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Norwegian experimental group Ulver have long since shed their early black metal leanings, and since become purveyors of the electronic, ambient, and whatever else they feel like. On their twelfth record, they’ve pushed past the boundaries and taken a misstep.
New album ATGCLVLSSCAP (House of Mythology)– an amalgamation of the first letter from each of the Zodiacs – is a mammoth 80-minute mish-mash of live improve, studio tricks and samples taken from the band’s own back catalogue. While definitely moody and atmospheric, it often feels more like a series of disjointed soundscapes than coherent album; a soundtrack to a film you’ve never seen.
England’s Hidden’ is seven and a half minutes of largely ambient horns, and sets the tone for the rest of the album. ‘Glammer Hammer’ is a nice, mellow piece that builds towards something quite epic towards the end. ‘Moody Stix’ has a haunting swampiness about it, while the electro-synth ‘Desert/Dawn’ has an aura of a retro sci-fi soundtrack to it. Some are more than decent – though largely uninteresting – but many are nothing but unforgettable. Where ‘D-D Drone’ is nine minutes you could have spent sat in silence and not noticed the difference, ‘Crogmagnosis’ settles into a moreish groove.
Though largely an instrumental album, the appearance of vocals on two of the last three tracks come as something of a surprise, and changes the tone of the record. ‘Nowhere (Sweet Sixteen)’ is a downbeat crooner bristling with melancholy, while ‘Ecclesiastes (A Vernal Catnap)’ is a piano-led number full of sorrow. Depending on how you feel about the record up to this point, they’re either a welcome respite or an unwelcome distraction.
Ultimately, ATGCLVLSSCAP is about as satisfying as it is easy to spell. It’s not unlistenable, and good for background noise. But if you want thrills, excitement, or anything that generally registers above the hum of your fridge, look elsewhere.
6.0/10
DAN SWINHOE
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In modern progressive metal there is an all too common tendency to flesh things out far too much, concentrating on writing the most overly complicated and difficult to decipher pieces possible. Many a band now chooses to write full album’s worth of long, drawn out songs, which cram so many ideas and virtuosity into without actually writing songs that you can latch on to and fully enjoy. On their full length début Grow (Sumerian Records), prog upcomers CHON show that sometimes, less really is more.
As typical for a progressive metal album, CHON pool from a huge range, and Grow has a great diversity at work, with signs of jazz and fusion, math-rock and contemporary prog metal to name just a few. But rather than thrown into overly long treks, Grow is built on short, bite size nuggets no more than the 4 minute mark. Yet despite these short durations it never feels overly cramped and proves comparatively accessible and easy to digest for bands of this ilk. A fair few hooks and catchy segments give this an inclusive and welcoming feel. The likes of ‘Can’t Wait’ with vocals prove the easiest to latch on to.
That being said it still has an abundance of complexity and layers for ardent fans to get drawn into and discover. For the most part an instrumental album, this has significant dynamic shifts and turns throughout which will take time to fully grasp. The task of making something that appeals to both newbies to prog and the most battle hardened is a very bold and almost nonsensical task, but it was a feat that CHON have managed with aplomb.
A fantastic début album from a band that are clearly a new shining light for the genre and a suitable gateway for new fans to prog.
8.0/10
CHRIS TIPPELL
Over the years of American music, I am always proud to mention quite the list of bands from Massachusetts, my home state. However, I get to add another band to that list, Beverly, MA experimental post-rock group known as Caspian. This instrumental outfit just released quite the killer album entitled Dust and Disquiet (Triple Crown Records). From start to finish, Caspian puts you on an emotional, yet satisfying, journey. After my first time listening to Dust and Disquiet, I was completely blown away and even embarrassed that I had never heard of this band who is just a few miles away from where I live!
It was extremely hard trying to narrow down my favorite tracks across this pilgrimage of an album. ‘Arcs of Command’ is a perfect example when trying to explain the structure of a post-rock/metal song. The song starts off calm and slowly builds on itself up until the climax of the song, running on all cylinders. Then, they come off the gas pedal just a bit towards the end before a big finish. ‘Echo and Abyss’ is another great example of this as well, except one of the elements that comes in during the build-up is actually some vocals, something I did not expect when hearing this band was instrumental. Having said that, I think the vocals certainly fit for this track. ‘Darkfield’ is yet another prime example of this song structure as the first few seconds of the track sound as if a train is starting and slowly gaining speed of a station. This track also dips into the electronic elements a bit more than the rest of the tracks on the album but it allows for the album to stay fresh all the way through.
Dust and Disquiet is an album that will certainly be in my album of the year internal discussions/battles I am certainly going to have after this great year in music. Caspian has put out one of the few albums in my young life to allow passages where I can bang my head and then follow up with pulling my heartstrings yet there are no vocals or lyrics. This album just does not have a single blemish and will stand up in its genre for years to come. Moving forward, when I mention bands from MA I enjoy, Caspian will make the cut for sure.
9.0/10
TIM LEDIN
Being stuck between three cultures is interesting, although also difficult at times. The metal and rock worlds always draw me back in but so do my Boricua roots so it really shouldn’t have been any surprise that I became emotional over a recording of Coquis singing. Like the saying goes; la sangre llama.
Today’s review is brought to you by the letter R, as in, Ramon Ortiz and his second album, Portal (Self-Released). Taking a look at the title track, ‘Portal’, has some groovy moments with a lot of weedly, weedly, woo. The chorus sounds like something that could have been featured in an action cartoon from the 80’s. I believe that it would be one that I would look back on with fondness.
At twelve and a half minutes long, closing track ‘Yukiyu II’ is a beautiful mix progressive metal elements with Spanish guitar and touches of Latin percussion. This is also one of the songs where you can actually make out the bass in the background every once in a while. The downside is that this eventually turns into your standard progressive metal track around the eight minute mark. It makes a slight recovery once you get to ten minutes before dropping off again soon after.
It may not be salsa or merengue but then again, Puerto Rico has always been a melting pot of cultures and music and Ramon is a great example of what can come out of it. I would have liked to have heard more Latin influences but maybe we get enough of that when Ramon’s running around with Puya. Personally, the albums highlights for me were the use of Spanish guitars. I may be biased, but I prefer Ortiz’s fusion style and this record has a bit too much of a general progressive metal record vibe to it. I was hoping for some more experimentation and expansion.
7.0/10
ALEIDA LA LLAVE
When it comes to instrumental outfits, metal bands tend to tread a fine line between fret wankery and songs with actual resonance and heart. In their short existence, Woking’s Eschar have sat firmly on the right side of this tightrope whilst forming a strong reputation, perfectly encapsulated on their latest release Nova (self-released).
Eschar’s sound is one that invokes the dreamlike serenity of progressive metal and post genres; never daunting or overpowering, whilst proving almost purely ambient in part all the while retaining emotional power. Album opener ‘Aphotic’ really embraces the softer elements of such music, proving a comforting, mellow opener which slowly reveals the rest of the album’s busier sides. Further revealing shades of progressive metal’s more technical counterparts, Nova shows intricate layers which even bring to mind the softer sides of the likes of Tool and A Perfect Circle. This technical underbelly never proves inaccessible however, making this an easy listen for newcomers with plenty of deeper segments to find for those with a more trained ear.
Nova is an impressive feat which manages to hold a strong emotive presence despite the lack of vocals, proving an embracing and even comforting effort. Yes some people may be put off by the sheer duration of some songs, most of which surpass the 5 minute mark; but there is no one with an interest in prog or metal that shouldn’t find some pleasure in this. Whether it is to fill the background void, or to totally immerse oneself in, Nova is an archetypal effort in music that is not in your face, but is simultaneously hypnotic and drawing.
8.0/10
CHRIS TIPPELL
A 7-inch ‘split’ release (Black Bow), with one track each… the ways of ‘putting yourself out there’ shrink by the minute. The track from Belfast sludge-doom trio Slomatics, ‘Ulysses, My Father’, is Conan incarnate: all colossal riffs dropped from the skies, Marty Harvey‘s vocals echoing from atop Olympus, until some subtle and welcome sequencing introduces a slight quickening of pace and some pulverising stickwork from Harvey.
‘Bill Ward’, the track from Miami instrumental monstrosity Holly Hunt, is something of a powerhouse. Buzzing, crunching guitars fade in and out as if bouncing on the surface of a ‘woofer’, sucked back then spat forth with venom whilst drums reminiscent of the man the track is named after fling the riff around like a toy. The resonant power is stunning and dulls the senses in a hypnotic fashion, but in truth one four-minute track each is not the sort of advert that makes me want to further investigate, especially with the Belfast unit having four albums under their belt.
A multi-track EP could have pushed this intriguing sound further into the psyche.
6.5/10
PAUL QUINN
Just when you thought that post metal had run its course with the demise of Isis and Cult of Luna going on hiatus, along comes another set of bearded types who love Explosions in the Sky more than they do employing a vocalist. That’s not to say they’re not welcome to hang around for a while however, for St. Petersburg, Florida five piece Set and Setting have some gloriously hazy sights to show us, which they do with aplomb on sophomore record A Vivid Memory (Prosthetic).
With a name referencing the importance of one’s mindset and location in order to best appreciate an experience with psychedelic drugs, it would be lazy to lump Set and Setting in with those bands who rely on their listeners being wasted to make up for their own musical shortcomings, but it is true that the kind of woozy, gradually building post metal they play would go well with some mind-bending substances at hand. The repetitive melodies and surging rhythms of opening tracks ‘Waves of Luminescence’ and ‘The Inevitable Cycle’ will delight fans of Mono and Pelican, especially with the latter’s bursts of speed indicating that the band haven’t nodded off just yet, while the clinical squalls of ‘Acceptance’ has the members getting the most from their instruments.
Track lengths increase as the album progresses as the band explore the void even deeper with the blurring of post and black metal on the searing sheen of ‘Descending Sun’ which at times sounds like Deafheaven devoid of vocals. The dual percussive assault is maintained throughout the album, giving proceedings a hypnotic feel while the visual impressions of dramatic landscapes and blurred impressions are enforced by the use of repetition and occasional forays into drone and even Shoegaze territory. However the band never tries to outdo themselves and know that the best way to produce a memorable song is to make it worth listening to again. A Vivid Memory has plenty of such tracks and although you don’t have to be baked to fully appreciate them, it wouldn’t hurt.
7.5/10
JAMES CONWAY
They say that variety is the spice of life and when it comes to music fans. Some choose to roll with this, while others completely ignore it. For musicians, the former is usually the case with new bands often looking to distinguish themselves from the crowd and older ones going in search of fresh directions. Vices are a four-piece from Jacksonville who certainly abide by the above sentiments with their latest LP, New Breed (Melatov), mixing some interesting flavours together.
Hailing from the place that spawned both The Allman Brothers Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd, non-listeners may be able to guess what genre some of their influences are taken from, and they’d be right – Southern Blues Rock. On their 2012 EP, ‘The Out Crowd Blues’ this influence is more prominent, but there are a few twangs of it here as well. The other side of the mixing pot is Hardcore Punk, and while the combination may sound odd on paper, it works surprisingly well in the flesh.
Merging slow grooves with angry screams, opener ‘The Sabbath’ is our first glimpse into the albums two opposing styles, and it is also one of the best of the bunch. Trumped only by the smooth angst of the title-track, the first two songs really set the bar high for the rest of the record, and thankfully the band keep on delivering. Bringing a more fast-paced way of music with songs such as the Gallows-esque ‘Slum Wolves’ and ‘Devil’s Advocate,’ it is the middle of the album where things hit more of a hardcore punk vibe but this is no bad thing as Vices execute this style of music with great vigour. The influences of before are not completely forgotten with ‘No One Rules’ bringing together slow jams and hectic overtones, while ‘Swan Song’ closes the album with an impressive, albeit short, solo of the classic rock variety.
New Breed is a refreshing album to listen to, neither boring nor repetitive, only the ‘Instrumental’ track is worth turning off, while the rest are defiantly worth turning up. Extending a more Hardcore feel than their EP, fans of the band’s previous effort will still have plenty to love here, and the same rings true for anyone looking for melodious yet heated passion, both in musical style and lyrical content. New Breed is the kind of vice that you won’t be sorry you have and it won’t kill you either, which is always a bonus.
9.0/10.0
EMMA QUINLAN