It was All Very Sudden

Rituals (USA)

Rituals

March 20, 2012

Everything about this package had me drawn towards it. From the smoky ambience of the artwork's abstract depth of the flesh of ghosts, the ambiguously occult name of Rituals, right down to the effectively post-blackened font, I knew I was going to enjoy this. I could describe the music as down tempo atmospheric apocalyptic post-doom with soaring ethereal leads ala Year of No Light or even Godspeed You! Black Emperor in the cinematic scope of the arrangements, using textbook examples of post-rock dynamics, of buildups and release. The subterranean, ritualistic rhythms pounded out by drums and bass from the depths of the underworld create the firmament unto which the dying rays of a burnt out sun gleam with decrepit radiance in the form of cerebral tremolo auroras. The music really fits the vast and barren land from which it comes. Listen to this as you doze off to sleep, or have it provide a background accompaniment to some artistic endeavor, and good things will come. Read more to listen.

Under Swirling Moons and Galaxies

Pallbearer (USA)

Sorrow and Extinction

February 21, 2012

Until Ahab slowly sails forth its latest material, I will very happily whet my appetite with Pallbearer. In fact, Ahab can take their time at this point, because this absolutely stunning piece of emotionally devastating craftsmanship has set the bar mighty fucking deep this year for doooooom as far as I'm concerned. The album art is a telling omen. I can't believe how crushingly awesome this sounds and it seemingly came out of nowhere (Arkansas, really?). I will easily and without a second thought place these guys amongst the ranks of the aforementioned Ahab, Warning/40 Watt Sun, hell even the almighty Candlemass. Comparisons could also be made to The Wounded Kings in the cloudy mysterious atmosphere, and even a bit of Ufomammut in the psychedelic leads, but with a fresh outlook on the genre, yet sounding just familiar enough to be grippingly desirable. Listen to what it sounds like to bear the weight of a sonic blanket stitched from the most desolate corners of the cosmos as it pulses with the secrets of omniscience. Best release of 2012 so far. Read more for a listen.

The Corascene Earth

Earth (USA)

Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II

February 14, 2012

Earth's second half of the Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light double album (the first half was released last year) continues to sound like a western straight out of antiquity, it's got the distinctly Americana twang of rocking-chair-on-the-porch solitary drones, a calm and hypnotic balancing waltz between the dark angels and the light demons. This music feels grounding, a 45 minute introspection after the dust settles. This metaphorical dust had been whipped up in a storm of emotions coming to terms with the futility -- and necessity -- of moving on, day by day, slow growth. Old growth. This is not about the songs, this is about the sounds. The fragments of 'hooks' are particular fleeting string bends, or a subtle crest of a warm updraft in the form of a background cymbal crash, the slow ebb and flow of waltzing clouds of the blues. Truly saying a lot with minimal use of sounds. If you listen intently, you find yourself anticipating the gorgeous textures that momentarily peak with acute awareness, though if you listen passively in the background you subconsciously soak in vivid and broad landscapes into the canvas of your mind. Read on to stream the album...

Chilled to the Bone

Horrendous (USA)

The Chills

January 2, 2012

Check out this old school death metal project that's been rocking the fuck out of my world lately. 'Ripped to Shreds' just drips with early At the Gates style but with more of an Autopsy-like unhinged menace, while 'Altars' trots along like a rabid pale horse just seething with bile and disease. 'The Somber (Desolate Winds)' was featured in my February 2012 mix tape, and showcases the maturity thats well beyond the members' years, and 'The Eye of Madness' is an epic jaw dropping clinic to those exhuming the corpses of filthy soundwaves exhibited by early Entombed, Obituary and Pestilence. This is some fresh, tasty, savoury tenderloin cuts, I can't get enough of the gnarly horrific atmosphere and the all-around badassery on display here. I have a feeling this will be one of the top albums of the year for me. What's up with all these amazing debuts coming out all of a sudden!? Keep them coming, good music will never die. Listen to this album below. Then buy it right away.

Temples of Painted and Defleshed Bones

Dodecahedron (Netherlands)

Dodecahedron

January 20, 2012

So this is one of my favorite releases so far from 2012. I hate to add to the Deathspell Omega comparisons flying all over the blogosphere, but the influence is undeniable (Listen to I, Chronocrator). These guys seem far more approachable, however, with a more exciting jazzy core, most prominently shown off with the drumming. However, whereas DsO strangles and can wring out of your neck a soaring cerebral apocalyptic melody amidst the chaos, these geometrists go for a more blunt rhythmic bludgeon, more of an earthen physical attack, if you can pardon my grasping for metaphors. I also hear the atmosphere of Ulcerate, occasional ambience of Altar of Plagues and the mind warping technicality of Gorguts. It's as much ethereally atmospheric (Listen to View from Hverfell II) as it is precisely deliberate (Listen to Allfather). This is one hell of a debut album. Great cover artwork. Try and wrap your head around this one, no math degree required.