Retro-flavoured Swedes The Night Flight Orchestra (ft. Soilwork, Arch Enemy, Mean Streak members) are still at it with their seventh album Give Us The Moon (Napalm Records). With an insanely catchy AOR style, with an unabashedly high level of seventies and eighties-style cheese front and centre. Half the tracks here sound like they belong in some long-forgotten, coming-of-age film from 1985. Continue reading
As a consistently profound blend of blackgaze, ambient, post-rock, and black metal, the Ottawa-bound Unreqvited led by 鬼 (Ghost) takes a groundbreaking step toward a rather structured approach in terms of their soundscapes on their new album; incorporating elements from their past releases. With the release of A Pathway to the Moon –out via Prophecy Productions–, they transition into something beyond their borders; inclined more towards intricate lyrical expressions and clean vocals rather than instrumental-heavy elements. This change of trajectory also happens because of the fact that they recently transitioned into a full touring band with heavy focus on live performances. Continue reading
Sludge metal lifers, -16-, casually dropped their tenth full-length, Guides For The Misguided (Relapse Records) and it is crushing. Sludge Metal is at its best with bluesy guitar riffs that still feel massive, raspy vocals, and lyrics covering depression, drug addiction, and overall hatred. The L.A. four-piece violently checks off all of those checkboxes. They do so for over forty minutes with minimal to no filler.Continue reading
A record called Parasomnia (InsideOut Music) which explores many of the unusual behaviours and emotions experienced during sleep, written by a band called Dream Theater (a spelling which, due to my almost painful levels of Englishness, never fails to make me shudder) seems the most obvious pairing in the world. The question of why it’s taken until their sixteenth full-length studio release for this to happen is something for the band to explain but it’s here now, and in true Dream Theater tradition, you’re going to need time to absorb it fully.Continue reading
It’s taken ten long years but Edinburgh thrashers Black Talon follow up highly promising full-length studio debut Endless Realities with their independently released second album, Scenes of Agony. Continue reading
Jaye Jayle went from being Evan Patterson’s solo project that explored sounds outside of what he did in Young Widows and has now become a full-fledged band.Continue reading
As soon as it became clear what Kelsy Karter And The Heroines were all about, I knew I was in for a joyride like no other, and I was ready as ever to be completely immersed in it.Continue reading
Robert Smith once called these guys his favorite band and it is easy to hear why. Eleven albums into their career, Mogwai has a clear focus on their sonic journey on The Bad Fire (Rock Action Records). Vocals appear right from the first song, serving as a smooth texture that sits in the swirl of sound. Things get more into their older bran of majestic melancholy on the second song. It’s less pop-oriented than the opening track. If you came here wanting post-rock this is the song for you. “What Kind of a Mix is This” feels like it just spills out from the end of the lingering ebb of the previous song. It takes a minute for a guitar melody to establish the song’s footing.Continue reading
I have recently learned that “Swancore” is a genre that apparently refers to Progressive Post-Hardcore music with high-register, clean vocals. Accepting that premise, it’s easy to understand this tag being applied to Salt Lake City’s Eidola and their sixth album Mend (Blue Swans Records/ Rise Records).Continue reading
Getting a Harakiri For The Sky record release in the heart of winter will pull at your heartstrings. Scorched Earth (AOP Records) does just that for over an hour and doesn’t overstay its welcome. It is an audible voyage through pain, suffering, and loss that is both cathartic and beautiful. Every song has its own story and emotional journey that compliments the songs around it. Oh, and there’s also a sweet Radiohead cover at the end to ice the cake.Continue reading