#Melodic Death Metal Onslaught | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dustedmagazine · 3 years

Text

Dust, Volume 7, Number 8

Big Thief

Our August collection of short reviews contains more big names than usual with singles from Big Thief and Dry Cleaning, a digital compilation from Thou, live music from Obits and a side project from members of the Bats and the Clean. Never fear, there are obscurities as well, including an improv guitar player even Bill Meyer had hardly heard of, a Norwegian emo artist in love with Texas and a death metal outfit verging into psychedelia. Our writers, this time including Tim Clarke, Bill Meyer, Jennifer Kelly, Ian Mathers, Chris Liberato and Jonathan Shaw, like what they like, big or small, hyped or unknown. We hope you’ll like some of it, too.

Marc Barreca — The Sleeper Awakes (Scissor Tail)

The Sleeper Wakes by Marc Barreca

Odd connections abound here. One might not expect the usually acoustic-oriented Scissor Tail Recordings to make a vinyl reissue of an electronic ambient music cassette from 1986, any more than one would expect its maker to currently earn his crust as a bankruptcy judge. So, let’s just shed those expectations and get to listening. Unlike so many lower profile electronic recordings from the 1980s, which seemed targeted for a space next to the cash register of a new age bookstore, this album offers a profusion of mysteries that compound the closer you listen to them. It’s not at all obvious what sounds Barreca fed into his Akai sampler. Japanese folk music? Church chimes? A log drum jam? Tugboat engines? One hears hints of such sounds, but they’ve been warped and dredged in a thin coat of murk, so that the predominant experience is one of feeling like you’re dreaming, even if your eyes are wide open.

Bill Meyer

Big Thief — “Little Things” / “Sparrow” (4AD)

Little Things/Sparrow by Big Thief

Who knows how much more music Big Thief might have released in the last 18 months if the pandemic hadn’t tripped them up? Given the creative momentum generated by 2019’s UFOF and Two Hands, it’s fair to assume the band have plenty of music waiting in the wings. “Little Things” and “Sparrow” arrive with no sign of a new album on the horizon, so are probably being released to promote Big Thief’s upcoming US and European tour. Both songs clock in at around five minutes and handle musical repetition in different satisfying ways. Reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac’s “Everything,” but hyped up on caffeine, “Little Things” feels like an exciting new direction for the band. It cycles through its whirlpooling, modulated acoustic guitar over and over, the frantic little sequence of chords never changing; the interest comes from the ways in which the rest of the instruments bob and weave in the ever-shifting, psychedelic mix. “Sparrow” is a more traditional Big Thief song, sparse and sad. Its melancholic sway is enlivened by some beautiful wavering vocal harmonies as Adrianne Lenker paints a picture of a Garden of Eden populated by sparrows, owls and eagles, culminating in Adam blaming Eve for humankind’s fall from grace.

Tim Clarke

Simão Costa — Beat Without Byte: (Un)Learning Machine (Cipsela)

Beat With Out Byte by Simão Costa

Piano preparation often makes use of modest resources — bolts and combs, strings or maybe just a raincoat tossed into the instrument’s innards. By contrast, Simão Costa’s set-up looks like took all of the entries in a robotics assembly competition and set them to work agitating a snarl of cables that met the pirated telecommunication requirements for an especially crowded favela. But whether it’s twitching motors or Costa’s own hands doing the work, the sounds that come out of his sound remarkably rich and cohesive. He stirs drifting hums, metallic sonorities, and stomping rhythms into a bracingly immediate sonic onslaught.

Bill Meyer

Cots — Disturbing Body (Boiled)

Disturbing Body by Cots

Disturbing Body is the low-key debut album by Montreal-based musician Steph Yates, who enlisted Sandro Perri to produce. Where the songs are pared back to mostly just vocals and peppy major-seventh chords on nylon-string guitar — such as “Bitter Part of the Fruit” and “Midnight at the Station” — comparisons with bossa-nova classics such as “The Girl From Ipanema” inevitably arise. Where the tempo is slower, the chord voicings are less sun-dappled, and Perri’s arrangements call upon a wider palette of instrumental colors, the songs venture into more interesting terrain, calling to mind a less haunted Broadcast. There’s an eerie sway to the opening title track, backed by rich piano chords and clattering cymbal textures. Fender Rhodes and the light clack of a rhythm track give “Inertia of a Dream” an uneasy momentum. And forlorn trumpet, percussion and piano situate “Last Sip” at closing time in a forgotten jazz club. There’s something evasive yet subtly intoxicating at work here, the album’s ten songs breezing past in half an hour, leaving plenty of unanswered questions in their wake.

Tim Clarke

Dry Cleaning — “Bug Eggs” / “Tony Speaks!” (4AD)

Bug Eggs/Tony Speaks! by Dry Cleaning

A few months on from the release of their excellent debut album, New Long Leg, Dry Cleaning have put out two more songs from the same sessions, which are featured as bonus tracks on the Japanese edition. For a band whose unique appeal is mostly attributed to Florence Shaw’s surreal lyrics and deadpan delivery, it’s heartening to hear further evidence that it’s the complete cocktail of musical ingredients — Shaw plus Tom Dowse’s inventive guitar, Lewis Maynard’s satisfyingly thick bass, and Nick Buxton’s driving drums — that alchemizes into their winning sound. The verse guitar chords of “Bug Eggs” are naggingly similar to New Long Leg’s “More Big Birds,” while the instrumental chorus has a yearning feel akin to album highlight “Her Hippo.” Maynard’s bass tone on “Tony Speaks!” is absolutely filthy, swallowing up most of the mix until Dowse’s guitar bares its teeth in a swarm of squalling wah-wah, while Shaw’s lyrics muse upon the decline of heavy industry, the environment, and crisps.

Tim Clarke

Flight Mode — TX, ’98 (Sound As Language)

TX, '98 by Flight Mode

In 1998, well before he started Little Hands of Asphalt, Sjur Lyseid spent a year in Texas at the height of the emo wave, skateboarding and going to house shows and listening to the Get Up Kids. TX, ’98 is the Norwegian’s tribute to that coming of age experience, the giddy euphorias of mid-teenage freedom filtered through bittersweet subsequent experience. “Sixteen” is the banger, all crunchy, twitchy exhilarating guitars and vulnerable pop tunefulness, its clangor breaking for wistful reminiscence, but “Fossil Fuel” waxes lyrical, its guitar riffs splintering into radiant shards, its lyrics capturing those youthful years when anything seems possible and also, somehow, the later recognition that perhaps it isn’t. It’s an interesting tension between the now-is-everything hedonism of adolescence and the rueful remembering of adulthood, encapsulate in a chorus that goes, “Well wait and see if there’s no more history/and just defend the present tense.”

Jennifer Kelly

Drew Gardner— S-T (Eiderdown Records)

S/T by Drew Gardner

Drew Gardner has been popping up all over lately, on Elkhorn’s snowed in acoustic jam Storm Sessions and the electrified follow-up Sun Cycle and as one of Jeffrey Alexander’s Heavy Lidders. Here, it’s just him and his guitar plus a like-minded rhythm section (that’s Ryan Jewell on drums and Garcia Peoples’ Andy Cush on bass), spinning off dreamy, folk-into-interstellar-journeys like “Calyx” and “Kelp Highway.” Gardner puts some muscle into some of his grooves, running close to Chris Forsyth’s wide-angle electric boogie in “Bird Food.” “The Road to Eastern Garden,” though, is pure limpid transcendence, Buddhist monastery bells jangling as Gardner’s warm, inquiring melodic line intersects with rubbery bends on bass. Give this one a little time to sit, but don’t miss it.

Jennifer Kelly

Hearth — Melt (Clean Feed)

Melt by Hearth

This pan-European quartet’s name suggests domesticity, but the fact that none of its members lives in the country of their birth probably says more about the breadth of their music. The closest geographic point of reference for the sounds that pianist Kaja Draksler, trumpeter Susana Santos Silva, and saxophonists Ada Rave and Mette Rasmussen’s make together would be Chicago’s south side. Their dynamic blend of angular structures, extended instrumental techniques, and obscurely theatrical enactments brings to mind the Art Ensemble of Chicago, even though the sounds on this concert-length recording rarely echo the AEC’s. But it is similarly charged with mystery and collective identity.

Bill Meyer

Klaus Lang / Konus Quartett — Drei Allmenden (Cubus)

youtube

Drei Allmenden (translation: Three Commons) treats the act of commission as an opportunity to create common cause. For composer and keyboardist Klaus Lang, this is a chance to push back against a long trend of separation and stratification, with musicians bound to realize the composer’s whim, no matter the cost. Invoking works from the 16th century, he penned something simple, flexible and open to embellishment. Then he pitched in with Konus Quartett, a Swiss saxophone ensemble, to get the job done. The three-part piece, which lasts 43 sublime minutes, amply rewards the submersion of ego. Lang’s slowly morphing harmonium drones and Konus’ long reed tones sound like one instrument, enriched by tendrils of sound that rise up and then sink back into the music’s body.

Bill Meyer

Lynch, Moore, Riley — Secant / Tangent (dx/dy)

Secant | Tangent by Sue Lynch, N.O. Moore, Crystabel Riley

Electric guitarist N.O. Moore is barely known in these parts. I’ve only heard him on one album with Eddie Prévost a couple years back, and the other two musicians, not at all. But on the strength of this robust performance, which was recorded at London’s Icklectick venue, it would be a loss to keep it that way. They combine acoustic sounds with electronics, courtesy of guitar effects and amplification, in an exceedingly natural fashion. Each musician also gets into the other’s business in ways that correspond to the one spicy suggestion made by one cook that elevates another’s dish to the next level. Susan Lynch’s clarinet and flute compliment Moore’s radiophonic/feedback sounds like two flashes of lightning illuminating the same dark cloud, and her vigorously pecking saxophone attack mixes with Crystabel’s cascading beats like idiosyncratically tuned drums. This is one of the first albums to be released on Moore’s dx/dy label; keep your eye out for more.

Bill Meyer

Maco Sica / Hamid Drake Tatsu Aoki & Thymme Jones—Ourania (Feeding Tube)

OURANIA by Mako Sica / Hamid Drake featuring Tatsu Aoki & Thymme Jones

Ourania is named for the muse associated with astronomy in Greek mythology, and the album has an aim for the stars quality. In 2020, Chicago’s Mako Sica lost not only the chance to play concerts, but one third of its number. Core members Brent Fuscaldo (electric bass, voice, harmonica, percussion) and Przemyslaw Krys Drazek (electric trumpet, electric guitar, mandolin) could have just hunkered down with their respective TV sets. Instead, they booked themselves three other musicians who make rising above circumstances a core practice. The duo convened at Electrical Audio with Hamid Drake (drums, percussion, Tatsu Aoki (upright bass, shamisen), and Thymme Jones (piano, organ, balloon, trumpet, voice, recorder, percussion), rolled tape for a couple hours, and walked out with this album. The 85 minute-long recording (edited to about half that length on vinyl, but the LP comes with a download card) exudes a vibe of calm, even beatitude, with twin trumpets and Fuscaldo’s echo-laden, nearly word-free vocals weaving though a sequence of patient grooves like migrational birds on the glide.

Bill Meyer

Mar Caribe — Hymn of the Mar Caribe (Mar Caribe)

Hymn of the Mar Caribe b/w Rondo for Unemployment by mar caribe

Some musicians burn to make something new; others generate attention-getting sounds designed to maximize the potential of their other earning activities; and others, well, they just want you to sway along with their version of the good sounds. Mar Caribe falls into that last category. This Chicago-based instrumental ensemble has spent most of the last decade maintaining a robust performance schedule, and it would seem that recording is pretty much an afterthought; a photo of the test pressing for this 7” was posted in May 2019, but the release show didn’t happen until August 2021. Sure, COVID can be blamed for part of the delay, but one suspects that mostly, these guys just want to play, and they didn’t bother to stuff the singles in the sleeves until they knew when they’d next be leaning over a merch table. The titular suspends anthemic brass and pedal steel over a swinging double bass cadence, and if there was a moment during the night when the band invited the audience to pledge allegiance to their favorite drink, this is what they’d be playing while they asked. Guitars lead on the flip side, whose busy twists and turns belie the implied laziness of the title, “Rondo For Unemployment.”

Bill Meyer

Mint Julep — In a Deep and Dreamless Sleep (Western Vinyl)

In A Deep And Dreamless Sleep by Mint Julep

These songs traverse a hazy, dreamlike space, diffusing dance beats, dream-y vocals and synth pulses into inchoate sensation that nonetheless retains enough rhythmic propulsion to keep your heart rate up. “A Rising Sun” filters jangly guitar and bass through a sizzle of static, letting tambourine thump gently somewhere off camera, as voices soothe and reassure. “Mirage” pounds a four-on-the-floor, but quietly, angelically, like a disco visited through astral projection or maybe a really rave-y iteration of heaven. There’s an ominous undercurrent to “Longshore Drift,” in its growly, sub-bass-y hum, but glittering bits of synth sprinkle over like fairy dust. This is indefinitely gorgeous stuff, ethereal but surprisingly energizing. Dance or drift, take your pick.

Jennifer Kelly

Monocot — Directions We Know (Feeding Tube)

Direction We Know by Monocot

Directions We Know is an LP of free-form freak-outs generated by an instrumental duo that includes one musician who you might expect to perpetuate such a ruckus, and one that you might not. The more likely character is drummer Jayson Gerycz, who may be known for keeping time with the Cloud Nothings, but has shown a willingness to wax colorizing in the company of Anthony Pasquarosa, Jen Powers and Matthew Rolin. The happy surprise is Rosali Middleman, whose singer-songwriter efforts have kept her guitar playing firmly in service of her songs. She doesn’t exactly abandon lyricism in Monocot, but the tunes serve as launching ramps for exuberant lunges into the realm of voltage-saturated sound. On “Ruby Throated,” the first of the record’s four extended jams, Middleman lofts rippling peals over a near-boil of drums and churning loops. By the time you get to “Multidimensional Solutions,” the last and longest track, her wah-wah-dipped streams of sound have taken on a blackened quality, as though her overheating tubes have burned every note.

Bill Meyer

Obits — Die at the Zoo (Outer Battery)

Die At The Zoo by Obits

Few aughts rock bands held more promise than Obits. The four-piece headed by Hot Snakes’ Rick Froberg and Edsel’s Sohrab Habibion emerged in 2005 with a stinging, stripped-back, blues-touched sound. Froberg’s feral snarl rode a surfy, twitchy amplified onslaught, that was, by 2012 a finely tuned machine. I caught one of the live shows following Moody, Standard and Poor at small club in Northampton the same year this was recorded (so small that I was sitting on a couch next to Froberg, oblivious, for 20 minutes before the show), and what struck me was how well the band played together. The records sound chaotic, and that was certainly there in performance, but the cuts and stops were perfect, the surfy instrumental breaks (“New August”) absolutely in tune. At the time this set was recorded in the Brisbane punk landmark known as the Zoo, the band was near the peak of its considerable powers—and regrettably near the end of its run. Die at the Zoo is reasonably well recorded, rough enough to capture the band’s raucous energy, skilled enough so you can understand the words and hear all the parts. It hits all the highlights, blistering early cuts like “Widow of My Dreams,” and “Pine On,” the blues cover “Milk Cow Blues,” and later, slightly more melodic ragers like “Everything Looks Better in the Morning” and “You Gotta Lose.” The guitar work is particularly sharp throughout, its straight-on chug breaking into fiery blues licks and surfy whammy explosions. It’s a poignant reminder of a time when American rock bands played ferocious shows halfway across the world (or anywhere) as a matter of course and a fitting eulogy for Obits.

Jennifer Kelly

A Place To Bury Strangers — Hologram (Dedstrange)

Hologram EP by A Place To Bury Strangers

A Place To Bury Strangers returns with a new rhythm section and renewed focus on the elements that made its version of revivalism the loudest if not brashest of the New York aughties. Sarah and John Fedowitz on drums and bass join Oliver Ackerman on the five track EP Hologram which is the most concise and vital APTBS release for a while. For all the criticism of copyism thrown at the band since their early days, APTBS has always been as much about Ackerman’s production skills and feel for texture as musical originality and the songs on Hologram sound fantastic at volume. Beneath the sonic onslaught of fuzz and reverb, not a brick is misplaced in this intricately constructed sonic wall. True “I Might Have” is pure Jesus & Mary Chain and “In My Hive” a Wax Trax take on Spector but Hologram is an endorphin rush of guitar driven noise bound to make one forget the world, if only for a while.

Andrew Forell

Praises — EP4 (Hand Drawn Dracula)

youtube

Jesse Crowe’s work as Praises has been ongoing since 2014, but has shifted in tone, instrumentation and emphasis since then. While the first two EPs have more of a full, rock band feel, the third one and 2018’s full-length In This Year: Ten of Swords took things in a more electronic, sometimes industrial direction. It was an even better fit for the rest, probing creativity evident in Praises’ work, and 3/4s of the new EP4 are in a pleasingly similar vein. The echoing, ringing denunciations of “We Let Go” and “A World on Fire” are fine examples of Praises’ existing strengths, but the opening “Apples for My Love” is immediately captivating in a very different way. Gauzy and rapturous, it’s a reverie that keeps the satisfying textural detail of the other songs but turns them to different ends. It’s not something that was missing from Crowe’s work before — again, the other tracks here are also very good — but a reminder that what Praises has shown before is not the extent of what they can do.

Ian Mathers

The Sundae Painters — The First SP Single (Leather Jacket)

youtube

“This is a supergroup, is it not?” someone asked the Sundae Painters bassist Paul Kean on social media last year, to which he responded, “Some may choose that title. We prefer superglue.” Kaye Woodward, his wife and longtime bandmate in both The Bats and Minisnap, takes the lead vocal on “Thin Air,” one of the pair of A-sides found on their new band’s debut seven-inch. From the outset, Kean’s unmistakable bass playing and Hamish Kilgour’s (The Clean/Mad Scene) drumming lock into a psychedelic march, with the other instruments weaving like kites above, vying for position on the same breeze. “You fight your way down/You fight your way up/You wait for the dust to settle,” Woodward sings. A few gentle strums cut their way through the parade, and a guitar calls out gull-like from above, before everything trails off as if something potent has just kicked in. On the flip side, “Aversion” has an old friend-like familiarity to it, soundwise (if not lengthwise) sitting somewhere between VU’s “The Gift” and “Sister Ray.” Things begin a little stand-offish, though, like you’ve interrupted a guitar pontificating to a rapt audience — it turns its head to look you over, falling momentarily silent, before picking right back up where it left off. Kilgour’s spoken vocals join the conversation, as the song builds towards a groovy kind of fever pitch. “You look a little stoned,” he says, before responding to his own observation. “Well me I’m a little bit groggy/But it ain’t too foggy/I can see some way of getting out of here.” By this point, both guitars (played by Woodward and Tall Dwarfs’ Alec Bathgate) are full-on screeching and howling, and as the song sputters to a sudden finish, our man’s left waiting for someone to buy him “a ride out the gate.”

Chris Liberato

Thou — Hightower (Self-released)

Hightower by Thou

Hightower is the latest in a string of digital compilations from Thou, most of which collect songs that have been previously released on small-batch splits, 7” records and other hyper-obscure media that briefly circulated through the metal underground. You might be tempted to pronounce that a cynical cash-grab, but Thou has posted Hightower (along with previous compilations, like Algiers, Oakland and Blessings of the Highest Order, a killer collection of Nirvana covers) on their official Bandcamp page as a name-yo’-price download. Thanks, band. Beyond convenience, Hightower has an additional, if a sort of inside-baseball, attraction. The band has re-recorded a few of its older songs with its latest, three-guitar line-up. Longtime listeners will recognize “Smoke Pigs” and “Fucking Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean,” which already sounded terrifyingly massive back in 2008 and 2007, respectively. The expanded instrumentation, new arrangements and better production give the songs even more power and depth, all the way down to the bottom of the effing ocean. Yikes. And there are a few additional touches, like K.C. Stafford’s clean vocals on “Fucking Chained…,” which provide an effective complement to Bryan Funck’s inimitably scabrous howl. Rarely has being pummeled and feeling bummed out been so vivifying.

Jonathan Shaw

Tropical Fuck Storm — Deep States (Joyful Noise)

Deep States by Tropical Fuck Storm

Fueled by exasperation as much as anger, the new album by Melbourne’s Tropical Fuck Storm rounds on the myriad ways in which the world has become a “Bumma Sanger” as leader Gareth Liddiard puts it on the eponymous song about COVID lockdown. A roiling meld of psychedelic garage garnished with elements of hip hop and electronic noise it’s close in method and mood if not sound to another Australian provocateur JG Thirwell whose Foetus project girded maximalist surfaces with rigid discipline. If the Tropical Fuck Storm sought to mirror current conditions, they succeed but lack of clarity in both production and intent makes Deep States a frustrating experience. Backing vocals from Fiona Kitschin (bass), Erica Dunn (keys and guitar) and Lauren Hammel (drums) leaven Liddiard’s blokey pronouncements and there are some good sounds and biting words but the band’s determination to overelaborate and underdevelop musical ideas makes this album seem like a lost opportunity.

Andrew Forell

Marta Warelis / Carlos “Zingaro” / Helena Espvall /Marcelo dos Reis — Turquoise Dream (JACC)

Turquoise Dream by Marta Warelis, Carlos "Zíngaro", Helena Espvall, Marcelo dos Reis

Turquoise Dream documents an example of an encounter that is a mainstay of avant-garde jazz festivals, in which out of towners mix it up locals that they may or may not know. This particular concert, which took place at the Jazz ao Centro Festival in 2019, is one such encounter that deserves to live past the night when it transpired. It featured three stringed instrument players who live in Portugal and a Polish pianist who is based in Holland. But they don’t sound like strangers at all. Violinist Zingaro, cellist Espvall, and guitarist dos Reis blend like flashes of sunlight reflecting off of waves, adding up to a sound that is bright and ever-changing. Warelis, who is equally resourceful with her head under the lid of her piano as she is at the keyboard, adding fleet but substantial responses to her hosts’ quicksilver interactions. The result is music that is resolutely abstract but closely engaged.

Bill Meyer

Wharflurch — Psychedelic Realms ov Hell (Gurgling Gore)

PSYCHEDELIC REALMS OV HELL by Wharflurch

Wharflurch is just plain fun to say — but there are at least two ways in which the name also makes sense for the band that has chosen it: it has a bilious, nauseous quality that matches the vibe of the pustulent death metal you’ll hear on Psychedelic Realms ov Hell; and if you separate the words, you can conjure a sodden, rotten wooden structure, swaying vertiginously over a marshy expanse of water, which is filled with alligators and decaying organic material. Imagine that sway, and that stink, and then imagine yourself collapsing into the viscous fluid, soon to be gator chow. Sounds like Florida, and that’s exactly from whence Wharflurch has emerged. Which also makes sense. Is Wharflurch’s music “psychedelic”? Depends on what you hear in that word. If you want to see hippies dancing ecstatically on a verdant, sun-drenched stretch of Golden Gate Park, then no. But if you have spent any time in the warped, dementedly distorted spaces that psychedelics can open (less happily perhaps, but very powerfully), then yes. Wharflurch likes to accent its meaty riffs and muscular thumps with weird flutters and electronic effects that frequently have a gastric, flatulent quality to them. The saturated and sickly pinks and greens on the album art do a pretty good job of capturing the music’s tones. So do the song titles: “Stoned Ape Apocalypse,” “Bog Body Boletus,” “Phantasmagorical Fumes.” Still game? I’m sorry. But I’ll also be standing right there next to you, on that wobbly, lurching wharf, watching the gators swim near.

Jonathan Shaw

Whisper Room — Lunokhod (Midira Records)

Lunokhod by Whisper Room

That the title of Whisper Room’s fifth album is taken from Soviet lunar rovers makes a certain sense, given how potentially frustrating it might have been for the trio to be working at such a distance. Generally their other records are recorded live, in one room, seeing Aidan Baker (guitar), Jakob Thiesen (drums) and Neil Wiernik (bass) exploring simultaneously, hitting whatever junctions of psychedelic/shoegazing/motorik sound come to them. With Baker in Berlin and travel understandably limiited, this time they recorded their parts separately, layering them together (and bringing in sound designer Scott Deathe to add the kind of pedal processing their sound engineer normally does live). The result certainly sounds as collaborative as ever, seven seamless tracks making up nearly an hour that makes the journey from the friendly, clattering percussion of “Lunokhod01” to the centrifugal ambience of “Lunokhod07” feel perfectly natural. Even though it explores just as much inner and outer space as Whisper Room ever have, there’s something very approachable about Lunokhod that makes it one of their best.

Ian Mathers

5 notes · View notes

x--daughters-of-darkness--x · 3 years

Text

THE AGONIST to Release New EP, 'Days Before The World Wept', In October

Canadian extreme melodic death metallers THE AGONIST will release a new EP, "Days Before The World Wept", on October 15 via Napalm Records.

Inspired by real-life experiences, "Days Before The World Wept" explores a grim, conceptual tale of greed, gluttony, confusion, pain, redemption and hope enveloped in a new level of aggression and cohesive, technical prowess.

Get a taste of the band's newest music today by watching the music video for brand new single "Remnants In Time". The death metal burner brings non-stop energy throughout, showcasing Vicky Psarakis's multifaceted vocal attack as she nails searing highs, guttural lows and magical clean passages. Just like the track itself, its haunting, conceptual music video's imagery blends emotive and eerie imagery throughout.

The onslaught continues with the rhythmic soundscapes of cry for salvation "Immaculate Deception", blending fast paced, aggressive verses with haunting, melodic choruses. "Resurrection" reaches into blackened territory before Psarakis splits it wide open — annihilating with her pinpointed vocal attack calling for rebirth. In addition to Psarakis and guitarists Danny Marino and Pascal Jobin, dexterous drums from Simon McKay and the bass attack of Chris Kells lead the listener through metallic melodic passages topped with emotive poetry before breaking into the next track, "Feast On The Living". It stands tall with rollercoaster clean and gritty vocals, rapid fire drums and blazingly precise guitar leads and solos, cementing the track as one of the most technically meticulous of the entire offering. Shifting into fifth gear, title track "Days Before The World Wept" brings it all home, beginning with a beckoning acoustic introduction before roaring in with intense blastbeats, polyrhythms and bellowing screams. THE AGONIST pulls out all the stops, showcasing their chops in all directions with breakneck instrumentation and staggeringly superb vocal approaches. Soaring through a kaleidoscope of blistering metal mastery and hopeful lyrical dramatism, the opus dominates as one of the most impressive works of the band's catalog.

Psarakis says about "Remnants In Time" and the accompanying video: "'Remnants in Time' is the first chapter in this story. It marks the final moments of a person's life and the journey that begins right after.

"We wanted the visuals to strongly reflect the lyrics and the concept behind them, and transforming me into a demon was key in that. I'm a huge fan of horror/sci-fi and makeup transformations, so working with a professional makeup artist and the use of prosthetics was the coolest part for me!

"This song — and video — is all about extremes. Angelic and demonic, fragile and strong, delicate and aggressive. It embodies a lot of what THE AGONIST is about."

"Days Before The World Wept" was produced by Christian Donaldson, who has previously worked with BEYOND CREATION, CRYPTOPSY and DESPISED ICON.

Psarakis adds about the record: "There's a lot I could say about this EP and its importance to the band, but does it matter? Obviously, this is the part where I tell you these are the best songs we've put out to date. Honestly — it's a journey. You're either gonna reach the end and want to relive it or you're not... and that's okay. Let the music speak for itself."

"Days Before The World Wept" track listing:

01. Remnants in Time 02. Immaculate Deception 03. Resurrection 04. Feast on the Living 05. Days Before the World Wept

THE AGONIST is:

Vicky Psarakis - Vocals / Piano Danny Marino - Guitar Pascal Jobin - Guitar Chris Kells - Bass Simon McKay - Drums

#Vicky Psarakis #The Agonist #Days Before the World Wept #2021 news

3 notes · View notes

gabrielmanagement · 5 years

Photo

Gabriel Management presents the new High Roller Records release: ONSLAUGHT "The Force" LP reissue out on February 8 Although formed in 1982 and deeply routed in the UK hardcore and punk scenes, Onslaught went on to become one of the main protagonists of the late 1980’s UK thrash metal movement. Following 1985’s classic "Power From Hell", "The Force" was even more successful than the debut. Compared to "Power From Hell" with its leanings towards early death metal, "The Force" was an altogether different beast. Thrash metal songs like "Let There Be Death", "Contract In Blood" and "Fight With The Beast" were much more complex than anything on the first album. The new style was also at least partly due to Sky Keeler having joined Onslaught as the band’s new vocalist. His slightly more melodic approach made the Bristolians also appeal to fans of the first two Metallica albums. More information + ordering: https://www.hrrshop.de/ONSLAUGHT-The-Force-LP-BLACK_1

2 notes · View notes

punk-chicken-radio · 6 years

Text

thunderdome thursday

good day to all you chickens out there!!

i swear we just did this. when i got back from my big euro jaunt, one of the first messages i got from @thepunkmummy was “pick the thunderdome genres”. and i was a little confused cause i felt like we had just done one. the reality was it only felt like it (though we don’t normally do these that often) and they were running over a month apart. due to all our respective travel lately, we are often planning out shows A MONTH in advance. so....we threw another thunderdome in to the schedule.

if you aren’t familiar with this concept. one host picks 10 musical genres, we each pick 10 songs that are within those genres, and play them blind, to see who made the best choices and gets the most notes overall, and that host gets bragging rights to lord over the other hosts.

but mostly we do it so we can spend a week insulting and taunting each other.

for this installment of thunderdome, it was me, @loveaxiomatic, who chose the genres. i went a little easy on my co-hosts and didn’t plunder the corner of the internets for really obscure genres. but mostly i didn’t go too crazy cause i had PM pestering me to pick them hahahaha.

today’s genres are

garage house

bossa nova

emo pop

louisiana swamp pop

post punk revival

melodic death metal

no wave

mumble rap

industrial folk

space disco

smelly immediately started complaining and i was like...

while for most of you, thunderdome may be one of our shows where you are like “what the fuck are they playing over there?”, we really enjoy these shows. you guys are just subjected to the fall out over our trying to stymie each other and make it as hard as possible to pick songs. we get pretty competitive with each other, and the trash talking gets pretty out of proportion considering there are really no stakes involved, except bragging rights. even @theoldsmelly, who is normally unfuckwithable, puts his game face on and suddenly turns into a ruthless competitor. all day long we watch how it’s going, and when we see our songs are not doing well, tend to start rationalizing pretty fiercely.

that’s usually me hahahahaha.

okay, so that’s about it. prepare your ears for the onslaught. and may the most clever host win....

it’s thunderdome time.

three hosts enter, one host leaves kisses,

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

love (her ability to pay attention is as flawed as your theme ideas) axiomatic, the punk (you’ve awoken the beast) mummy and the old (how come PM is denying all knowledge?) smelly

#thunderdome thursday #pcr

11 notes · View notes

thisdayinmetal · 2 years

Text

Album Review - The Agonist - Days Before the World Wept

Album Review – The Agonist – Days Before the World Wept

Canadian Melodic Death Metal Quintet ‘The Agonist’ have returned with a blistering new EP “Days Before The World Wept” released via Napalm Records. It encapsulates their signature sound that spans various genres of metal yet brings a whole new tremendous onslaught to the senses. The EP is a conceptual fable, a kaleidoscope of metal wizardry and dramatisation that pulls out all the stops. It…

View On WordPress

#Album Reviews #Headbanger #Heavy Metal #HeavyMetalBand #HeavyMetalFans #HeavyMetalForever #HeavyMetalMusic #Lindsay C.#MetalBand #Metalheads #This Day In Metal

0 notes

horrorpatch · 3 years

Text

HIRAES Drops Second Single From Debut Album, 'Solitary'!

HIRAES Drops Second Single From Debut Album, ‘Solitary’!

Germanic melodic death metal newbies HIRAES has today released the second single for, “Solitary” from the band’s debut album, Solitary. Led by seasoned frontwoman Britta Görtz, this band will pummel your senses with their metallic and brutal onslaught. Watch the video for the single and get more info about this band to watch out for down below. From The Press Release “Future turns to…

View On WordPress

#Hiraes band #Melodic Death Metal #Napalm Records #Solitary album #Solitary single

0 notes

metalshockfinland · 3 years

Text

HIRAES Drop Second Single 'Solitary'

HIRAES Drop Second Single ‘Solitary’

[photo credit: Lisa Ulferts] German melodic death metal demons HIRAES (ex-DAWN OF DISEASE) are set to release its first sonic onslaught to the masses with the long-awaited, fearless debut offering, Solitary, on June 25, 2021 via Napalm Records. Today, after unleashing their raging first single, “Under Fire”, the unit – comprised of members of the disbanded Dawn Of Disease and with the powerful…

View On WordPress

0 notes

gbhbl · 2 years

Text

Album Review: Omnium Gatherum – Origin (Century Media Records)

Always a source of fascinating music, Omnium Gatherum aren’t feeling their 25 years and exit 2021 with one of their finest albums to date.

Omnium Gatherum – OG for close friends – has been offering remarkable pieces of melodic death metal for already twenty-five shining years. While storming through these ferocious decades, Omnium Gatherum has convinced worldwide legions of heavy metal lovers by releasing unstoppable musical onslaughts and touring relentlessly all over the world. Their latest offering is called Origin and it will be…

View On WordPress

#Album Review #Century Media Records #Melo-death #Melodic Death Metal #Omnium Gatherum #Origin

0 notes

rainydawgradioblog · 4 years

Text

RDR Essentials - Metal (4/20)

RDR Essentials is a weekly newsletter of alternating genres that outlines key releases of the past month, upcoming events around Seattle and happenings in the specified music genre.

Made in collaboration between Rainy Dawg DJs and the Music Director.

Releases:

The Black Dahlia Murder - Verminous

If you are interested in melodic death metal and/or modern metal chances are you’ve heard of the Black Dahlia Murder. Formed in Waterford, Michigan in 2001, they have continually pumped out melo death that is brutal, punishing, and catchy as hell. Their newest album, Verminous, is no exception extending the Black Dahlia Murder’s streak of stellar albums to nine. Verminous retains the band’s signature melo death sound without making it become stale or recycled. One of the biggest reasons that the band has been able to do is the addition of Brandon Ellis who replaced Bryan Knight on lead guitar. Ellis, who’s first work with the band was on their prior album Nightbringers, has been able to cement his reputation as an absolutely incredible guitarist. Every song on Verminous is killer in its own way. The Black Dahlia Murder continue to open their albums strongly as they launch in 36 minutes of brutality with the album’s title track. This song maintains the essential melo death sound while also incorporating some interesting elements of thrash. If the pre-chorus and chorus don’t get your head banging, I don’t know what will. The next song, “Godlessly,” continues the onslaught by adding some elements of black metal tremolo picking which keeps things fresh while not losing its melo death sound. After “Godlessly” is “Removal of the Oaken Stake” which is more “laid back” allowing the listener to get lost in the song. It’s very smooth but retains the heaviness with ample use of double kick and galloping. Up next is the second single from this album “Child of the Night” which utilizes both serpentine and breakneck tremolo riffage interchangeably all while maintaining absolute brutality. Following “Child of the Night,” is “Sunless Empire” which is just flat out epic. What’s great about this song is the emotional solo by Ellis. The song slows down and Ellis unleashes a killer solo that perfectly complements the emotion encapsulated within the song. The next song, “The Leather Apron’s Scorn” is absolutely brutal and very reminiscent of Carcass on Surgical Steel. The band really lays into the song by sacrificing speed at some points for absolutely slamming riffs. The Black Dahlia Murder keep the heaviness going with the next song “How Very Dead” which mixes memorable melodies and heavy guitar parts masterfully. My only gripe with this song is that the solo is too short which is a bummer because it always a pleasure to hear Mr. Ellis shred. “The Wereworm’s Feast” is an interesting song as it incorporates more thrash elements than “Verminous'' making it really more a thrash song than anything. Especially the rhythm section during the solo and the general straightforward riffs. The album closer, “Dawn of Rats,” perfectly closes an incredible album. It kicks the melodies, emotion, and epicness up the max. You can’t help but sit there and be overwhelmed by the beautiful brutality in this song. This album leaves you both satisfied and wanting more which is the best kind of album. The outro of this song is accompanied by an eerie voice, effectively bringing the album to a close. While Verminous certainly cannot compare to their efforts on Nocturnal, which is one of the greatest melodic death metal albums of all time, it is still one of their finest efforts to date. If you are looking for some great new metal to listen too and want something that is melodic, heavy, and epic, then Verminous is an album for you.

- Jack Irwin

Raider - Guardian of the Fire

Formed in 2017, Raider is a relatively new death infused thrash metal outfit hailing from Waterloo, Ontario. Guardian of Fire is the band's second release and first album as it is a follow up to their EP released in 2018 Urge to Kill. While Raider is by no means reinventing the wheel with this album, it still manages to be punishing and brutal. One of the most impressive elements of this album is the vocal performance put on by vocalist Angelo Bonaccorso. Taking the guttural elements from thrash and death metal and incorporating some black metal shrieks, Bonaccorso is able to create a memorable and formidable display of vocals. This release is a promising step in the right direction for Raider. This album is impressive but it’s nothing that’s crazy new, I predict that the band will really find their sound on their next album as they refine their style. Raider is in an incredibly good spot right now with the modern thrash continuing to make a name for itself and end up on countless “Best Album of the Year” lists. Power Trip hit their stride by blending hardcore influences with thrash as they continue to pump out killer music. Their album, Nightmare Logic, scored insanely high review scores with some saying that it’s a modern classic. Warbringer has been able to refine their sound by adding hints of black metal which has allowed them to push their music in a new direction that has also received very high praise. Now Raider has a chance to burst onto the scene with their death tinged thrash sound. If they have the chance to tour with some other modern thrash bands, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see an upswing in their popularity. Raider has the tools to become a force within modern thrash but needs to execute in the future with touring and finding their sound. If you want to listen to some awesome punishing and brutal thrash, Guardian of Fire is an album for you!

- Jack Irwin

Sutrah - Aletheia

There has been so much metal released in early months of 2020 that I had a hard time choosing which album to spotlight. Ultimately, I chose Sutrah’s EP Aletheia primarily because it was probably one of the weirder death metal albums I’ve heard in awhile. Sutrah had quite some hype behind them after the release of their first LP Dunes in 2017, and then signed to noted tech-death label The Artisan Era. The CV of the band is impressive, having bandmates featured in other talented acts like Svart Crown, Chthe’list, and Benighted. While it’s difficult to say if it lives up to the hype since it isn’t a full LP, it does present a very different version of (tech) death than what’s been previously established.

For context, a lot of death metal, especially the revivalist groups like Gatecreeper or Tomb Mold, tend to err on the side of harsh noise and brutality reminiscent of the ‘90s. Even other ‘tech death’ bands like Archspire ,or Sutrah’s label mates Inferi, tend to emphasize technical proficiency within this setting. Dunes had a lot of hype because it contained a large amount of meditative passages, really beautiful builds, and more of an emphasis on mood rather than simply being savage and really fast. It was similar to bands like Beyond Creation or Virvum but with an infusion of eastern/Buddhist themes.

Anyways, even though the album clocks in at a quick 28 minutes with 4 total songs, it still manages to do a lot, and very much builds on the template set in Dunes. The instrumentals do a great job telling a story and setting the atmosphere. The first track, Umwelt, is exactly that. It starts off with a wavy guitar melody that slowly builds into a soundscape-y jam that almost feels like shoegaze in some capacity. When the blast beat kicks in, it almost feels like an outro to a black metal song, with the ambient-yet-intense sonic palette. But then it builds into the second track, Lethe, which definitely leans towards the standard tech-death direction of insane musicianship in really weird time signatures. What seems different sonically to me is that the guitar work isn’t just insane flurries of dexterity, as there is a very heavy emphasis on melody and tone. The sound is really massive and light at the same time, which I think the pitch-harmonic riffs really help. The vocals and drums really coalesce with the bass/guitar work as well, and you know I’m a sucker for bands where you can hear the bass in the mix. There are a lot of really intense grooves, followed pretty seamlessly by more ambient/atmosphere-building guitar parts under massive blast beats and absolutely crazy symbol-work. Despite the kind of night-and-day difference between Lethe and Umwelt, I felt as though they fit very cohesively together more so than similar writing in Dunes.

The third track, Dwell, sees a pretty hefty slowdown from the previous one. There is no drumming or vocals, only a meditative, clean guitar riff with some occasional overdriven guitar fading in and out to create this pulsating/vibrating vibe. It forms a pretty interesting (if somewhat long) interlude between Lethe and Genèse, the album closer. This song is 13+ minutes of progressive death metal that really showcases the band’s musicianship and writing talents. It had elements of melodic tremolo picking, slow guitar passages, an almost Boston/80s-like guitar solo, slam-like chugs, odd djent-ish time signatures, and blast-beats that weave in and out of each other seamlessly. Honestly, it’s pretty tough to describe this song; we start out with various different melodies over blast beats, and after the 13 minutes, end up with gangsa cutting through mix and a pretty haunting vocal harmony at the end. It was incredible to me that they were able to write, let alone play, this piece. Even with all the seemingly disparate elements it still felt right; like they predicted what my brain wanted to happen next. It’s both savage and beautiful and sweet and haunting and melodic and also still death metal and I can only say that you have to listen to it.

While I have lavishly praised it at this point, it wasn’t without flaw. I think the interlude parts did a good job in separating the songs and giving the listener a break, they were perhaps a little too long for how much material was actually on the EP (especially Dwell). Similarly, I felt as though maybe 1 more song would’ve been nice to get us over 30 minutes. While listening to it is an intense experience (which can also be a flaw if you’re just trying to jam out while doing something), I would’ve like one more song to hold me over to the next LP. Another possible critique that some metalheads might have is that it is absurdly technical; death metal is dense, but this is dense. It’s a really heady listen even for someone already immersed in the genre, and it took me probably 3-5 listens to even start to comprehend what was going on. Sonically, I don’t have too much to complain about other than I didn’t quite care for the weird acapella harmony at the end. It definitely fits with the album theme and works, but it just isn’t really something I like in my metal and it wore on me with repeated listens.

All in all, it’s quite an EP. The thematic choices are interesting, the songwriting is excellent, and the musicianship is top quality. It’s unique and doesn’t lean on its technical proficiency, the latter of which can be a critique of the tech death subgenre. It’s maybe most related to Ulcerate’s atmospheric textures but with Virvum’s tones and melodies, but even that is kind of a stretch. It’s a little short and sometimes takes a chance, but that can be overlooked considering its other qualities are superb.

- Bobby Baraldi

Wampyric Rites - Demo III

As far as black metal record labels go, Death Kvlt productions is undeniably the best of the past couple years. I have already reviewed countless releases of theirs and so anyone reading this should know how big of a fanboy I am. This month we have two new releases from some of their best artists including a split from Lamp of Murmuur (which I will not be reviewing because I covered their last album on the last RDR Essentials), and this new ‘demo’ from Wampyric Rites. The demo starts with some haunting organs, no surprise there. However, there is some intricate technique, with low glissandos sliding in the bass register, giving the drones a wind-like quality. After the intro we go right into Wampyric Rites’ signature frozen riffage. The tremolo picked guitars imitate a swirling blizzard while the vocals expand through a cavernous cavity. Listening to this album makes you feel like you are taking refuge in a haunted cave as angry weather rages outside. Track III gives us a nice break from the storm and we are met with soft synth tones and a light acoustic guitar riff on top. Imagine stepping out of the cave and into the damp forest, torn apart by last night’s storm. Track IV is back to black metal, although with slower, doomier riffs. Personally, I think Track IV is the weakest on this album. It feels like it's lacking the depth and imagery of the other tracks. However, this album is still a solid black metal album, drawing on the speed and lofi quality of German black metal like Grausamkeit and Empaligon.

- Zac Weiner

April Releases:

4/1

Wampyric Rites - Demo III (black metal)

Inferno Requiem - Ancient Wolf (black metal)

4/3

August Burns Red - Guardians (metalcore)

Testament - Titans of Creation (thrash)

Aara - En Ergô Einai (black metal)

Lady Beast - The Vulture’s Amulet (heavy metal)

4/10

Nightwish - Human. :II: Nature (symphonic metal)

Benighted - Obscene Repressed (death/tech death/grind)

4/17

Aborted - Le Grande Mascarade (death metal) [EP]

Abysmal Dawn - Phylogenesis (death/tech death)

Khemmis - Doomed Heavy Metal (doom) [EP]

Oranssi Pazuzu - Mestarin Kynsi (doom/black/experimental)

Ripped to Shreds - Luan (death/doom/grind)

Cirith Ungol - Forever Black (black metal)

Elder - Omens (doom)

Funeral Leech - Death Meditation (death metal)

Upcoming Releases:

4/24

Warbringer - Weapons of Tomorrow (thrash)

Ulcerate - Stare into Death and Be Still (death/tech death)

Traveler - Termination Shock (power/heavy metal)

Black Curse - Endless Wound (death/black metal)

Solicitor - Spectral Devastation (heavy metal) [LOCAL]

Barishi - Old Smoke (progressive/doom/sludge)

5/01

Aether Realm - Redneck Vikings from Hell (Melodic Death/Folk)

Havok - V (Thrash)

Vader - Solitude in Madness (Death)

0 notes

upalldown · 5 years

Text

Blanck Mass - Animated Violence Mild

Fourth full-length album of drone-heavy electronica from Fuck Buttons’ Benjamin John Power

7/13

The title of Scottish producer Benjamin John Power’s fourth album as Blanck Mass, Animated Violence Mild, isn’t merely poetic word salad. If you’ve visited an arcade since the early 1990s, the phrase might be familiar from the American Amusement Machine Association’s rating system. The classification is meant to cover games that feature “violent elements that do not result in bloodshed, serious injury and/or death.” The notion of man-made, non-lethal violence finds new meaning on Powers’ most ambitious album yet. “I believe that many of us have willfully allowed our survival instinct to become engulfed by the snake [of consumerism] we birthed,” he writes in a statement accompanying his new record, identifying a kind of virtual violence against our collective interests, one which has been normalized in part by our own compliance.

This sinister current that flows beneath even our lives’ most routine interactions is thrust to the surface and cast in serrated chrome on Animated Violence Mild. The album’s title could double as a tongue-in-cheek rating for the contents therein: These are easily the most aggressive, full-throated songs Power has yet written in his nine-year solo career. Gone are the languid ambient pieces of his self-titled debut album and the overt pop inclinations of Dumb Flesh. Even the teeth bared on his previous full-length, 2017’s striking World Eater, now seem tame by comparison. Nearly every one of these eight tracks channels head-banging abandon in one form or another, with any lingering melodic sentimentality transformed into blinding chemiluminescence.

From the beginning, it’s obvious Power has no qualms prominently displaying his influences, which serves to highlight his omnivorous appetite. Tuneful industrial music of the 1980s and ’90s courses through the churning onslaught of opener “Death Drop” and rarely fades until monumental closer “Wings of Hate.” With its punchy groove and catchy synth lines, “No Dice” evokes the cadence of Nine Inch Nails’ “Terrible Lie” while entirely circumventing the classic with its opulent, sensuous arrangement. And no doubt Trent Reznor would be both proud and envious to hear how “Love Is a Parasite” repurposes The Downward Spiral’s seething energy and earworm riffs for its own apocalyptic design. Power also taps into black metal through scorched screams and electronic blast beats, nods to trap in his slower grooves, borrows the rapidfire samples of footwork, and wraps it all in ecstatic trance synths. But his stylistic combinations are so distinct and well executed that they effortlessly transcend any recognizable source material.

Two of Animated Violence Mild’s biggest standouts, “Death Drop” and “House vs. House,” kick off the record with the kind of instant momentum often reserved for punk records and hard techno DJs. It’s an overwhelming 15-minute stretch that showcases in brilliant detail all of what Blanck Mass has come to embody: bold experimentation, rhythmic intensity, explosive melody, and artful ferocity. “Hush Money” continues the thread with slightly less satisfying results. Perhaps because the halogen-bright dance tune follows two of Power’s best productions, or because it relies on a more linear and familiar structure, it’s the album’s sole dip in ingenuity. That actually says a lot about the quality of Animated Violence Mild: A track that might seem strong in another context can’t quite reach the high water mark set by everything around it.

Animated Violence Mild’s greatest success goes beyond how it manifests the intangibles of humanity’s self-automated undoing, or how it casts a melting pot of influences into singular shapes. Since Power debuted his Blanck Mass moniker in 2011, each record has been held in contrast to Fuck Buttons, his longtime duo with Andrew Hung, and rightly so. The wide scope and stratospheric heights of that group’s best work leave an indelible impression, and Power’s solo work has by turns subverted or indulged the same tendencies. For this album’s final track he seems to do both. “Wings of Hate” is dragon-sized and full of fire, hurtling towards the sun with a raw fury unmatched by Power’s other music. It’s the last in a spectacular series of definitive salvos. If previous Blanck Mass albums were each a step out from the shadow of Fuck Buttons, Animated Violence Mildshows that he’s outgrown the comparison altogether.

youtube

https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/blanck-mass-animated-violence-mild/

#blanck mass #animated violence mild

0 notes

fluidsf · 5 years

Photo

Unstable Matter 2 Monocube: Substratum (2019) Reviewed format: CD album on Cyclic Law / Malignant Records Catalogue number: 137TH CYCLE / TUMORCD120 Welcome to a new review in the Unstable Matter series on this blog in which I will be featuring more releases of the darker side of underground music in styles like Dark Ambient, Death Industrial, Industrial and Power Electronics, focusing mostly on physical releases from various artists and labels. In this second review I’m discussing this recent album titled Substratum by Ukrainian artist Monocube whose piece Hortus Amoris I also reviewed rather favorably in my review of the Kaleidoscope compilation on Flaming Pines. Monocube kindly sent me a review copy of the CD version of this album quite some time ago, but today I can finally get to reviewing Substratum, which also fits in well with the more intensified focus on darker underground music that I will be taking in this coming season of reviews. Substratum was released in a collaboration between the labels Cyclic Law and Malignant Records, who combined release a variety of dark experimental music in styles like Industrial and Dark Ambient and take a serious artistic approach to their releases which besides the excellent music also feature detailed gorgeous artwork and packaging designs, some great attention to detail in the presentation of music too, that is clear. Indeed also with Substratum and in particular this CD version I have here you can find some lovely artwork complimenting the music, in this case by Sukker.og.Pepper Studio in Berlin. The CD is housed in a thin but also harmonica like matte cardboard sleeve with the artwork wrapping all around the sleeve and CD featuring dark surreal imagery created in a mixed media style. The organic earth like textures and collages of human figures compliment the deep, at times diffuse and hypnotic music on Substratum very well and the quality of the print shows the imagery in good quality on this physical format. Great presentation and that obviously brings us to the music on Substratum itself. Substratum as an album feels quite like a subconscious hypnotic journey in various phases but with recurring musical elements. Indeed, the obvious “cyclic” tag definitely does apply to the way the album flows through its 8 long tracks and compared to Monocube’s track Hortus Amoris his approach is considerably more abstract, minimalist and texture based on this album. Starting with first track Sehnsucht it’s noticeable Monocube goes for a decidedly more clouded approach on this album. Deep reverberated resonant and bassy drone, ghostly clangs, shifting sounds and metallic guitar tones float through the soundscape backing the slowly repeating melody that drives the piece. There’s an eerie sense of threat and uncertainty, a kind of feeling like sitting in a cathedral at night, the surrounding environment of the huge building is peaceful and quiet but as clouds move past the moon and shadows shift through the coloured windows, memories of ancient times start to appear in your mind, like experiencing the construction of the church up close. The clanging deeply reverberating elements in the piece add a ghostly kind of cold to the atmosphere of the piece but the brightly tinkling attacks of the guitar tones also brighten up the situation somewhat. Just like in Hortus Amoris, there is hope shining in between the gloomy shadows but the clouds seem to be blocking out sharp thoughts of an eventual brighter resolution to the threatening waves of fear lurking in corners. Prima Materia follows as a wave of dark ambience that appears to depict some kind of ancient ritual being performed in the cellars of the aforementioned church this album feels like being played in. The bass drone of the piece is quite strong and has a warmly flowing movement and the slowly changing tones of the bass form a melodic line which even feels like subtly referencing more atmospheric kinds of UK Garage tracks by for example Burial, though still obviously staying on point with the Dark Ambient style and being firmly integrated in the soundscape of the piece. Sharp somewhat noisy synth tones attempt to pierce through the haze of incense, candles and shadows flowing through the cellars hinting at some inner struggle or even metaphorically expressing “a brittle soul”, but their brightness also radiates an energetic light breaking the dark. Highly resonant male vocals depict the aforementioned ritual in wordless chants that flow through the whole church building and the ever changing melodic direction of the whole piece in general gives the music an eerie sense of mystery. Then on Luft we have a dronescape in which a fluid organic bass drone accompanies what sounds like a strong stream of wind, air (Luft) flowing through a huge space, with tinkling low guitar tones reverberating like subtle hints of melancholic memories from many years ago. Subdued synth whines add subtle hints of danger to the environment and there’s a strong forceful stream of feedback that rises out of the hazy wind about halfway into the track and which adds a quite abrasive but also fitting kind of cloudy resonance to the dronescape that slowly moves back into the background overtime. The combination of the ghostly drone and intense feedback stream gives the music quite an intriguing combination of ambience and Industrial harshness which conjures up surreal images of ruins, nature breaking into an ancient building, the wind destroying its thick walls during a storm with the guitar tones sounding like a guitarist playing inside the building without stopping, paying no attention to the ongoing onslaught of the elements, staying in his continuous peaceful quaint mood. An intriguing combination of textures and melody. Visions V follows which feels like an “aftermath” piece of Luft, With its dark melodies and more diffuse bassy drone we are back in the church in terms of textures and atmosphere, Industrial clangs and shifting sounds similar to Sehnsucht return and the feedback stream from Luft seems to return here in a fragmented and more filtered noisy manner. The resonant layers of texture and eerie alarm like sound of the noisy feedback sweeps combined with falling synth tones conjure up a feeling a dark feeling of losing hope after a natural storm of destruction has ended. Still, not all hope is lost and even through the darkness the Eastern like raga vibes coming out of the bass drone at times do also emit a sense of peace even in this dangerous environment. The Opposite Of Nadir starts the second half of Substratum which also on the sleeve of the CD is clearly pointed out. This piece (on which Finnish musician Antti Litmanen is featured) moves into even darker territory combined with some great high pitched crackling metallic synthetic sounds, featuring more diffuse filtered resonant drone layers and some great scattering synth effects that sound like some kind of alien insect. The track is quite a bit more drone based in nature, consisting mostly of ever interlocking hazy drones that infinitely rise and fall creating wide clouds of deep mysterious cold mist, flowing past you and constantly threatening a possible impeding doom. Indeed listening to this piece I could almost feel the cold temperature of a deserted grey landscape, a place permanently in a state of fear, no sounds but the hollow fuzzy sound of the cold wind as it flows through the trees, making the leaves rattle until they simply fall off. Opaque follows a similar theme of organic Dark Ambient drones with a more open glassy resonant sound to it, bursts of noise sound like distant hits of thunder, far away clangs of metallic doors and tubes reverberate but the music also returns to the more ritual like elements like in Prima Materia. The bass drone has a hypnotic meditative quality to it and the high pitched tones floating through the soundscape have a piano like ring to them as well as layers of vocal like clouds that give the music a captivating chant like atmosphere. The feeling is again quite tense and mysterious but we seem to be getting closer to the sunlight again as even through the storm of thunder and lightning we can already hear the distant sounds of people again. Action In Distans in a way feels like a distant version of Sehnsucht, following a similar melodic line within its drone layers, the Industrial clangs feel more ghostly in the piece however, being heavily filtered and sounding quite cloudy. As a whole the piece feels quite like a musical expression of a very dark cloudy night sky, with the clouds seemingly forming shadows on the moon, its faint light only subtly shining through. High pitched resonances also form a subconscious interlude to the high pitched tones in final track Limen. Limen features Cyclic Law label head Visions and as a finale of Substratum amasses various layers of drone and noise that you can recognise from earlier in the album (particularly Visiones V) into a continuous fuzzy droning haze that is both eerie and meditative. The noisy wind sounds and resonant hiss mixed with the continuous synth drone and repeating synth pattern form a “time freeze” in a way, like holding a moment in time for an infinite period, not letting it continue, while the eerie clouds of the natural elements gather and fill it with a mass of ever evolving mist. A very hypnotic deeply layered intense piece that forms a great final track to this album. Substratum is a very consistent yet also varied album of Dark Ambient, Drone and Industrial noise influences which seems to follow a subconscious cycle of atmospheric situations, eventually returning to the human real world and freezing the moment to remind us that the hazes of organic droning doom might always be in the shadows, but that meditating to this music can save us from doom too. The music is often dark and mixes at times sharp vibrant synth tones with the more classic drone elements to create rich variations in textures but the varying shifts in mood per track also create a nice dynamic in the album’s flow. Monocube’s music is definitely always changing and evolving, both drones and Industrial elements create equally strong impressions on Substratum and I would definitely recommend this album to fans of Dark Ambient but also Industrial and Noise fans looking for music that hits some abrasive spots but also blends in ambience with the fuzz. This is an excellent mixture of both melody and atmosphere, a great album to keep exploring again and again. The CD version of Substratum is available from Cyclic Law here: https://www.cycliclaw.com/releases/monocube-substratum-cd-137th-cycle

#cd #album #cyclic law #malignant records #2019 #dark ambient #drone #hypnotic #meditative #monocube #substratum #unstable matter #underground music #experimental music #album review #Sukkeret.og.pepper studio #antti litmanen #visions

0 notes