It has been a decade now since I first saw A Forest Of Stars at their debut gig in Leeds, and they’ve always occupied a special place for me in music since then. They mash-up progressive Black Metal with a folky presence and wrap it up within a steampunk inspired Victorian based package. What results from this can sometimes be a little hit and miss, but generally contains many objects of wonder. Grave Mounds and Grave Mistakes, marks their third full length released on Prophecy Productions.Continue reading
Tag Archives: Progressive
Thou – Magus
For those in the know, Baton Rouge’s Thou are a special act. Truly an underground cult, Thou have captured hearts with their intense and emotive brand of sludgy post-metal that isn’t afraid to usher in new dynamics, forms or influence throughout. After pivotal highs of Heathen (Gilead Media) and collaborative efforts with The Body, it would be several years before they emerged again as a recording band, only to offer an unprecedented four new releases this year. First of all were three EP releases that represented a different thread to their sound, leading to the full-length effort Magus (Sacred Bones), an album which could well be their pinnacle.Continue reading
Ergo I Exist- The Depths
For many metal fans, metal is the form of music that speaks to them the most during dark times; music that isn’t afraid of the subject of low points, crippling mental health or exploring unyielding sorrow, and thus is often that supporting and helping crutch we often hold on to for dear life. It is in this school of harrowing thought that Puyallup, Washington’s Ergo I Exist dwell in with their debut album The Depths providing an emotive ride into the abyss. Continue reading
Black Space Riders – Amoretum Vol. 2
When you release a fourteen-song follow-up to an album you released barely six months previously you’re either 1) beyond prolific, or 2) blessed with too much time on your hands. When the music involved possesses the quirkiness and diversity of German quintet Black Space Riders, it becomes an even more staggering achievement.Continue reading
King Goat – Debt of Aeons
To say that Brighton’s King Goat set themselves a high bar with début album Conduit (self-released) is like saying that Donald Trump is a wee bit controversial. To merely label them a Doom band is, similarly, doing the quintet a severe disservice: that début was laced with emotional vocals, choirs overlaying evocative bridges, and light, textured instrumentalism. It was a tour de force precious few expected.Continue reading
Drudkh – м часто сниться капіж (They Often See Dreams About Spring)
Never giving interviews and never playing live shows is certainly a good way to give your band a certain mystique. It may seem pretentious and it does mean the art you create loses another dimension by never gracing the ears of a live audience, but there is something to be admired in letting the music quite literally speak for itself, especially when the scene is over saturated. Continue reading
Conjurer – Mire
The British Metal scene has well and truly been spoilt for choice when it comes to exciting and hugely important releases in recent years. Whether it being in the case of killer new bands causing waves on their first full release such as Venom Prison or The King Is Blind or follow-ups that build massively on the previous potential such as Employed To Serve or Architects with All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us (Epitaph), British Metal has shown its greatest period of abundance for quite some time. Continue reading
Carnifex, The Faceless, Oceano, Sikth, John Frum And More Lead This Weekend’s Complexity Fest
Taking over The Netherlands this weekend, Complexity Fest brings together the best in deathcore, death metal, progressive and other kinds of extreme music under one roof kicks off tonight. Running at the venerable Patronaat hall in Haarlem, NL, Complexity Fest features Carnifex, The Faceless, Oceano, Sikth, John Frum, Aversions Crown, Dodecahedrone, Blanck Mass, Dodheimsgard, Vola, Three Trapped Tigers, and many more. Tickets are on sale now at the link below.Continue reading
EXCLUSIVE: Into The Great Divide Explores The End Of The Heroes Journey
All this week Ghost Cult been sharing EXCLUSIVE content from Into The Great Divide. Led by Zack Zalon, this is a must know project for progressive metalheads everywhere. Their current self-titled album is a concept album that tells a story, and each track is narrated like chapters. Ghost Cult brings you the backstory behind each song, in the form of additional previously-unreleased bonus tracks, fleshing out the narrative of the story. In this final segment, the tracks explore rebounding from the depths of loss to discover new perspectives. Continue reading
EXCLUSIVE: Feel The Call To Adventure With Into The Great Divide
Ghost Cult has partnered with Into The Great Divide to bring you the EXCLUSIVE backstory behind each track of their self-titled new album. In the vein of the best instrumental progressive metal albums, Into The Great is a concept album with a heavy plot, and each track is narrated, like a chapter in a story. Ghost Cult brings you the EXCLUSIVE backstory behind each song, in the form of additional tracks, fleshing out the narrative. Continue reading