This is the second album from Everest Queen, a sludge metal band from the UK.
I’ve enjoyed following Everest Queen, from their initial self-titled EP in 2016 to their debut album Dead Eden in 2019, so to have a new album appear in the wild is a fine thing. Murmurations boasts 44 minutes of new music, so let’s get stuck in. Continue reading “Everest Queen – Murmurations (Review)”
This is the third album from US post-rock band Light Creates Shadow.
Light Creates Shadow’s brand of post-rock takes the style’s build/release mechanic and blends it with progressive structuring, ethereal resplendence, intricate dynamics, and a wealth of grunge influences. Continue reading “Light Creates Shadow – Ghosts Pass Through, Running from the Body (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)”
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)”
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)”
Code are from the UK and this is their fourth album.
It seems that Code have undergone somewhat of a transformation since 2013’s Augur Nox; gone is the Avant-Garde Black Metal, instead being replaced with Progressive Post-Rock.
Their new incarnation is akin to a cross between Red Sparowes, Anathema, Autumnblaze, Green Carnation and Radiohead to my ears. It’s a change in style that seems to suit the band as it sounds like a natural fit.
The music is stripped back but expressive and emotive nonetheless. The relatively short songs contain a lot of content in a short space of time; one would almost expect music of this nature to be double the length but most of the tracks here are about 3-4 minutes in duration.
The vocals are similar in style to their past versions, albeit less extravagant and with greater fragility. His voice has an internal power to it though that again reminds of the singers of Anathema and Autumnblaze.
The songs seem to tell a story and pull the listener into their world. The soundscapes Code create are involving and forbidding; they’ve managed to create a sense of carnival-esque awe and wonder for the listener to explore through Post-Rock textures and Progressive Rock workouts.
I applaud the band for their willingness to update their sound, and although I will miss their past style they’ve amply proven to me with Mut that they continue to create rich and engaging music.
A triumph.
Oecist are from the US and play Post-Metal. This is their début EP.
This is instrumental Metal in the style of bands such as Cloudkicker, Red Sparowes, Pelican and the like.
At just under 20 minutes it’s a relatively short listen but it serves as a good introduction to the band and what they’re capable of.
And just what is it that they are capable of then? Well, they create expansive, emotive music that enjoys the freedom and grandeur that Post-Metal offers.
It’s melancholic, expressive and packs a pretty good punch. Unlike some Post-Metal bands who emphasize the Post- part of the style more than the -Metal part, Oecist seem to have the two pretty much equally distributed through this EP. They’re not afraid to let things get heavier when they need to.
This is an enjoyable début. Hopefully future releases will see the band expanding on their sound and building on what they’ve accomplished with XVIII LIII. Here’s to the future.
Under the Sun are from France and this is their début album. They play Post-Hardcore.
Post-Metal is a rich genre and an exceedingly varied one. Also, the line between Post-Metal and its sister genres of Post-Rock and Post-Hardcore is a blurred one and can sometimes be hard to define.
Although I’d probably call this Post-Hardcore, strictly speaking it doesn’t really matter which one Under the Sun fall into; what matters is that they play long, exploratory and expansive music based around the darkness of the human mind and the frequently negative emotions that go alongside this.
This is build/release territory and the band are adept at writing a good atmospheric tune. The length of the tracks gives them ample room to manoeuvre and all of the stylistic space is taken up with creating the mood that the band wants you to feel; usually this is one of heartbreak, tragedy and melancholy.
The melodies are luxurious and drawn out, with the band really drawing the listener into the performance. Lighter Progressive Rock passages rub shoulders with heavier Doom sections. A firm sense of dynamics sees the band well through the longer compositions and they inject enough variety to hold interest.
This is a very unhurried album as the songs unfold exactly as they need to. Vocals don’t even appear until the second song as the band are content to largely let the music do the talking. These vocals are essentially Hardcore in nature and lend a chaotic edge to their sound, although some calmer cleans appear also.
Here we have a band echoing the works of the likes of Pelican, Red Sparowes, Erlen Meyer, Mouth of the Architect, Year of No Light, etc.; they take the blueprint and stamp their own identity over it.
It’s hard not to like music that’s played well and has a firm sense of confidence and intent. Under the Sun know what they are doing and know they do it well.
Give them a listen. Well worth it.
Semara are a Post-Metal band from Sweden.
This is their first release and it contains 4 tracks, just under 30 minutes of music.
This is Post-Metal fashioned after the Isis/Cult of Luna/Neurosis pantheon and straight off it’s clear that Semara have a good grasp of what makes the genre a compelling one.
The guitars are also reminiscent of Red Sparowes, with a haunting and light feeling to them; combined with a heavier Cult if Luna-take on some of the rhythm guitars it’s a nice mixture of the two.
The band have the entire build/release, light/heavy angle covered and musically they know their way around the instruments.
There is nuance and subtlety to the music and Semara show that they understand the Post-Metal dynamic well.
The singer produces a good throaty roar and adequately bellows his way through the tracks. His is a brutal voice that punctuates the more melodically fragile music. The Earth Turns is probably the strongest track out of the four as it has the most vocal variation, (cleans as well as roared shouts), and is the most musically developed and individual of the songs.
A promising start for this band. If on their next release they return with a stronger production and continue to develop their sound then they could do well.
Have a listen and see what you think.
Lune Kiri are a Post-Rock band from the US and this is their first release, containing 4 tracks at 35 minutes in length.
This is winding and exploratory, and pleasantly relaxed. Lune Kiri already seem to have mastered the art of mood and texture, and this EP would be really impressive if it wasn’t their first release, let alone the fact that it is.
Sometimes the meandering, wandering guitars paint a glorious picture and they sound so liquid you can almost imagine the brush sweeping them over the canvas. Other times they play heavier, murky, dirge-ridden riffs that want to suck you into their world. Stockholm contains both types in its 15 minute playing time.
My only real “complaint”, (and it’s not really a complaint), is why they called this a demo. The songs are so accomplished and the sound quality so good that this is essentially just a first EP. Apart from that head-scratcher I would advise anyone who likes bands like Red Sparowes, Pelican, Cloudkicker, etc. to immediately run to get this.
Wonderbox Metal 