Rorcal’s new album may be called Silence… but what it supplies is anything but, as it dives deep into a tumultuous cavern of Blackened Doom Metal, which is ferocious in its delivery and bleak in its tone. The Swiss five-piece have been creating their dark fusion of blackened post-Metal since 2006 and Silence (Hummus Records) is their sixth full-length album.
Well into a decade now, Seattle, Washington’s Great Falls have perhaps been an underrated entity, but they certainly are a special one. Their sound embraces the arena around noise rock and post-hardcore, and they have proven to be a strongly emotive force. Some changes in personnel and a previous EP release in Funny What Survives created high expectations about a long-awaited follow-up album, if not quite preparing anyone for how quite distressing it would prove to be.
As an atmospheric Black Metal duo with a wide range of influences ranging from Crust to post-Metal, the Sweden-based Black Birch manage to keep both the classical and contemporary nuances of their sounds intact. Being the progressive, anti-fascist black metal act that they are, human nature and humans’ place and effect on earth become some of the recurring major themes in their songwriting.
Despite the mystique around the band itself (with the identity of the members largely unknown), musically The Netherland’s An Autumn For Crippled Children have been consistent and mostly familiar. Across the span of ten full-length albums, their sound has hardly deviated at all but has shown signs of refinement in the past, with their brand of post-Rock and shoegaze-tinged Black Metal being both despairing and simultaneously almost comforting with the consistency.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”).
There’s gotta be a start to every trajectory of a soul-crushing sonic chronicle. The Liverpool-based post-sludge metal overlords Mairu had just started embarking on their subliminal journey through their debut LP entitled Sol Cultus (Trepanation Recordings).
Ghost Cult caught up with Bruce Lamont of the long-running Chicago-based avant-guard Doom Metal band Yakuza! Their new album “Sutra” was recently released via Svart Records, and we chatted with Bruce all about the album, the current lineup’s contributions as a team, Bruce’s evolving approach to saxophone and vocals, his lucrative other gig in the Led Zeppelin tribute band Led Zeppelin 2, vinyl releases, and much more! Continue reading
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.
In a world of ever-increasing hardship and struggle, it is easy to feel that dread is a more regularly present and less surprising companion day to day. Certainly, that is a sense that the multi-national (consisting of members from Brazil, France, Italy, and the UK), London-based Calligram convey throughout their sound with their roots consisting largely of Black Metal and Hardcore to a harrowing and ultimately relatable effect. Continue reading
Ghost Cult’s Weslie Negrón interviewed Robin Staps of The Ocean Collective – all about their new album “Holocene” out now via Robin’s own Pelagic Records. Robin discussed the return to touring, creating this different-sounding album from the band, how they create together, the non-stop pace of the music business, and the next album from the band, already in the works!