This is the debut album from Natt, a Norwegian progressive/post-rock/doom band.
Natt contains just three songs, with 45 minutes of music. They’re an instrumental duo, although they’re joined on this recording by session musicians on bass and drums/percussion, (the latter from Enslaved). I’m not normally drawn to instrumental music, but one look at the strangely disturbing album artwork made me want to hear this work, and I’m so glad it did. Continue reading “Natt – Natt (Review)”
This is the debut album from US progressive metal band This Is the Last Time.
Acclimation features four songs, with a total duration of 31 minutes. The promo blurb mentions bands such as Cloudkicker, Meshuggah, Isis, Year of No Light, In Flames, Between the Buried and Me, Gorguts, and Pelican, so this should give you some insight into the waters that Acclimation wades in. Continue reading “This Is the Last Time – Acclimation (Review)”
Hundred Year Old Man are a post-metal/sludge band from the UK and this is their second album.
I really liked 2018’s Breaching, so am pleased to see the return of Hundred Year Old Man. The band have obviously been feeling creative since I last caught up with them, as Sleep in Light contains a whopping 80 minutes of new material. Continue reading “Hundred Year Old Man – Sleep in Light (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)”
This is the third album from Belgian post-metallers Hemelbestormer.
I’m not the biggest fan of instrumental music, but sometimes a band comes along and makes it work notably well. With 2016’s Aether and 2018’s A Ring of Blue Light, Hemelbestormer were just one such band. Now they’ve returned with Collide & Merge, which boasts a whopping 73 minutes of new material. Can Hemelbestormer continue their upward trend? We shall see. Continue reading “Hemelbestormer – Collide & Merge (Review)”
This is the third album from Danish post-metallers LLNN.
Having not caught up with the band since 2016’s very enjoyable Loss, it seemed like a great time to check out what LLNN are up to with their latest release. Continue reading “LLNN – Unmaker (Review)”
This is the fourth album from Year of No Light, a French post-metal band.
Having really enjoyed 2013’s Tocsin, it has been a long wait for another album from Year of No Light, but the wait has been worth it. Across 55 minutes the band expose the listener to an idiosyncratic creative experience consisting of five thoroughly engaging soundscapes. Continue reading “Year of No Light – Consolamentum (Review)”
Le Menhir is a one man post-metal band from the UK and this is his debut release.
Consisting of a single track, Orage is a tentative, experimental first step into the world by this new project. Despite this, Orage is well-formed and shows a lot of promise. Continue reading “Le Menhir – Orage (Review)”
This is the eighth album from French doom band Monarch.
There may only be five songs on this release, but don’t let that deceive you – there’s almost 68 minutes of music on Never Forever. Continue reading “Monarch – Never Forever (Review)”
Devil Sold His Soul are from the UK and this is their latest EP. They play Progressive/Post-Metal.
I’m a big fan of Devil Sold His Soul’s early work, but somehow I never kept up with them and this is my first exposure to them in a while. I was interested to hear this EP for this reason, especially as this is their first release with a new vocalist.
As always their music is impassioned, expansive and very heavy when it needs to be. Their songwriting has become even more developed than their older work, however.
It’s immediately apparent that their new vocalist fits the band like a glove. Scathing screams seem to spike painfully into your mind, but you like it anyway; soaring cleans rise gracefully from the emotive riffs whilst cascading leads swell up around them. Replacing a vocalist can be a very tricky thing to do successfully, but I’m immediately sold.
These tracks, (of which there are five), combine crushing guitars and soothing, sombre tones to create a collection of songs that pluck at the heartstrings as well as trying to pull them out.
The combined fiery melancholic nature of the guitars mix with vocals that veritably drip with emotion; these songs reveal a band that are at the height of their powers.
It’s like the power and passion of Year Of No Light, the dynamic energy of Deftones and the flawless delivery of Cult of Luna all rolled into one exciting package.
I love this. You will too.
Wonderbox Metal 