Six albums into their career, SUMAC stretch the limits of what Metal can be with The Healer (Thrill Jockey Records) — a four-song, 76-minute double album of fluid, evolving, at times seemingly freeform Jazz Metal that requires some patience, but impresses with its expressiveness and creativity. Continue reading
Vocals and vocalists. They can be the secret weapon that elevates a piece of music into a higher realm, that gives a band a key component to their identity, that once heard you couldn’t imagine them without. They can be a deal breaker too — the ear sore that spoils the whole experience. Sometimes they’re just bland as a wet paper bag. But a voice is a voice. They all say something. They all have a message to convey (even when the message is “sha la la la la”).
Releasing your first two records on prestigious labels such as Magnetic Eye Records and Blues Funeral isn’t the worst way to commence a career. Such is the case with Brooklyn, New York quartet Somnuri, who comprise of Justin Sherrell (guitars/vocals), Phil SanGiacomo (drums), Chris Drapeau (guitars/vocals), and bassist Mike G.
Bursting onto the scene, as Potteries pounders Black Coast did with Outworld their 2021 debut, is one thing, keeping the momentum going is another, and from the onset of the raging ‘REAL (Are You Listening)?’, it’s clear the five-piece contemporary metal outfit are not just looking to do that, but they intend not to waste the opportunity this five-song offering gives to remind people just how good and how potent they are ahead of any subsequent longer releases.
I: Oblivion (Church Road Records) is, despite the inference in the title, actually the second part of the album series, as Vnder A Crvmbling Moon released 0.1 Prelude back in February. And, don’t be fooled (again), just because this British band spells their name with a bunch of V’s they are not black metal – the VACM sound falling in the cracks between sludge and doom.
It’s been roughly forty-three years since Killing Joke released their first single, Almost Red. Their latest release, the four track single Lord of Chaos (Spinefarm) is the first hint at what the band’s follow up to 2015’s Pylon will sound like. With the existential dread of the world falling apart around us, things may get worse before they get better, but as the horizon gets darker it seems the fire of Killing Joke burns ever brighter.
Ghost Cult continues our “End of Year Guest Post Extravaganza” with a slew of posts from bands, industry, PR pros, and more! We’ll be sharing lists, memories, and other shenanigans from our favorite bands, partners, music industry peers, and other folks we respect across the globe. In this edition, Otrebor of Botanist shares his Top Albums List for 2020 ((in alphabetical order). Their album Photosynthesis is out now.
At first impression of Uniform’s latest LP Shame (Sacred Bones) the impression I’m left with is that this is a strange album, if not group. And don’t confuse strange for off-putting, quite the contrary actually. Song after song I’m legitimately curious as to how the next slab of noise and guitars is going to render out. Shame doesn’t come across as musicians playing in unison as much as an A.I. becoming aware of what music is and taking a stab at it. Continue reading
Justin Broadrick has announced a new album for his JESU project. “Terminus” will arrive this November. JESU’s recent EP Never is out now. Continue reading
