This is the sixth album from US post-black metal/blackgaze band Deafheaven.
Lonely People with Power contains 62 minutes of music, and finds Deafhaven in masterful form. If you’re familiar with Deafheaven at all, as you hopefully are, this new record is essentially a culmination of everything they have done so far, resulting in an album that’s well-rounded, affecting, and quite brilliant. Continue reading “Deafheaven – Lonely People with Power (Review)”
This is the debut album from UK rock band Oversize.
Oversize play a mix of alternative rock, post-hardcore, grunge, and shoegaze, and Vital Signs delivers 32 minutes of their personable brand of music. This album takes me back many, many years, yet still offers something worth paying attention to in 2025. Continue reading “Oversize – Vital Signs (Review)”
This is the debut album from UK alternative rock band Love Is Noise.
Across 47 minutes Love Is Noise take the listener on a journey though emotion, as portrayed by the band’s charismatic blend of alternative rock, shoegaze, nu-metal, indie rock, dream pop. To Live in a Different Way is an interesting record that brings a lot to the table, and fuses it together in ways that hit more than they miss. Continue reading “Love Is Noise – To Live in a Different Way (Review)”
I’ve never seen Alcest before, so this was a great opportunity to remedy that, especially as the wonderful Svalbard were also playing. Doodseskader too, but I don’t really know them. Continue reading “Alcest/Svalbard/Doodseskader – Academy 2, Manchester – 12/12/24 (Live Review)”
This is the second album from UK doomgaze band Sugar Horse.
The Grand Scheme of Things contains an hour of idiosyncratic and expressive music. The style overall can be thought of as doomgaze, although it has a variety of ingredients, including indie, shoegaze, sludge, doom, drone, and post-rock/metal. Continue reading “Sugar Horse – The Grand Scheme of Things (Review)”
This is the debut album from French modern metal band Vestige.
To give a flavour of the sort of hybrid style that Vestige play, the promo blurb states that Janis is for fans of Deftones, Alcest, Loathe, and Sylvaine. In practice, this means a modern metal blend of post-metal and black/shoegaze. This results in songs that are highly atmospheric, yet also song-focused. Continue reading “Vestige – Janis (Review)”
Vuur & Zijde are a blackened post metal band from the Netherlands and this is their debut album.
Brought to us by current and ex-members of bands such as Freja, Laster, Silver Knife, Terzij de Horde, Witte Wieven, and more, Boezem contains 46 minutes of idiosyncratic and enjoyable music. Continue reading “Vuur & Zijde – Boezem (Review)”
This is the seventh album from French post-black metallers Alcest.
Les Chants de l’Aurore contains 44 minutes of new music from the legendary Alcest. This is a band that many people hold a special place in their heart for, and a new album is a big deal in certain circles. So the question is, have Alcest delivered or disappointed? Continue reading “Alcest – Les Chants de l’Aurore (Review)”
This is the second solo album from the iconic Julie Christmas, who plays a vert individual brand of rock/metal.
A new solo album from one of the best artists in the business, a mere 14 years after her last one? Someone who has one of the most individual and simply fantastic singing voices ever, and has given us some classic albums from bands like Battle of Mice and Made out of Babies? An artist who even managed to elevate the pretty much untouchable Cult of Luna to unexpectedly higher levels of excellence on Mariner? New songs from her? Sign me up without hesitation. Continue reading “Julie Christmas – Ridiculous and Full of Blood (Review)”
Solar Temple and Dead Neanderthals are both from the Netherlands. The former plays black metal, (and contains members of Fluisteraars and Dool), and the latter is an experimental act.
Embers Beget the Divine documents the live show that the Continue reading “Solar Temple & Dead Neanderthals – Embers Beget the Divine (Review)”
Wonderbox Metal 