yet fresh at the same time.
For all of this, the band are a very easy listen. The songs are vibrant and satisfying in the way that only good Metal can be. They have personality and seem to have been created purely for the love of it, as should be the way. Yes, there is aggression here, but it’s not of the nihilistic, hate-fuelled variety. Although I’d stop short of describing this as friendly music, it certainly is personable and agreeable. If you’re into heavy music, that is; the average person on the street would probably just view this as noise, as they tend to do with anything even vaguely Metallic.
Neck of the Woods are an exciting new addition to the worldwide Metal scene and I’m eager to hear what they do next.
Oh, and they also have a song called I Know Where I’ll Bury You. Class.
Third Ion have recently released their début album 13/8bit. Theirs is a brand of Progressive Metal that’s a little different form the norm and very enjoyable because of this. I downloaded the latest data on them…
For those who are unfamiliar with your band – introduce yourself!
Hey, I’m Justin Bender, guitarist/producer for Third Ion, a progressive metal band full of nutty space nerds.
Give us a bit of history to Third Ion
I’ve know our drummer Aaron for about 5 years, and we always talked about doing a project together. We live about 6 hour drive from each other, so it took a while for us to get our shit together and actually start a band. Now that we have though, it has been snowballing and we have a really good pace going on. I’ve known Mike for a few years too, and he was my bass player of choice, even before a single riff was recorded. I am still so thrilled he wanted to start a band with Aaron and I! Basically the band officially formed around this time last year, once we figured out who we were going to have sing, and Tyler has been a great fit!
What are your influences?
Mainly Dream Theater, Meshuggah, Alice In Chains, Tool, Opeth, Faith No More, Pantera, Saga, Toto, Satriani, Rush, Katatonia,
What are you listening to at the moment that you would like to recommend?
A band from my area, Sparky, just put out an album called #Humanimation and it is incredible. I love it, and I can’t stop listening to it. I’m not just saying it because they are my friends either! It is legitimately one of my favourite records right now.
What did you want to achieve with your album?
Our main goal was to write whatever came to mind, with a really “no rules” approach, and to incorporate musically, visually and lyrically whatever nerdy things interested us at the time. I didn’t have huge hopes of getting signed or anything, I just really wanted to make this music for the love of it. The fact we got a deal and it’s been getting a lot of attention is a total plus, though, and if people enjoy it that makes me very happy.
Are you happy with the end result?
Absolutely!! I am especially proud of the artwork, which was done by my best friend. We are almost done writing the second album as well, and a lot of it is recorded already too, so as happy as I am with the first album, I haven’t sat back and really enjoyed it as I dove right into album two.
How does your songwriting process work?
I’ll drive to Aaron’s studio for the week and we will record drums and guitars as we write the music. It’s a very cool and open way of working. Very expressive, I love it. Plus, he brings out all my best ideas. There’s just something about him that makes me come up with guitar parts I would never come up with on my own. He is the best writing partner I have ever had, bar none. Due to this process, there are a LOT of “first take” magic moments that ended up on the final mix. That seems to happen more and more as we write, as well.
On 13/8Bit we managed to write one song together (PDM) with Mike all in one room, but him being in Vancouver makes that much more difficult. For album two he has contributed a ton of great riffs, he emailed us a bunch of ideas, that we have used. So then after Aaron and I track in Winnipeg, we send Mike the stems of what we did and he does bass and keys and sends it back for me to mix. I write the lyrics and Tyler comes up with most of the melodies. I can just put words on paper and trust that he will come up with something I love. It’s a very easy operation, all in all.
How and why did you decided to incorporate a video games/chiptune influence in your music?
We all really love the 8bit and 16bit classics that we grew up playing. I think every one of us knows Megaman 2 like the backs of our hands. Metal bands sing about all kinds of things from dragons to demons to mutilation and horror, so really it feels like there are no rules. Which we dig, so we incorporated it simply because we felt like it.
What can you tell us about the lyrics?
That’s another one of those “nerdy thing because I just felt like it” kind of answers. As an artist, I’ve always felt more comfortable with my guitar than with words. I feel like I can say more with music than lyrics, and I never really aspired to be a lyricist. When I listen to music, I rarely even pay attention to the message, I get absorbed in the sound of it all. So, being like that, I just write what comes to me and what interests me. I covered black holes, sci fi particle weapons, video games and even some politics on the first record.
What’s your favourite song on the album and why?
I think maybe Zero Mass because it’s the first song we wrote, and the main heavy tech riff with the little keyboard stings is just so fuckin’ cool. I’ll always be very proud of that one.
How do you see your songs/direction developing in the future?
So far the next record has a lot more technical stuff, a lot more insane drum ideas. I plan to record more vocal harmonies, but maybe not, we’ll see how that plays out. We also want to do a concept record to cover the backstory of our mascot character “Dr. Zero” who is featured on the cover art. So, album three or four will be that album.
What’s next for Third Ion?
We have a few shows lined up for July but after that it’s just more work on album 2, and planning more shows for the end of the year, with hopes to tour more extensively in 2016.
This is the début album from Third Ion who are a Progressive Metal band.
Heavy Metal meets Chiptune? Well, mainly Heavy Metal to be honest. When the chiptune parts do appear they shouldn’t really work but amazingly they do, mainly because they don’t overdo it of course.
This is quite a mix of styles in some ways. The Progressive Metal/Rock aspect of their sound is a modern one yet they still carry obvious influences from older Progressive Rock. Some of the guitars have a modern, almost-Djent feel to them whilst others are pure 70’s inspired riffs with added distortion.
As well as this we have the obvious electronic/video-games influences that are not overused and instead just add some individuality to the pot.
There’s also an unexpected Grunge element to their sound. This manifests not only in the music but also in the vocals. There’s a kind of laid back, hazy feel to things that recalls bands of this type and era.
The musicianship on display here is first-rate, as is the recording. Importantly the songs themselves are well-written and the album has a kind of easy-listening vibe despite the frequent higher-energy and more upbeat sections.
This is a really enjoyable Progressive Metal album that’s a little different due to the mix of related styles. Recommended.
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?
Convulsif are from Switzerland and this is their third album.
Well this is quite insane. Imagine Ephel Duath, Fantômas, Blut Aus Nord, Atomsmasher and Sunn 0))) all working together to bring on the apocalypse…it’s intense.
The recording is first rate, with everything sounding clear and precise, but not overly so. I especially like the bass presence, which provides a full contribution to the aural chaos.
This features eclectic Metal, freestyle Jazz and Progressive workouts as well as Drone/Doom sections, all plastered together in a melange of Blackened undertones. What to classify this as? Who knows, but it’s pretty damn good. I suppose you could loosely term it Experimental Black Metal, but Convulsif are a band that genre tags just don’t work for.
There are no guitars, which makes CD3 an even more interesting listening experience. Instead, we get drums, bass, clarinet, violins and electronica. Just what the (mad) doctor ordered.
And when you think you’ve heard it all, they do something else that makes you sit up and take notice. The unexpected, demented screaming that suddenly appears just when you’ve taken them for an instrumental band is a case in point.
This is highly creative and individual music that nonetheless manages to create coherent atmospheres across these 29 minutes. The eerie sounds and otherworldly noises emanating from this recording is a testament to the talent of the individuals involved in its birth.
CD3 just needs to be experienced. This is challenging, interesting music that demands your attention.
I love this. What’s not to love? You’ll love it too. LOVE IT!
Barishi are from the US and play Progressive Metal.
This is the latest EP, following on from their very enjoyable début album Barishi.
Here we have four new songs, clocking in at just less than 19 minutes in length. In an interview I did with their guitarist, Graham Brooks, he said that they wanted to explore a heavier direction in the future.
They’ve certainly done this on Endless Howl.
Again we have the mixture of angular riffs and melodic flourish; it worked well on their début album so it’s good to see it carried forward to this EP.
The songs are heavier, faster and are all-round more Metal this time though, which is something the band have successfully developed in their sound. The first song In the Hour of the Wolf doesn’t sound too far from At the Gates if they had a Progressive influence.
The heavily melodic nature of some of the music combined with the screaming vocals lends their sound a Black Metal/Shoegaze aspect which was entirely absent from their début. Smoke from the Earth is a great example of this and could almost be a Deafheaven tune.
The vocals still contribute harsh shouting screams, but this time they’re joined by the odd growl here and there. The growls are performed extremely well and the progression in screams is noticeable; they sounded perfectly good on the début but on this EP they’re even better. Completely gone are the clean vocals.
I’m glad that Barishi have incorporated more Metal without losing too much of what made them so interesting and individual in the first place. However, the Progressive and Jazz elements are less pronounced this time as something had to give due to the increased Metal influence. They are still there though in places and played immaculately, as always.
This is a very enjoyable collection of songs, showcasing a band that are truly finding their direction. Tight playing and focused songwriting means that the band sound even better than they did on their début.
The more Metal-oriented direction seems to have turned out to be a winner. Where do they go from here? Personally I would like to see their next release merge the Metal of their current incarnation with the more Jazz/Progressive tendencies of their début. If they manage to do this successfully then they’ll be untouchable.
Barishi have really impressed with this EP. An essential purchase.
Favourite Track: Snakeboat. Good songwriting and some strange, atypical atmospheric riffing that gets under your skin to create a tense and nervous listening experience.
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.
Caelestia are from Greece and this is their second album. They play Melodic Metal.
Well this is interesting. Superficially another Gothic/Operatic European Metal band, there’s actually more to Caelestia than that.
They combine elements of that sound with Melodic Death Metal and Progressive Metal to create an altogether more interesting beast than what you, (or me), might have been expecting.
The album is a mixture of these aforementioned styles, meaning that Beneath Abyss is not a listen that gets stale. This is a bigger than normal compliment actually, considering how easy it is for Gothic Metal bands to be quite generic. But of course, this is where the other influences come in.
Another very positive thing about the band is the main female vocals; the singer has a strong voice that definitely has her own personality stamped onto it and manages to avoid simply aping some of the bigger female vocalists out there. She has a versatile and powerful voice that oozes professionalism and quality.
Her voice is joined by choral backing vocals and harsher male shouting, as well as a guest spot from the singer of Soilwork.
These are enjoyable songs and the combination of the European Metal styles into one package gives Caelestia an identity of their own that differentiates them from the majority of their peers who play similar styles of music. It also lends the songs more depth than they’d otherwise have if the bite of the Melodic Death Metal or the musicality of the Progressive Metal were removed.
A very good listen. Check them out and see if you agree.
Moanaa are an Atmospheric Sludge Metal band from Poland and this is their début album.
