I get a real kick not only out of reviewing a band from the UK, but also a band that are from the city I hold very dear. Irk are a Noise Rock trio from the bastion of Yorkshire, Leeds. It will never be the most commercial genre, but there is a lot about Irk that is worthy of note, and to show exactly what they’re all about, they have served up their self-released crowdfunded debut album, Recipes From The Bible.Continue reading
Leeds UK math-rock band Irk are releasing their new album their debut album “Recipes from the Bible” on 7th December. In a guest post for Ghost Cult, drummer Matt Deamer shared his favorite concert memory ever. Continue reading
Instrumental and/or Progressive Metal are incredibly tricky beasts to pull off well. Aside from the obvious chops required to make music without vocals that retain attention and engages in its own right, but to pull it off with showing heart and emotion too is an entirely different matter. Formed in 2015 by three prominent UK-based, virtuoso musicians, Toska turned heads with their debut EP Ode To The Author, and based on the technical prowess on this new full-length Fire By The Silos (both self-released), and it is easy to see why.Continue reading
Noisy math-rock merchants Irk are releasing a new album, Recipes from The Bible, December 7th v. The band has also shared a cool 8-bit video for their track ‘Spectre At the Fiesta’ created by PSTL CSTL, which you can watch right now. Continue reading
If you haven’t heard Boston natives, Vein, you have been missing out. The experimental Hardcore they produce sounds like something you might have heard a decade ago but they deliver it their own, current way. With only an EP under their belt, their debut full-length, errorzone (Closed Casket Activities)comes through with all the grit and metal grace you want from a Hardcore act. Continue reading
UK mathcore band Black Peaks have signed with Rise Records and are dropping their new album later in 2018. They recorded it with Adrian Bushby (Smashing Pumpkins, Foo Fighters). They debuted their first new song on BBC Radio 1‘s Rock Show With Daniel P Carter yesterday, ‘Can’t Sleep’. The song itself starts at around 5:30 into the show. Continue reading
The world wasn’t ready when the Marmozets broke out with their 2014 début The Weird and Wonderful Marmozets. It was a fresh new twist to punk—well crafted, thrilling guitar riffs, energetic drum fills and majestically roaring vocals. Nearly four years since, the Yorkshire, UK quintet is back, stronger than ever with their sophomore effort, Knowing What You Know Now (Roadrunner). Continue reading
If anything, The Dillinger Escape Plan’s latest LP, Dissociation (Party Smasher Inc), serves as a comprehensive anthology of the various dynamics and styles that this New Jersey act has explored in just about 20 years of existence. This is further compounded by the recent announcement that Dissociation will be the last release before the band collectively buys the farm, so to speak.Continue reading
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
Whatever is in the water in Iceland it should really be bottled and sold, as the island nation has been a hot bed for stunning and captivating music for a number of years. From the likes of Sigur Ros to more recently Solstafir pushing through their extreme metal underground roots to become rock mainstay, the wealth of talent coming from that corner of the Atlantic Ocean has proven particularly rich. Another addition to that list is genre melders Agent Fresco, who really are progressive with a capital P.
Five years from their debut, the sophomore release Destrier (Long Branch) comes on the back of great hardship for frontman and composer Arnor Dan Arnason, in which time he faced a late night attack which left him with a broken eye socket and emotional scars. With this comes an understandably melancholic tone throughout, as Arnason seemingly bears his pain clearly in public view, built on the conceptual idea of the medieval warhorse that bears the album’s title.
Musically it continues their trend of mind-boggling diversity which proves both complex but flowing and memorable, as it draws from a hugely diverse range of influences and styles. From comparisons to the likes of some contemporary Prog/Prog metal acts to signs of pop, indie rock, math rock and even shades of electronica, Destrier showcases a stunning range, but manages to do so with perfect cohesion and fluidity. Everything feels naturally embedded whilst all the while contributing to Agent Fresco’s core sound.
Produced in the wake of hardship and despair, Destrier is a magnificent effort that displays the pain behind it whilst simultaneously showing apparent light and positivity creeping through at times. With such a range of sonic influences at work Destrier is a genuinely rich and rewarding release which reveals more and more with each lesson, and one that actually proves definitely progressive.
8.5/10
CHRIS TIPPELL