At the time of writing a look out of the window reveals overcast and grey skies, whilst as quick a glance at the news is equally as bleak and miserable. It is hard to pay attention to the discourse in the world right now and not feel some combination of anger and hopelessness.
It seems to be an increasingly common event in today’s turbulent music scene that bands see departures in their ranks; whether this subsequently derails the band completely or becomes a benefit. For Entheos, it is firmly a case of the latter. Stripping to a two-piece consisting of vocalist Chaney Crabb and multi-instrumentalist Navene Koperweis, the pair have been able to write with less compromise and more focus on their own vision. The result of which, Time Will Take Us All (Metal Blade), certainly feels like fine-tuned creative pairing is a strong step up.
It has been five years since the last full length from French Industrialists Elyose, a period of time that has seen significant change for them. Following on from their previous full-length Reconnexion, much of the band departed leaving vocalist Justine Daaé to keep moving forward. Now returned as either a band or essentially a solo venture (guitarist/producer Anthony Chogard is certainly in the ranks but it certainly seems like Daaé is the centre piece), the first full length of this incarnation Déviante (self) isn’t quite the statement of intent could have been hoped for.
A core facet of the human experience is that of compelling, powerful emotions. About how within our busy lives, halting for a moment can bring with it overwhelming feelings; positive or negative, and perhaps even ultimately unexpected. How such moments can highlight your headspace more than you even realised until you have that reprieve? It is this mindset that South Africa’s Constellatia are perfectly suited to with the latest release Magisterial Romance (Season of Mist) serving a worthy soundtrack to a reflective pause.
Since their inception in 2010, Polyphia have proven to be an ever-moving entity; one that is hugely (and purposefully) hard to pigeonhole, even across the duration of each album. Armed with potent musicianship across the board, the band have ever expanded their sound from their early days culminating currently to a cauldron of styles and tones across. It is likely you will hear this about many artists but it is a sentiment that reigns entirely true on Remember That You Will Die (Rise Records).
The concepts and the all too real, bleak experiences of mental hardships and loss of loved ones will be well known to many people and additionally to many people we know. For Stake, these have been the fuel for the band since their inception (previously under the Steak Number Eight moniker), a vehicle for vocalist/guitarist Brent Vanneste’s grief and anxiety.
The years have been certainly eventful globally since the last Destrage full-length, 2019’s The Chosen One (Metal Blade). Somewhat eventful.
Following on from two initial releases (including the particularly realised for the time Hikari), Oceans Ate Alaska in 2017 were a young band who had quickly shown huge levels of promise for bigger things to come. So, the fact the band had not followed up quickly (global pandemic of course not helping matters) feels somewhat surprising considering the momentum that was behind them. Continue reading
Whilst being long-term veterans and a pinnacle force of Swedish melodic death metal, recent years have shown to be quite a turning point for Soilwork. 2019’s Verkligheten was arguably both the band’s strongest album for some time and their most well-received.Continue reading
In the two (plus!) decades since their inception, it seems that Tasmanian death metallers Psycroptic have simultaneously had their plaudits and yet also feel like an underrated act, especially considering their ascent in their recent albums. Whilst 2003’s The Scepter of the Ancients was an early career high point, it wasn’t until 2015’s self titled effort (and first on current label Prosthetic) where they began to show themselves again amongst the upper echelon of bands in their field. If this was an arguable statement previously, Divine Council is the album that makes it a certainty.