Blackwood - Of Flies

By Ulla Roschat. Blackwood is one of Eraldo Bernocchi's several experimental musical and artistic projects (Sigillum S, Simm, Obake...) and Of Lies is Blackwood's second release, an EP of 3 tracks with an overall playing time of about 20 minutes. That's time enough for Bernocchi to get you hooked on this relentlessly crushing Doom Dubmospheres.

By Ulla Roschat


Blackwood is one of Eraldo Bernocchi's several experimental musical and artistic projects (Sigillum S, Simm, Obake...) and Of Lies is Blackwood's second release, an EP of 3 tracks with an overall playing time of about 20 minutes. Time enough for Bernocchi to get you hooked on this relentlessly crushing Doom Dubmospheres. Even more so since he's supported by two greatly talented vocalists who lend their unique touch of eeriness to two of the three songs, Emilia Moncayo of Minipony and Stefania Alos Pedretti of OvO.

Emilia Moncayo's vocals appear on the first song "Of Flies". They are beastly gnarls and incantations complementing the minimalistic rhythms that sluggishly pound their way through the song. The vocals and the wailing guitar melody are kept quite low compared to the omnipresent sub bass lines and drone sounds, and this combination is as terrifying as it is creepy.

The structures and rhythms get increasingly disintegrated on "Seclusion". Word samples like shreds of communication, overlaying effects and especially the oscillating sounds, create a chaotic and nauseating atmosphere. The powerful beats drench everything in an oppressing slow motion nightmare.

And finally Stefania Alos Pedretti's vocals on "Infraworld" provide a very special mood. She uses her vocals as an additional sound effect. There are no words, only sounds... sounds like cries of demons and ghosts echoing from the deepest void where words seem meaningless, anyway. Waves of dark sounds swathe you into a trance like state.

The all-encompassing slow beats and sub bass lines on Of Lies capture you right from the start and take you to an obscure alien place. The minimalistic structures, deconstructed rhythms, all the sound effects and the unusual use of vocals make this place all the more uncanny and scary. It’s a place where dark meditative primeval rituals meet dystopian nightmares, where the beginning of all worlds synchronize with the end of all worlds in a buzzing vibrating tension... greatly disturbing and electrifying.

Sunn O))) Monoliths and Opinions: Part XIX - Pyroclasts

By Craig Hayes. Critics often point to drone’s snail-like momentum and supposedly flavorless ingredients as the genre’s major stumbling blocks. Obviously, there’s no getting around the fact that drone creeps and crawls rather than sprints or gallops, and drone can definitely be bland and unimaginative.

By Craig Hayes.

Artwork by Samantha Keely Smith.

Critics often point to drone’s snail-like momentum and supposedly flavorless ingredients as the genre’s major stumbling blocks. Obviously, there’s no getting around the fact that drone creeps and crawls rather than sprints or gallops, and drone can definitely be bland and unimaginative. Even worse, drone can be unbearably monotonous. Laboring at the same point, over and over again.

That’s why truly sublime drone should be treasured, which is where Sunn O)))’s enthralling synthesis of crushing metal and sound art enters the frame. Sure, the band’s music is slow moving and often comprised of minimal components. But all of Sunn O)))’s releases have traversed different audio terrain.

The band’s core creative duo, Greg Anderson and Stephen O'Malley, have explored new and often inventive pathways with every Sunn O))) release. Sometimes those pathways have been shrouded in darkness. Sometimes they’ve been bathed in light. But they’ve never been featureless or one-dimensional.

Case in point, Pyroclasts, the latest colossal release from Sunn O))). It wasn’t that long ago that I was writing about Sunn O)))’s last album, Life Metal, which was the band's most rapturous release yet. It’s a testament to Sunn O)))’s forever-evolving nature that I’ve yet to exhaust my vocabulary about them. In fact, this is the 19th edition of this Monoliths and Opinions series, and I’m not remotely tired of writing about Sunn O)))’s adventures.

Reason being, Sunn O)))’s music always feels so ripe for interpretation, from myriad perspectives. In Pyroclasts’ case, one interpretation points to it being Sunn O)))’s most curious release yet. In a nutshell, Pyroclasts is unrehearsed but still heavily conceptualized and purposeful. It features immense mood pieces, as you’d expect, but they’re off-the-cuff drones, where musicians seek each other out on a higher creative plane.

In practical terms, Pyroclasts is the result of daily practice. Every morning or evening during the two-week recording sessions for Life Metal (at Electrical Audio), Sunn O))) and co-collaborators –– Tim Midyett, Tos Nieuwenhuizen, and Hildur Guðnadóttir –– would work their way through a 12-minute “improvised modal drone”. The aim was to (re)connect and focus energies, and everyone involved immersed themselves in oceans of sound and aligned their creative chakras via meditative means.

As a whole, Pyroclasts is a vast introspective and contemplative work. Digest the lot in one sitting, and you’re in for a transcendent treat. The album’s four lengthy drones merge into one monumental teeth-rattling suite, with gargantuan slabs of noise being channeled in deeply devotional ways. (And, as always, Sunn O)))'s inner space explorations are offset by celestial escapades.)

Of course, Pyroclasts is a companion piece to Life Metal, which is scrupulously assembled and arranged. Pyroclasts is far more impulsive, but both releases share a similar ambience, with molten riffs that are as dense, intense and heavy as collapsing stars. Mesmerizing tracks “Frost (C)” and “Kingdoms (G)” look to the heavens, but they also shake the membranes, memories, and anchors that maintain our place in time and space. Massive chords collide and coalesce, altering our perceptions, which is what Sunn O))) have always done at their best.

In towering tracks “Ampliphædies (E)” and “Ascension (A)”, huge shifts in sound spark equally intoxicating shifts in emotional states. Mantric musical movements see pulverizing tones rise and fall, with subtle melodies lurking beneath the crashing waves of trance-inducing drone. “Ampliphædies (E)” and “Ascension” also have a far more intimate impact, which is just as powerful as their earth-shaking presence.

Like its volcanic namesake, Pyroclasts is a slow-motion eruption. But for all the album’s brawn, Pyroclasts is one of Sunn O)))’s most reflective releases. Perhaps that comes down to the close connections forged as everyone involved sought to find common ground through instinctual and unscripted drones. Whatever the case, much like Life Metal, there’s a brightness and even euphoria to the heavyweight dirges here –– and a similarly mercurial sense of adventurousness.

Sunn O))) have noted that Pyroclasts can be viewed as a lens to “re-experience the complexity" of Life Metal, and you're free to press play and scrutinize Pyroclasts’ contextual (and textural) relationship to Life Metal. What's most interesting, though, is that Life Metal underscored that Sunn O)))’s ultimate creative destination remains unknown, while Pyroclasts highlights some of the experimental footsteps along the way.

In the past, Sunn O)))’s creative preparations have remained hidden from sight. But Pyroclasts grants us a view of the band and their collaborators bonding and scouting potential routes. In doing so, Pyroclasts becomes a profoundly soul-stirring voyage unto itself. Revealing a band eager to explore new artistic methods as well as new creative avenues. Sunn O)))’s artistic journey has made for an enthralling odyssey thus far. Long may their expeditions into the hinterlands of sound continue.

The Sunn O))) Monoliths and Opinions series.

Sunn O))) Monoliths and Opinions: Part XVIII - Life Metal

By Craig Hayes. There’s an overarching theme linking many of the reviews of the latest release from formidable drone-lords Sunn O))). Critical consensus suggests the band’s eighth studio album, Life Metal, is Sunn O)))’s most euphoric release yet

By Craig Hayes.

Artwork by Samantha Keely Smith.

There’s an overarching theme linking many of the reviews of the latest release from formidable drone-lords Sunn O))). Critical consensus suggests the band’s eighth studio album, Life Metal, is Sunn O)))’s most euphoric release yet –– and there’s definitely an element of truth to that tale. Sunn O)))’s creative architects, Greg Anderson and Stephen O'Malley, have spoken of setting themselves the challenge of making an album that’s heavyweight but also enlivening, and Life Metal is certainly brighter and more upbeat than Sunn O)))’s previous releases.

That said, while Life Metal sees Sunn O))) pivot, creatively, the band aren’t taking a radical leap into entirely new territory. Even at their darkest, Sunn O))) have always made rapturous music, and their tracks are often tailor-made for ecstatic psychological adventures as much as far-reaching cosmic voyaging. Sunn O)))’s fans certainly know the band’s mammoth walls of noise can be uplifting –– especially if they’ve ever seen the band live –– and Life Metal is equally exhilarating.

Sunn O)))’s new album channels the light in a way that their other albums haven’t, but it’s only the first of two such releases Sunn O))) are planning to unleash in 2019. A second, and apparently more meditative album, entitled Pyroclasts, is planned for release later in the year. And it’s worth pointing out that Sunn O))) recorded both Life Metal and Pyroclasts over a two-week period, which is markedly less time than they’d usually spend in the studio, and that’s no doubt why Life Metal sounds and feels so energetic and instinctual.

The album delivers four lengthy sermons, and all the teeth-rattling frequencies and amplifier worship you’d expect is here. Sunn O))) continue to explore the physicalities of their sound with gigantic/downtuned/slow-motion riffs, and Life Metal also continues to fuse sound art to subterranean metal. Sunn O)))’s familiar minimalist/maximalist technique is put to expert use throughout, and the band are supported, once again, by a cast of crucial collaborators.

Noted producer Steve Albini plays a huge role in Life Metal’s success. Albini’s well-earned reputation for channeling gargantuan guitar noise makes his teaming up with Sunn O))) seem like a dream come true –– and it is. Albini’s rawer, all-analog approach forgoes Sunn O)))’s usual digital layering, and recording everyone in the same room at the same time increases the energy of Sunn O)))’s armory of overblown riffs, adding visceral and tangible texture to their sound.

Longtime Sunn O))) contributor Tos Nieuwenhuizen adds the electronic flourishes to Life Metal, while Australian minimalist composer Anthony Pateras supplies delicate pipe organ. Tim Midyett contributes bass on the album, and frequent Sunn O))) collaborator, Icelandic cellist and singer Hildur Guðnadóttir, contributes striking vocals, electric cello, and haldorophone. Also of note is artist Samantha Keely Smith, whose vibrant cover art for Life Metal powerfully visualizes Sunn O)))’s revised musical palette.

Life Metal opens with a neigh and gallop on "Between Sleipnir's Breaths" –– that’s a reference to Odin's famed eight-legged steed, if you’re curious. Sunn O))) drop a distorting riff the size of Mount Everest to kick things off proper, and the atmospheric track/trek is made all the more vivid by Guðnadóttir’s spellbinding vocals, which are woven around massive and undulating shifts in sound. Twelve dramatic minutes later, one of Sunn O)))’s most colossal opening tracks ends, crushing any concerns about Life Metal’s “brightness” somehow muting Sunn O)))’s core strengths.

Sunn O))) contrast darkness and light and/or ferocity and fragility on "Troubled Air”. The band thread pipe organ into the depths of the fathomless drone, offsetting the punishing ambience with bursts of luminosity. Claustrophobic heaviness –– fuelled by feedbacking riffs –– engulfs the 19-minute “Aurora”. But Guðnadóttir's presence, however brief, melts the glacial ice, clearing a path for the behemoth/transcendent drone to lumber forth. Heavy, low and slow, “Aurora” exemplifies the immensity and the intensity of Sunn O)))’s sound.

Life Metal finishes with the 25-minute opus "Novae". Titanic in form and content, "Novae" lurches forward, propelled by its own gravitational weight, with Guðnadóttir’s eccentric haldorophone coloring the drone and adding detail. Epic-sized (and certainly epic-sounding), "Novae" boils with chest-crushing riffs while traversing rocky and scorched terrain. In parts, Sunn O))) dial down the in-your-face forcefulness to creep through starker caverns of sound, but momentous undertones keep pushing "Novae" forward until its exorcising end.

Life Metal is staggering, towering, and surprisingly beautiful. The violence of Sunn O)))’s sound hasn’t been tempered, it’s more a case that Anderson and O’Malley have highlighted the light in the darkness, injecting more captivating subtlety and splendor into Life Metal’s vast seismic suites. The result is a breathtaking, often soul-stirring, album, with Sunn O))) displaying genuine grace amongst all the grit. Life Metal challenges our ideas about what Sunn O))) and their music are capable of. But, best of all, the album underscores that Sunn O)))’s ultimate creative destination remains tantalizingly unknown.

The Sunn O))) Monoliths and Opinions series.

Caspar Brötzmann Massaker – The Tribe & Black Axis

By Craig Hayes. It takes a bold (or entirely reckless) band to deliberately destroy all the signifiers and motifs that define the music we hold dear. But that’s exactly what German guitarist Caspar Brötzmann and his avant-rock power-trio Massaker set out to do in the late 1980s.

By Craig Hayes.


It takes a bold (or entirely reckless) band to deliberately destroy all the signifiers and motifs that define the music we hold dear. But that’s exactly what German guitarist Caspar Brötzmann and his avant-rock power-trio Massaker set out to do in the late 1980s. The band butchered all those characteristics that help us identify and connect with the music we love, and then they endeavored to fashion something compelling out of the wreckage. Bold, for sure. Fucking reckless, indeed. Successful, unquestionably.

Many other noisy alt-rock innovators from the 1980s – see groups like Swans, Big Black, or Sonic Youth – found more international fame than Caspar Brötzmann Massaker ever did. However, Caspar Brötzmann Massaker, who were as much audio terrorists as they were music makers, are about to enjoy wider exposure thanks to deafening music merchants Southern Lord. The label is remastering and reissuing Caspar Brötzmann Massaker’s first five albums, beginning with the band’s harsh and visceral 1988 debut, The Tribe, closely followed by their heavier sophomore album, 1989's Black Axis.

Caspar Brötzmann grew up in the shadow of his father, Peter, a free jazz saxophonist of some note. The younger Brötzmann was well aware of avant-garde music, growing up, but the elder Brötzmann definitely wasn’t a fan of the wild bohemian hard rockers who appealed to his son. The younger Brötzmann was left to his own creative devices, and the uncompromising music he made corrodes the foundations of rock while still paying tribute to Brötzmann’s guitar heroes, like Jimi Hendrix and Japanese underground legend Keiji Haino.

Brötzmann rejected formal training and took a ‘fuck virtuosity’ approach to his songwriting. Dissonant chords and mountains of feedback were seen as legitimate means of expression – as were warped tunings and teeth-rattling distortion. Brötzmann explored the palpable potential of volume + intensity + volume + (you get the picture), and Caspar Brötzmann Massaker were notably confrontational in their heyday.

Thirty years down the line, the band's debut, The Tribe, still sounds utterly unique and equally enthralling. Untamed tracks like “Blechton” and “Massaker” see fierce metallic riffs batter shards of hybrid art-rock and psych-rock, exposing the dark heart of The Tribe in the process, which often oozes menace. Elsewhere, the “Time” and “The Call” are fed into a no wave meat grinder – producing unorthodox albeit hard-edged songs, constructed out of twisted and tarnished scaffolding.

It’s all mind-bending magic, of course, and Brötzmann’s murmured vocals and oblique lyrics (which are scattered throughout The Tribe) only add to the unnerving and unhinged atmosphere. Brötzmann and his bandmates corral the chaos as best they can on The Tribe and they somehow manage to make music that’s as bleak as a row of rusting and collapsed factories and yet is overflowing with sizzling six-string insanity. Pounding drums and propulsive bass add to the mayhem, and The Tribe’s remastering captures Caspar Brötzmann Massaker's volcanic strengths in all their amp-melting glory.


The band’s second album, 1989’s Black Axis, features more impressively tight and expressively uninhibited interplay. (It also showcases the continued development of Brötzmann’s idiosyncratic guitar technique.) Like The Tribe, Black Axis was recorded at legendary jazz studio FMP in Berlin, but Brötzmann was so tall he could "barely stand up straight" in the rehearsal room. It might be wishful imaginings on my part, but you can almost hear that uncomfortable positioning boil over as bitter and crooked riffs are hurled at the listener on Black Axis.

There’s a heavier percussive punch to the album, mixed with a raw sense of physicality and starker industrial rhythms. The mesmeric mechanics of “The Hunter” calls to mind a critically adored industrial band like The Young Gods. And the mantric tempo on much of Black Axis fuels its hypnotic pulse, especially in the screeching/droning/transcendent depths of the album’s 15-minute title track.

The echo of Hendrix’s wildest adventures still resounds on Black Axis; see the scorching guitar on tracks like “Mute” and “Tempelhof”. There are plenty of anarchic noise eruptions throughout, and flashes of jazz and funk arrive, only to be wrenched inside out. Squalls of guitar eradicate easy handholds and, to be honest, much of Black Axis feels like Caspar Brötzmann Massaker are purposefully fucking with us as much as with themselves, which suits the band’s modus operandi to T.

Caspar Brötzmann Massaker’s desire to explore the darkest reaches of minimalism and maximalism sees them navigating post-punk and experimental gateways, as well as tearing open all manner of strange and pummeling musical portals. In the end, all that volatility means Caspar Brötzmann Massaker’s music is near impossible to classify – let alone describe.

Ultimately, it's that combination of Caspar Brötzmann Massaker’s innovative temperament and unrestrained methodology that lies at the heart of their appeal. Most bands are all too easily cataloged and duly marketed to the masses, but decades after their birth, Caspar Brötzmann Massaker still sound like eccentric outliers. It’s not even that alternative music hasn’t 'caught up' with Caspar Brötzmann Massaker, it’s simply that the band were genuine subversives making abrasive and aberrant art.

Caspar Brötzmann Massaker are constantly in flux on The Tribe and Black Axis – endlessly exploring the possibilities of their anti-music/music while simultaneously destroying and remaking their songs at the exact same time. Most importantly of all, by disregarding the rules of rock, and ignoring arbitrary genre boundaries, The Tribe and Black Axis remain daring, defiant and wholly challenging albums to this day.

NOTE: After reissuing Caspar Brötzmann Massaker's first five albums, Southern Lord are planning to release a collector’s boxed set featuring extensive liner notes and artwork by Brötzmann, including a hand-numbered silkscreened print signed by the artist. Details of that venture are forthcoming.

Messa - Feast for Water

By Calen Henry. Messa's debut, Belfry made waves. Their occult blues from hell, rooted in 60's rock as much as 70's proto-metal, sounded like an apocalyptic coven worshiping at the altar of Jefferson Airplane, SunnO))), and Black Sabbath.

By Calen Henry.


Messa's debut, Belfry made waves. Their occult blues from hell, rooted in 60's rock as much as 70's proto-metal, sounded like an apocalyptic coven worshiping at the altar of Jefferson Airplane, SunnO))), and Black Sabbath. Delivering equal measures of riff mastery and experimental ambient weirdness, it was one of 2016's best doom records and made them a kind of torchbearer for "weird doom".

Feast for Water once again delivers the doom. Messa lay down riffs that go almost exactly as expected, but always slightly askew, keeping things interesting. The guitar solos, rooted in psychedelic blues, writhe and twist in ways many metal guitarists can't manage and Sara's powerful vocals pull it all together. The doom never loses the melody, letting the weird be weird.

And they bring the weirdness. Not content with their ambient psych doom from Belfry, Messa have branched out even further, bringing in jazzy moments, black metal, and noise. Some of the changes are clear right from the start. After an ominous low string opening over the sound of flowing water, opener "Naunet" builds into a climax of static before breaking. Any album that opens like a clipping. album has my attention.

"Snakeskin Drape" the album's first real song reassures listeners that Messa still bring the fuzz and the riffs before "Leah" breaks everything apart. Much of the track is classic Messa, big riffs a ripping solo, and great vocals but after opening with some SunnO))) worship (if they hadn't strayed so far from Goatsnake) it breaks into a laid back groove with jazzy keys that wouldn't be out of place on a Jaga Jazzist album. Sara's lovely vocals work astonishingly well over their newfound jazziness making the numerous other forays into it across the album seems natural rather than silly or gimmicky.

Apart from "Leah", "Tulsi" is the band's biggest departure. Still weirdly cohesive, it shows Messa's trademark sound expanded with echoes of Vhol; raspy vocals, chromatic tremolo runs, and spacey sludgey riffs, before breaking into an extended saxophone solo. As with the rest of the album, Sara commands all with her vocals and they keep the disparate parts together.

Few bands can take an already diverse sound, exponentially diversify it, and keep it so cohesive. Though they sound quite different, the result is reminiscent of Boris. Both bands mix heavy rock with seemingly whatever else takes their fancy, and make it work. Messa make weird doom even weirder and it's absolutely wonderful. Not everyone will want to be along for the ride, and if you're not Monolord have got your back for straightforward doom. Those up for the weirdness will be amply rewarded for their adventurousness.

Ancst - Ghosts of the Timeless Void

By Hera Vidal. With seventeen releases under their belt, Ancst is one of the more prolific bands I have encountered. With their blend of crust, black metal, and political lyricism, this band have been making a statement about

By Hera Vidal.


With seventeen releases under their belt, Ancst is one of the more prolific bands I have encountered. With their blend of crust, black metal, and political lyricism, this band have been making a statement about who they are since their inception. Ghosts of the Timeless Void is no exception to their DIY aesthetic and fast pace, but what caught my attention about this release is how melodic it is. Underneath the layers of hardcore, crust, black metal, and other influences that fully flesh out the album, there is also a stark melody that cannot be missed.

Ghost of the Timeless Void starts off with reverbing guitars and backing synth-like tones that give the listener a moment to brace themselves before the music launches into blast beats and harsh vocals. The music is relentless, but it is very clear that there is a melody line that makes the music not as harsh as it should sound. It allows the album to be seamless, missing no beats as the songs transition. It also gives them room to experiment, whether it is with the spoken vocals at the beginning of “Republic of Hatred” or the atmospheric yet slow pacing of “Dysthymia”. The music is varied, a testament to the expert musicianship the band has. There are also hints of dissonance that seem to blur together – for example, in “Sanctity”, the vocals mesh with the music, allowing the listener to get disconnected for a bit. However, just as quickly, the track is able to pull the listener back into their headspace, and it goes without a hitch.

Another thing about Ghosts that caught my attention was its production value. While my experience with hardcore has been limited, I have not enjoyed what I’ve listened to. However, because of the influences the album has, Ghosts makes the crust and hardcore digestible and accessible. Everything about Ghosts is clean, masterful, and dynamic, conveying layers of experimentation that sound incredibly polished. It’s also an earworm, allowing the music to get stuck in your head as you listen to it again and again. This is definitely an album that can be enjoyed multiple times in one sitting, and it never gets old.

All in all, Ghosts of the Timeless Void is an album filled with hard-hitting music, clean production, and relentless energy. Their experimentation may be something new for old fans of the band, but new listeners will appreciate how focused this album is. The band is truly committed to their sound and aesthetic, reminding us that even the more inexperienced of us can enjoy music as it comes.

Hell - Hell (2017)

By Matt Hinch. Think of all those bands you know that are “the definition of heavy”. Conan, Electric Wizard, Crowbar, Hymn, Monolord, etc. If Salem, Oregon’s Hell isn’t on that list, you need a new list. The one-man doom entity helmed by M.S.W.

By Matt Hinch.


Think of all those bands you know that are “the definition of heavy”. Conan, Electric Wizard, Crowbar, Hymn, Monolord, etc. If Salem, Oregon’s Hell isn’t on that list, you need a new list. The one-man doom entity helmed by M.S.W. (that has become a touring band!) digs deep to bring to the surface a heaviness that radiates from whatever listening device you’re using and draws the world, in all its darkness, closer and closer until you are forced to lower your head in praise. This is their first full-length, entitled Hell, since the trilogy of full-lengths (Hell, Hell II, Hell III) concluded in 2012, and the 2015 EP (also Hell) and it blows everything away with pure power, tone, and volume.

The anti-festivities begin with “Helmzmen”. It starts with the mayday call of the Northern Belle (sunk in the Gulf of Alaska in 2010) and that visual of a sinking ship represents well the feeling Hell gives the listener. (Not to mention a general world view.) It’s nautically heavy. Unfathomably so. As huge as the vastness of the oceans. It fills you with the sense of terrifying dread that comes from knowing there is no one to save you from certain death. Every note cracks the sternum and soils your soul with the sickness of impending doom. (Although only one of the four crew members perished.)

There’s a point where the track breaks into a rage of blackened swiftness, albeit brief and fleeting, before returning to bury the world in tone. Otherwise the track, like most others on the album, features vocals straight from the bowels of Hell itself. Chilling, churning doom slickened with varied paces from barely moving to a rolling gait that crushes all, continuously beats you down with monumental heaviness.

Similarities to aforementioned bands like Electric Wizard (“Machitikos”) and Conan (“Wandering Soul”) can be heard but they’re subtle and in my opinion more coincidental than intentional. M.S.W. doesn’t need to rip other bands off. “Machitikos” has a syrupy groove that evolves into an atmospheric display of darkness more evil that you should be comfortable with and a screaming solo over unstoppable rhythms that grip like a vice. “Wandering Soul” has that plodding battle doom feel with dominant riffs, more strange, chilling atmosphere, and build ups that always pay off. It only takes one heart-stopping note to make anything pay off on this album.

Sickening shrieks and gut wrenching growls meet with chants on “Inscriptus” as drone clashes with chunky riffs, plodding pace and noise to continually, with deliberately forceful notes, slowly break down any resistance.

“Victus” clocks in as the most epic track. As heavy as the rest, it sometimes feels like you can hear the amps struggling not to implode. The demonic vocals and doomed-out slog are still present but there’s an airy section more akin to say, Cascadian black metal (not necessarily Wolves in the Throne Room-esque but…). It lends an extra sense of contemplation at odds with heaviness. Any doubts that accompany this change are washed away on the sounds of gentle violin (Gina Eygenhuygen) and a lonesome guitar. It’s not loud or totally crushing but the contrast feels entirely natural and still plenty doomed. The violins still hang around when the tentative peace is broken by a piercing scream, bringing extra gravitas to the pounding riffs. The completeness of the track, and the journey it takes the listener on, is worth the price of admission on its own. The previously mentioned tracks as well as “SubOdin” and closer “Seelenos” with its spoken word samples (TED Talk on suicide) and gorgeous operatic vocals (courtesy of Karli McNutt) seem like added bonuses and more than welcome despite the feeling of utter defeat one often experiences throughout Hell.

Contrary to how some extreme doom can feel like an exercise in pure heaviness for the sake of it, Hell retains a strong sense of catchiness for lack of a better word. The riffs fester like an untreated wound and unexpectedly burst through your mind with a force as bloodily striking as the album’s frightful cover.

Hell is skin-crawlingly outstanding. M.S.W. has crafted what could easily be considered an instant doom classic. It took a few years but one listen is enough to convince doom fans that the wait was more than worth it as the album will not fade over time. As superb as it is mind-numbingly heavy, Hell invites you below to wallow in darkness, despair and excruciating doom.

Cavernlight - As We Cup Our Hands and Drink from the Stream of Our Ache

By Justin C. I remember a discussion with a friend, probably over 20 years ago now, as to whether anyone had ever truly captured the experience of mental illness in a piece of writing. The answer was a solid...maybe? Fyodor Dostoevsky?

By Justin C.


I remember a discussion with a friend, probably over 20 years ago now, as to whether anyone had ever truly captured the experience of mental illness in a piece of writing. The answer was a solid...maybe? Fyodor Dostoevsky? William Faulkner? Emily Dickinson? Sylvia Plath? That's a decent short list, but the lingering issue was the fact that so many people seem to completely misunderstand mental illness and the experience of it. Anybody can sympathize with physical pain, but mental pain? Even now, a decent chunk of the public see psychological pain as something that's not as real as diabetes or cancer, and that fatal outcomes from that pain, especially with the recent suicides of Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington, seem to elude the understanding--and worse yet, the sympathy or empathy--of so many.

Cavernlight, initially formed by Adam Bartlett (Gilead Media mastermind) and Scott Zuwadzhi, may have come as close to distilling the essence of mental anguish into a work of art as I've heard, achieving something that I often wondered if I could capture myself so many years ago. That's quite an extreme position to take, I know, and I'm sure an obnoxious Facebook debate could be started about what albums truly do this, and since art is subjective, there may be valid other opinions, but I don't think anything has struck me as quite as powerful as the band's As We Cup Our Hands and Drink from the Stream of Our Ache.

The music itself evades easy categorization. It's maybe closest in genre to funeral doom, but that's a vast oversimplification. The music is minimal, in its way. Aching melodies are painstakingly formed from just a few notes played at glacial tempos. The vocals, thanks to a range of guest contributors, covers a large pallette. Rachel N. (of False) lends her inimitable roars, Michael Paparo (of Inter Arma) joins in, and Sarah Green adds her haunting, harmonized clean vocals (and cello) to what might be the most powerful track, album closer, "A Shell of One's Former Self."

The notes I made while listening seem inadequate to the task of detailing the music. There are many beautiful moments, releases of pain and frustration, but listing them won't give you much of an idea of what the album is about. Thematically, you can read more about these "5 movements detailing a life that is lived suffering through severe, crippling anxiety and the burden of mental illness" on the album's Bandcamp page, but even then.... This is a harrowing listen. It's music I found both compelling and at times viscerally difficult to listen to, sometimes at the same time. This is the painting you see at a museum that makes you feel something churning in your gut, maybe a feeling beyond words, and although it's not something you'd want on your living room wall, you can't get it out of your mind. It's a release, a burden, and an exorcism all at once, and although the fact that it's firmly extreme metal necessarily limits its audience, I doubt I'll be the only person haunted by it.

Short and to the point 5

By Aaron Sullivan. Unless you’ve been living under a rock you may have noticed a huge influx of Black Metal bands out of Iceland recently. Bands like Svartidauði, Sinmara, Misþyrming, and Zhrine. But to be honest

By Aaron Sullivan.


Unless you’ve been living under a rock you may have noticed a huge influx of Black Metal bands out of Iceland recently. Bands like Svartidauði, Sinmara, Misþyrming, and Zhrine. But to be honest, none have really done much for me. With the exception of one, Ljáin. Jef Whitehead (Leviathan, Lurker of Chalice) posted them on his Instagram, and if he’s promoting them then who am I not to check it out. Glad I did.

The two albums are atmospheric and raw at the same time. Vocal deep in the mix adding the cacophony of it all. Shifting rhythms keeping things from getting stale. Reminds me of a less chaotic Skaphe (who is half Icelandic themselves). How these guys have not been signed yet is a mystery to me. So check them out before they are so you can say, “I knew them before they were signed to <label name here>”.

Artwork Daniel Obzejta

Out of my scene here in L.A. comes Wovoka and their album Saros. How would I describe this band you ask? Well imagine if you will Neurosis and YOB making sweet sweet love. Go on, do it. Good. Now the love child produced by that love making would undoubtedly be Wovoka. The atmosphere and vocals of Neurosis combined with the riffs and sheer towering tone of YOB. First time seeing them live was like being run over by a herd of slow moving elephants. Their sound fills your ears to maximum capacity. Glacial in movement and in weight.

From the windy city comes the artist J.R. Robinson. He is the mastermind behind the band Wrekmeister Harmonies. When it started it out the band was more of a collective. J.R. being the main guy and with each album bringing in a slew of artist from the Chicago scene and elsewhere. Names like Sanford Parker, Jef Whitehead, Bruce Lamont, Marissa Nadler, and many others. The songs, like on my favorite album of his You've Always Meant So Much to Me, were sprawling 30 minute plus slow burns of jammy rock ambience rising and rising until a giant crescendo. Combining elements of DOOM, and experimentation, post-rock, and drone. Like a darker Godspeed You! Black Emperor. He expanded upon this for the next two albums. But with his latest Light Falls, some things have changed.

For one he has a permanent band mate in the multi-instrumentalist Esther Shaw. Two, no more 30 minute plus songs. The album contains seven songs that are no doubt connected (as evidenced by the title track broken into three pieces) but can also stand alone. Having been fortunate to have seen him live several times I get the feeling it was these live shows that may have informed this albums shorter song lengths. They have a real live feel to them. But then what do I know. Maybe the man just needed a change. Either way this is still a worthy addition to an already great catalogue of music.

Wreck and Reference. A band that recently was listed in an article on Invisible Oranges titled, 10 of the Heaviest Modern Bands Without Guitars, I would agree. I first heard them on their second album Want. I was struck immediately. To be that heavy in mood, to be that aggressive vocally, drumming with such power, and while not a metal band, sure feeling like one.

Their evolving catalogue is well documented on this site. With their new album, Indifferent Rivers Romance End, the mood is still heavy but the music, not as much. Softer in tone perhaps but not in message. This album feels more open allowing the layers to be heard more. I know the word “mature” is sometimes seen as a bad word for some. But I think it describes this album well. They have honed their anger and depression. So instead of firing a shotgun that spreads their sadness anywhere and everywhere. They instead use a heat seeking missile to annihilate their intended target. Who ever that poor unfortunate person may be, even if it's pointed at the band themselves.

Last, but certainly not least, another band from my Los Angeles scene is Skyeater. Made up of former musicians of Crowhurst (they were on the self-titled album) and now going about it on their own. But don’t expect that type of Black Metal, this is atmospheric and ritualistic. They combine the atmosphere of Lluvia and the ritualistic feel of Merkaba. The drumming is top notch. The thing I dig the most is they have three vocalist with three distinctive vocal styles. One a guttural black metal style, another almost depressive suicidal, and the other black metal style with just a hint on hardcore style in it. Don’t think the rawness is only a result of this being a demo. It translates to the live sound also.

They are currently in the process of recording their full length at Earhammer Studios with Greg Wilkinson (Asunder, Lycus, Fórn) at the helm. To be released next year on Baneful Genesis Records.

Ramlord / Sea of Bones – Split

By Craig Hayes. Back in 2013, I wrote a review here at Metal Bandcamp praising stenchcore trio Ramlord’s second album, Crippled Minds, Sundered Wisdom. That review remains one of my favourite contributions to this site,

By Craig Hayes.

Artwork by Diego Bureau Anti-Art.

Back in 2013, I wrote a review here at Metal Bandcamp praising stenchcore trio Ramlord’s second album, Crippled Minds, Sundered Wisdom. That review remains one of my favourite contributions to this site, and to put that into wider context for you, I generally detest everything I write.

Not that Crippled Minds, Sundered Wisdom review, though. I like that, a lot. I think that review underscores that life (including writing, in my case) can feel like an unending struggle, and that the world often seems shockingly callous. That's why we revel in the kinds of twisted, cathartic noise that bands like Ramlord create. Although, it would be a lie to say that the band's music is any kind of soothing balm, as such.

We live in a world where even the things we love can easily end up crushing our souls, and Ramlord’s music really serves as a colossal-sized vent for releasing the pressure. If you think that sounds a little on the bleak side, then keep in mind that Ramlord know all about crushing souls. That's the band's bread and butter. They are masters of abject misery. And the good news on that front is that the world is apparently set on getting worse by the second. So Ramlord’s got tragedies galore to drawn upon.

Proof of that can be heard on Ramlord’s new split album with fellow gloom-mongers Sea of Bones. But, before we get to that split in full, it’s important to note that Ramlord’s sound is perfectly pitched to conjure the savagery lurking beneath society's crumbling facade. The music they make is a horrorshow; a churning mix of d-beat, crust, and filthy black metal. Or, as the band put it, “In stench we grind through the sludge we blacken.”

Sound good? Of course it does. Ramlord’s music is a glorious nightmare. (Equal parts Discharge, Dystopia and Venom, on a real bad trip.) The band’s two full-lengths and myriad splits have all been as primitive as they are nihilistic, and as fierce as they are feral, and Ramlord’s vocalist and guitarist Jan Slezak has an amazing lo-fi punk ’n’ metal side-project called Leather Chalice that’s equally as harsh and ultra-negative.

Ramlord’s contribution to their split with Sea of Bones consists of one lengthy track, “Incarceration of Clairvoyance (Part III)”. The track is a toxic brew of punked-up black metal, stripped to its bones, with gargling-acid vocals and icier, isolated scales offering brief moments of reprieve. “Incarceration of Clairvoyance (Part III)” is dissonant and chaotic, and like the rest of Ramlord’s odorous oeuvre, the track is steeped in doom and gloom and tailor-made to soundtrack our species' long-overdue downfall.

Speaking of doom and gloom, that’s where Sea of Bones enter the picture. Like a couple of the band’s nautically named brethren – see Buried at Sea and Graves at Sea – Sea of Bones also deliver massive, rolling waves of sludgy doom. Sea of Bones’ contribution to their split with Ramlord, “Hopelessness and Decay”, is an aptly titled lurch across bleak terrain. And if mammoth and morose songs set at a funereal pace appeal, then rest assured that “Hopelessness and Decay” will provide 10 minutes of fathomless despair.

Sea of Bones’ catalogue thus far (two EPs, a couple of full-lengths, and this split) has been replete with similarly sombre music. That said, Sea of Bones do incorporate a broader set of sonic influences than your bog-standard doom band. Post-metal looms large in the band's work, providing a undulating backbone to many of Sea of Bones' songs, and the band make great use of the texture and weight of their sound as a whole – à la Swans.

If you’re a fan of Neurosis’ latter era, then how Sea of Bones’ set about sculpting a towering missive like “Hopelessness and Decay” will be familiar. The band set a slow and increasingly tense tempo at first, and as the track steadily unwinds heavier and heavier elements are added, with each progression, large or small, hammered home for full aesthetic effect.

And that’s Ramlord and Sea of Bones’ split. Two bands mining a similarly wretched vein, although each approach that vein from an entirely different angle. For Ramlord, it’s all tooth and claw; a virulent and vicious attack of jagged, punked-up metal. For Sea of Bones’ it’s the slow and steady approach; with additional element added trampling the will even further.

Ramlord and Sea of Bones meet at the point where rack and ruin threaten to tip the balance. That’s life, I guess, one minute we’re hanging on and struggling through, and the next minute life can remind us that we were only ever a breath away from having our hopes shattered. Ramlord and Sea of Bones' split is the perfect accompaniment for wallowing in that fact. So how about I buy a copy, and then you buy a copy (because misery loves company), and then we all can march into the final flames together. Laughing our collective heads off at the fucking futility of it all.

Sweet dreams, my friends.

Giveaway - A Fortnight Spent Beneath Ashen Skies t-shirt by Christian Degn

[Welcome to the second Metal Bandcamp giveaway! Recently I fell in love with a t-shirt featuring the gorgeous drawing A Fortnight Spent Beneath Ashen Skies by Christian Degn. After procuring it a thought entered my mind: more people should know about this shirt

The giveaway is over. See who won at the bottom of the post.

[Welcome to the second Metal Bandcamp giveaway! Recently I fell in love with a t-shirt featuring the gorgeous drawing A Fortnight Spent Beneath Ashen Skies by Christian Degn. After procuring it a thought entered my mind: more people should know about this shirt, so they can love it like I do. Hence this giveaway, enter it and you may win the t-shirt for yourself to wear.

Besides the giveaway we have music as well. Christian was kind enough to send me a Bandcamp playlist of albums that kept him company while creating the drawing. Enjoy, and check out his store for prints (and the t-shirt if you do not win it here).]


The title of the drawing on this shirt is "A Fortnight Spent Beneath Ashen Skies, an Eternity Under the Eyes of Our Lord” which was a phrase that kept repeating in my head as I was drawing it. This is usually how I name pieces, if they do end up getting a name. The only symbolism that I intentionally put into this image was the hour glass, and it’s meaning is actually not terribly deep, simply representing mortality. I suppose this whole illustration could be dedicated to this idea. Everything else is just there because I liked how it looked. I have plans to make more shirts with other illustrations I’ve done, but I figured I would start out with one of my older drawings. In total I probably spent around 20 or so hours on this piece, possibly more or less. It was on my desk for about a month while I worked on other drawings and school work, picking away at it slowly. Of course I had plenty of music keeping me company through this process, here are a few of the albums I recall playing regularly around the time of working on it.


This album was playing as I started this drawing. Originally I was only planning to draw the left half of the image. I had started it a couple of weeks before my birthday and was drawing it as as a sort of gift for myself, and with another year passing, an hourglass seems fitting. Xothist has a interesting songwriting style that really lets my mind wander with their meandering compositions, but it still has a rawness that keeps it very mysterious and menacing while demanding attention. I also had the Dwarfer cassette playing a lot as well around this time, though I’m not sure if the band has a stream anywhere. Either way, this stuff deserves way more praise than I see it getting. Really top notch stuff!

I’ve always been infatuated with Locrian’s music since I was first introduced to them, but this album really caught me off guard from track one. All their releases have a really long shelf life for me as well, if that’s the right way to put it? I mean I had this album in rotation regularly up until Infinite Dissolution which followed this release (and it’s kinda been the same story with that album!) My routine during this summer was to go for an evening run and come home and sit by the fan and blast this record while playing an hour or so of Metroid 2 on gameboy before working on art stuff. It makes for the perfect soundtrack to a lonely space exploration game! Locrian’s musical sensibility and aesthetic always has the feeling of intrigue and haziness, like seeing a mysterious door in a dream that you know you want to approach, but are apprehensive about. But the band shows you inside the door and it’s usually nothing to be afraid of, but something to find wonder in. I also always love seeing Terence Hannum’s collage pieces using cassette tape and design elements from labels. As a generally line-oriented artist, I’ve always taken a lot away from seeing his work. I hope I can see some in person eventually, I’m sure the light interacting with the tape provides a whole new level to the viewing experience. I’ll quit fawning now ha!

I always have to listen to a Krallice album at some point during a drawing. There’s something about hearing the way these dudes account for every detail in their songs that really lends itself to falling into that sort of zen state, where inking monotonous lines becomes more meditative than tedious. The word I always see people throw around to describe Krallice is dizzying, which really is probably the best way to describe any Krallice riff. The other thing I love about how detail-oriented this band’s discography tends to be, is that I can almost always find something new on every listen. Not a lot of bands do that for me! This was another album I was playing on cassette a lot, and hearing that extra layer of fuzz really makes you aware of how much influence these guys drew from that raw black metal sound. If you can find a copy I recommend you snagging it! (if only for the alternate cover art on the j-card, which has grade-A layout!)

I believe I may have actually stumbled across this album through this very site! I probably played it at least once during every drawing I did between 2014 and 2015. I really love how spacey this album feels, despite a pretty grind-y backbone. For me it feels a lot like Vektor meets Gridlink but a little bit more blackened? I think the thing that really kept me coming back to this release the most was actually the vocal mix. It has those sort of DSBM howls and it fits with the song writing excellently. I usually pay attention to guitars and drums more than anything so it’s rare for me to find vocals done in a way that actually make them the highlight. These make me feel like a little kid hearing heavy metal for the first time and being kind of scared but still transfixed. Also just like.. the riffs, man!

This might be my favorite album ever. It’s almost always in rotation, but I was listening to this more than usual right as I was finishing up on this drawing because, if I remember correctly, The Unnatural World had just come out earlier in the year. I thought about including that album instead, since it was as significant around that time for me, but I couldn’t bring myself to put it above this record which always really messes me up in the best way on every listen. I don’t know what I could say about Deathconsciousness that hasn’t already been said and said more eloquently than I’m capable of, but there’s no way I couldn’t give it a mention. Also I believe the Flenser just announced another pressing recently so I suggest jumping on that if you get the chance! The sleeve and zine included are absolutely stunning! A detail I love is that the Flenser pressing uses the Jaques-Louis David cover, and then uses the original LP cover for the zine. This album definitely demands your attention the first handful of listens. I suggest turning it up very loud and turning off all the lights! Repeat until you’ve gained enough immunity that you can actually draw to this album without sobbing all over your paper!

[The giveaway is over. Thanks to all who entered, and for all the nice comments. The randomly selected winners are:

Brad Sanders29 - bradscottsand AT gmail DOT com
AM30 - merschat AT gmail DOT com

The t-shirts have now been sent to Brad from New York and Artie from Texas. Congratulations to both of you!]

Mizmor - Yodh

By Matt Hinch. I couldn't have picked a better night than this to pen this review. It's a Monday. I've been miserable all day. Disappointed and frustrated.

By Matt Hinch.

Artwork by Zdzisław Beksiński

I couldn't have picked a better night than this to pen this review. It's a Monday. I've been miserable all day. Disappointed and frustrated. Yodh, the latest release from Mizmor plays right into those feelings. This gargantuan blackened doom opus to survival (surviving life more than say, being hunted by psychos) comes saturated in frustration, misery, despair and longing.

However, instead of pulling a shroud over his head and hiding under forlorn melodies and woe-is-me sappiness, sole member A.L.N. goes on the offensive; thunderously powering through the darkness, tearing through it with a piercing scream breaking the quiet intro to “i. Woe Regains My Substance”. Following that attention-grabbing moment come rage and terror.

That long opener covers a lot of ground, from twisted black metal to funeral doom and back again, all through a distortion beyond reality. It's the soundtrack of utter ruin and pain. Until it slices open the vein and a more traditional (read: second wave) black metal furor flows in. That's the kind of chaos that keeps long, brutally tortured songs from losing the listener and sets the stage for the album.

Four more tracks follow the path of apocalyptic doom segueing through textures, paces and noise, all tearing at the psyche like a vulture. The transitions often paint a bleak picture that tips over the abyss into the rollicking steamroll of black metal wrought with horror. The unhinged vocals lead an army of spectres on a mission of terror, none more unsettling than as heard on “iii. The Serpent Eats Its Tail”.

This 14+ minute endurance test of malevolent doom puts forward a different sound in its first half, sounding quite like Pallbearer. The vocals are grotesque and demonic though. Deadly growls meet high screams trapping the listener in their own personal hell. Think The Body but you don't feel like it's an animal that needs to be put out of its misery. The track's second half pummels like waves of doubt crashing perpetually upon the listener's mind, assaulting with dementia and enduring weight.

If by this point you haven't run for safety, you'll get more of Mizmor's desolation littered with the detritus of the empty things that we think make us happy but only plunge the soul deeper into frustrated melancholy.

Yodh is brilliantly crafted for both emotional impact and listenability. The long runtimes never drag. Instead the songs insulate the listener from any semblance of time passing and bore deep within to draw out the listener's inner demons.

Yodh is complete sonic alchemy fit to blacken the skin as it enhances the muscle beneath. The outstanding cover art is but a fantasy compared to the level of horror, pain and tortured souls that lurk within. Misery never sounded so good.

Short and to the point 3

By Aaron Sullivan. Wolvserpent have a new album out. The two piece band consisting of Blake Green (guitar, vocals) and Brittany McConnell (drums, violin) released a one song E.P. entitled Aporia​:​Kāla​:​Ananta.

By Aaron Sullivan.


Wolvserpent have a new album out. The two piece band consisting of Blake Green (guitar, vocals) and Brittany McConnell (drums, violin) released a one song E.P. entitled Aporia​:​Kāla​:​Ananta.

Their last album Perigaea Antahkarana is among my favorite albums all time. The unique ability to combine DOOM, Classical, Drone, and Ambient is unlike any other band I know of. They are like a darker Godspeed You! Black Emperor. The song balances between sounding epic and still retaining a touch of rawness about it. They combine beauty and darkness seamlessly. This band never ceases to amaze.

James Brown III can not be stopped. He is constantly producing amazing music through many different entities and genres on his Rising Beast label. Well add another, Vorpal Sword.

The common thread through all his endeavors is experimentation. Never standing in one place for too long. Vorpal Sword's first album, 10,000 Stab Wounds, can be best described as a mix of noise and Punky Black Metal. The static is right up front, a wall of it if you like. Behind it is punky blackened riffs and vocals so deep in the mix they too become noise at some points. This music is in your face and unapologetic.

Then comes the new Vorpal Sword album, Pain. A 15 minute track that when it starts sounds like we are going down the same road. But as I said before, he is never standing one place for too long. Instead it goes into a what is a DSBM song drenched in staticy noise. Within the 15 minute track it shifts quite a bit. I get the sense it could have been divided into many songs but was made as one continuous track for a reason, and it works. From the opening it varies to noise/power electronic interludes, punky black metal, and back to more atmospheric Black Metal.

With Vorpal Sword he once again shows his versatility as an artist. Where he will go next I don’t know. But I know it will be interesting.

Not sure what it is, but for me, when I see a band is from Germany, even more so one that that plays the darker side of metal, I know I’m in for a treat. Germany rarely lets me down, and Dolch only further prove what I have found to be true.

They play a mix of dark gothy post punk with touches of ambient. Reminding me of Urfaust and Vindensång at times. Slow repetitive riffing, almost drone like. Heavy with mood and creating great atmosphere. The vocals are a clean female style. They add an ethereal quality to the darkness that only furthers the atmosphere. I was hooked at first listen. A very exciting new band I hope to hear more from.

Cover art by Bob Layzell

Unlike Germany Italy is the opposite for me. Not a knock on the quality of the music coming from that country but rather I have not heard anything that I enjoy. But Phobonoid's self titled album is working very hard to change that. A concept album highly influenced by sci-fi, with a written prologue on the Bandcamp page:

Distant flames, overlapping in the cloud of time.
The Alpha Centauri army moves towards the Solar System.
The will to power darkens the smell of putrefaction.
The Satellites Alliance must defend its territory, Phobos will have to embrace his weapons again.
Winning today to get lost tomorrow. Does it really matter?
Under the pall of mummified bodies lies the answer.

Phobonoid is one man band project of Lord Phobos. He mixes DOOM with Black Metal and hints of Industrial, along with ambient type instrumentals throughout the album. His raspy screams right in the middle of the mix. The music is dark and cold much like the outer space it takes place in.

From England comes black metal merchants Terra. There is a touch of mystery to them. The album is untitled, the songs merely numbered, no lyrics are given, they give only their first names and the cover is the dark void of space. But that only helps to draw focus to the music, and it’s a doozy.

They do such a great job of sounding raw and epic at the same time. Great atmosphere throughout. Spare use of vocals, it’s almost as if they are an instrumental band. At times I get a Wolves In The Throne Room vibe and other times I’m reminded of Altar of Plagues. Songs never stay on the same riff throughout a song. They shift constantly but it always feels natural not jarring at all. This was a favorite of mine from 2015. A very promising band.

Nonsun - Black Snow Desert

By Karen A. Mann.


Listening to Black Snow Desert, the debut from Ukrainian instrumental doom/drone/blackgaze duo Nonsun, is like taking a pilgrimage through a constantly changing landscape. The journey is long, and at times quite arduous: The album comprises two CDs, with the shortest song topping out at 8 minutes. The sounds contained often fit the album’s title: dark, cold and empty. Songs build slowly, and often plod to their crescendo. There’s no shortage of scraping, screaming and crashing sounds. But after those crashes, the sonic landscape often shifts, and moments of pure, shimmering beauty emerge.

What makes Black Snow Desert such a compelling listen is the band’s ability to create opposing ideas -- harsh vs. soft, dissonant vs. melodic, empty vs. full -- and mold them into a coherent yin-yang fabric of sound that demands engagement from the listener. This isn’t music that you can just turn on as background music and then go about your business. There’s too much to miss, and the payoff from fully immersing yourself in the sound is too great.

Black Snow Desert begins with “No Pity for the Beast, No Shelter for the Innocent,” a 15-minute plus opus that slowly builds with droning guitars and distant cymbals. Veering into shoegaze at its warmest, fullest parts. The album alternately plods and glides along, through colorful, shimmering and exotic passages on “Peace of Decay, Joy of Collapse,” and scraping destruction on “Heart’s Heavy Burden.” It finally throbs, then explodes to an end on the final track, “Rest of Tragedy.” You can’t help but feel slightly spent at the conclusion of Black Snow Desert, but as with any good trip, you’re eager to make the journey again.

Author & Punisher - Melk en Honing

By Calen Henry. Tristan Shone’s Author & Punisher might be the most literally metal band in existence. Shone makes his brand of industrial metal almost exclusively with custom machines he designs and fabricates. The sonic character of Shone’s machines is wholly unique, but oddly familiar.

By Calen Henry.

Artwork by Russell MacEwan / Force Majeure Art

Tristan Shone’s Author & Punisher might be the most literally metal band in existence. Shone makes his brand of industrial metal almost exclusively with custom machines he designs and fabricates.

The sonic character of Shone’s machines is wholly unique, but oddly familiar. The machines have bizarre metallic sonic palettes but are employed to replicate the guitar and drum assault of “normal” industrial music. That coupled with Shone’s Marilyn Manson style shout-singing make for “comfortable” music with an abrasive undercurrent unlike anything else.

If there’s a complaint to be leveraged it’s that over the course of an entire album the music can blur together somewhat, but this could be a personal observation coming from someone who isn’t entrenched in the industrial sound.

Photos by Jason Ernst

The music itself is a straightforward mix of Godflesh style industrial droning and 90s Nine Inch Nails melodic industrial music. But that's part of what makes Melk en Honing so successful. It’s sonically adventurous but musically straightforward.

Shone consciously reigns in the musical experimentation instead crafting memorable songs with distinct instrumental and vocal hooks and letting the unique sonic texture of his machines shine through. It’s a much more successful approach than experimenting with both the sounds and the music. The listener is able to immediately “get” the music to the point where the provenance of the machines is icing on the cake rather than the main attraction.

If you prefer a different electronic approach to machine industrial metal there’s always Pretty Eight Machine.

Locrian - Infinite Dissolution

By Majbritt Levinsen. I totally fell in love with Locrian back in 2012 when I first came in contact with this highly creative trio. They blew me away and opened up a new chapter of music to me. Even though the

By Majbritt Levinsen.

Sculpture by David Altmejd.

I totally fell in love with Locrian back in 2012 when I first came in contact with this highly creative trio. They blew me away and opened up a new chapter of music to me. Even though the double album The Clearing/The Final Epoch was harsh and not so listener-friendly I just embraced it wholeheartedly. It was a trip to a haunting claustrophobic post-apocalyptic environment which I gladly revisits on a regular basis.

I have to mention that, to this day, I have not gotten into their album Return To Annihilation from 2013. After some listen-throughs I just came to terms with the fact that we weren’t compatible.

So here I am with a new Locrian album which is much lighter and much more accessible on a grander scale, the haunting drone and eerie bleak atmospheres from The Clearing/The Final Epoch is for the most part gone, and has transformed into a more focused experimental atmospheric post-black-metal with the dark electronics hovering around the tracks, and I love it!

Terence Hannum. Photo by Webzine Chuul.

"Arc of Extinction" opens up with all the ingredients that makes Locrian great: droning guitars, the tormented distant screams from Terence Hannum, the ritualistic heavy drumbeats from Steven Hess that drags you closer while the track builds up into a cataclysmic fury, a tornado of intertwined sounds that breathes like a living entity! 7 minutes of mesmerizing waves of sound and André Foisy’s fine-tuned guitar that just lifts this track above and beyond.

Just like "Dark Shales" has it’s light and fluid meditative mood that feels spacy and futuristic, "The Great Dying" will also lift your mind to another state of consciousness. It blooms out to something that gives me goosebumps, and is maybe my favourite track on this album. It floats seamlessly over into “Heavy Water” that streams thick and fluidly underneath you as you hover over it.

Steven Hess. Photo by Webzine Chuul.

"An Index of Air" makes me want to see them live, this track would be something out of this world to be able to experience live, where the initial lengthy drum and electronic intro will take your senses to another dimension. And as the track opens up and Terrence starts to scream out the few but powerful lyrics; the sound waves, the dim light and the presence of other people in a crowded room would trigger even more ways to enjoy the music.

This album feels more harmonic and balanced but you will still find darker passages with harsh noisy electronics. The track "KXL I" carries this darker and more harsher mechanical droning sound and mood. It has a light guitar on top of a darker undercurrent of screeching electronics. A gritty guitar eventually seeps out of that dark undercurrent and gives this track some really interesting layers.

André Foisy. Photo by Webzine Chuul.

After my first listen-through I noticed that the aura was brighter and more ethereal. Every sound they create in their sonic adventures is carefully placed and structured which results in an awe inspiring synergy, and that is why I never get tired of listening to their music.

With Infinite Dissolution Locrian paints pretty pictures of post-apocalyptic landscapes. So let them escort you, as your mind wander, to an Earth where humans no longer exists. Cease to Grow, Start to Dissolve ("Heavy Water").

And I might have to mention that Locrian’s Infinite Dissolution is number one on my best of 2015 list.