Containor – Asshole

Continuing a long series of musical experiments in the vague vein of black metal, the Hathenter page offers us Containor‘s Asshole. This one in particular is a brutal display of aggression towards the poor, innocent drum kit, layered with a variety of acoustic and electronic nonsense. It’s perhaps the most free-jazz-like metal album I’ve heard, and it’s amazing!

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I.O – Fragments Humming for Sun and Stars

Oddly enough, this is quite similar in mentality to the previous album in this post, but within the experimental or math rock realm. This one-man expectoration is a drum-centric foray into free rock, which has the convenient side effect of sounding like demented math rock – not too far off Hella, to be honest! This is apparently part one of two mind-numbing full-length albums that will most likely be built around an ingenious drum solo. The mix could be better, especially concerning the drums, but given the uniqueness of the project, it makes sense, and gives it a certain charm!

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Arnaud Bukwald – La marmite cosmique, menu numéro 4

Yet another one-man project, La marmite cosmique is the latest album from French musician Arnaud Bukwald, and it’s quite a fun ride! It’s a retro-prog-inspired piece of art that’s also at times funky, atmospheric, psychedelic, and a bit ridiculous! One of my main complaints is the use of obviously programmed drums, although the focus is never really on them for an extended period of time so they kinda blend in. However, it would be something to improve for further issues. In the meantime, this is a good and fun album to listen to!

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Blame – Almanac

Ukraine’s Blame just released an enormous technical death/groove metal EP with Almanac. The moment you press play, you’ll be assaulted by vicious and massive riffs that are basically ceaseless for twenty minutes straight. Moreover, the production is clean and the tones of all instruments are devilish. It was highly expected, and it does not disappoint.

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Aviations – The Light Years

Here’s another release that was highly anticipated. Aviations just dropped their melodic, catchy alternative progressive metal/post-hardcore album, The Light Years. This one is just nasty. For about an hour, let the riffs infiltrate your body and mind, fronted by Adam Benjamin who demonstrates a wide range of vocals, and supported by a strong backbone of musicians all expert of their craft. It’s a worthy release; go, listen for yourselves!

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Clavicus Vile – The Nightspirit’s Call

Clavicus Vile‘s latest’s biggest shortcoming is in the use of a drum machine. While some softwares and mixes can blend really well, to the point of being unnoticeable, the drums on The Nightspirit’s Call are of those who detract from the music. It can’t be as bad as the new Deconstructing Sequence, but it should be better. I began with the criticism, but there’s a lot of nice things to be said about the album. The musicianship is off the rails, for one, with sweeps left and right, generally driving and energetic riffing, and a good sense of interesting song development. Be sure to give them a look!

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Tolstoys – Botanika

This dream pop quintet from Slovakia are really on to something. “Nice Song”, which starts off this full-length album, is quite self-descriptive, for it is very nice. It’s simple, but beautiful in its simplicity. The rest of the album doesn’t differ much: the songs are either in Slovak or in English, and the influences vary from indie pop, to trip-hop, to dream pop, to electro pop. It’s a really neat album to listen to.

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死リーパー Death: The Reaper – 親しみやすいフロア Familiar Floors

Vaporwave rarely gets a mention, these days. It seems the brighter days of the Internet phenomenon are behind it. However, 死リーパー (Shi rīpā) Death: The Reaper is here, being mentioned. 親しみやすいフロア (Shitashimi yasui furoa) Familiar Floors was just released, and it’s fantastic. Far from reinventing the wheel, 親しみやすいフロア takes pride and comfort in the tropes and paradigms of the genre, even borrowing from a few neighbouring scenes such as future funk and chillwave. It’s a rather big album, clocking in at sixty-seven minutes, but it never feels like it overstays its welcome.

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Xenosis – Devour and Birth

Connecticut’s progressive tech-death squad Xenosis released their most recent album this week, and it’s killer! Devour and Birth is a complex and mind-blowing beast. The tracks always feel like they are hiding some underlying layer of complexity, be it a polymetre here, a counterpoint there, or a recurring motif hidden somewhere. Despite playing intricate compositions, Xenosis’ music is deceivingly approachable at first listen, until you realize the subjacent plumbing that lay beneath the whole album. It’s a great one!