It really is a renaissance time for heavy, melodic experimental doom fans with The Exuviae Of Gods series from Mournful Congregation, the cathartic Katatonia-indebted Mother of Graves making significant waves and now the first album from Portland’s beloved Usnea in over half a decade. A band rooted in care-for-others and awareness of their place in the cosmos making some of the most expansive and also acerbic doom around? What’s not to love?
When we last heard of our New York heroes in All Out War they were still practicing a charged-up, violent brand of Metallic Hardcore on 2019’s Crawl Among the Filth. Yet it’s now 2023 and a global pandemic later and those gentlemen are again picking up that metallic mantle like it never went out of fashion on Celestial Rot (Translation Loss Records).
Philosophy On Pessimism is the debut EP released on Translation Loss Records by New Miserable Experience, a project featuring members of Rosetta, Model Prisoner, and Revocation. The quartet pieced together the sum of their parts remotely, using file sharing to bounce their ideas around to one another, and have created an ethereal-sounding record with a foot firmly in the darker regions of the eighties synth-wave style.
There is something I still cannot put my finger on; how well sludge and post-metal do together. A solid example in 2022 is from Milwaukee’s own, Northless, as they storm back with A Path Beyond Grief (Translation Loss). This album really has something for everyone that previously enjoyed material from the group. There are the interesting song structures of post-metal, influences and passages of old school death metal, and bluesy guitar riffs you would expect from a sludge band. Coming in at just over the thirty-minute mark makes for an enjoyable experience without turning into a chore to finish.Continue reading
“It’s gonna be cold, it’s gonna be grey, and it’s gonna last you for the rest of your life.” I believe that was the famous Bill Murray quote when asked his opinion on Cavernlight’s latest, As I Cast Ruin Upon The Lens That Reveals My Every Flaw (Translation Loss). Nah, I’m just having a bit of fun with Cavernlight. Or maybe I’m not considering that even though it won’t “last you for the rest of your life” (the album barely cracks the forty-minute mark) the cold and grey remarks certainly apply here.
When it comes to tortured, pained vocals, few do it quite like Dave Suzuki. The Churchburn front man led a cacophony of grimy, cavernous chaos on Genocidal Rite (Translation Loss) , a Death-Doom doozy from the Rhode Island-based foursome. With live musical performances on their minds (and who could blame them?), the group opens with ‘Toll Of Annihilation,’ a staticky and distorted affair that builds up before coming down via creepy bells sounding.
Ethan McCarthy‘s myriad recordings under his classification of ‘Noise’ are what many of us might name Harsh Ambient or Ambient Drone. Dystopian, disturbian, yet with elements of clarity that break through the crushing sound (and occasional soundbites of sex), many fans will have encountered these often challenging passages through his work with Primitive Man and here with his solo project Many Blessings. Sophomore album Emanation Body (Translation Loss Records) embraces more atmospheric airs whilst retaining much of that visceral anger.Continue reading
When I heard about this particular collaboration, I swear a little bit of wee came out. Seattle’s Un is still reveling in the success of last year’s coruscating, moving Sentiment (Translation Loss Records), while Scouse / Scottish hybrid Coltsblood have laid waste to the UK Underground for the last five years. This split, therefore, promises to be a leveller on both sides of the Atlantic.Continue reading
Jarboe, or Jarboe La Salle Devereaux as she is known to her accountant, is also the other founding member of the legendary Swans. So, no pressure there, then. She’s also shockingly busy, with a looooong discography, and a new ambient/experimental rock album, Cut Of The Warrior (Translation Loss Records) out this month. But is it her swan song, or will it break this reviewer’s arm?Continue reading
Denver-based sludge/doom band Primitive Man has shared a new song, ‘Oily Tears’. The track is from the blistering new split lp featuring brand new music with and Hell. Due to the overwhelmingly positive response to the release (both original vinyl variants sold out in under 5 hours), Translation Loss Records have unveiled a third limited edition variant. The new variant is limited to 300 copies and is available for pre-order now at the link below. The EP releases on February 22nd, 2019. Album artwork by Primitive Man’s Ethan McCarthy.Continue reading