It’s summer, okay? And I’ll do as many mini reviews as I want! ?
First up is Dutch band Adeia‘s new album, Serenity, coming out on September second. It’s a true hybrid between progressive death and black metal, with an abundance of strings, played by the singer and the keyboardist on violin and cello. Their emphasis on long songs – over half of the tracks on the album are above ten minutes -, allow them to really showcase that “progressive death metal” sound, a bit like earlier Opeth, with odd-time signature riffs and ever-changing song structure. It’s a very good album that you would regret missing.
Infant Annihilator‘s highly-anticipated sophomore release, The Elysian Grandeval Galèriarch – the meaning of which I have no clue -, dropped today, and it’s pretty much what you’d expect. It’s a bit more technical on the guitar side of things than “The Palpable Leprosy of Pollution”, but it’s still around a death-core. It’s a truly fun and brutal listen, especially the seventeen-minute-long “Behold the Kingdom of the Wretched Undying”, which might just be the longest deathcore song ever. I guess this is a must-have for you br00tz.
New York City’s ambient dungeon synth artists יצר הרע released two EPs during the month of July and then released them both as one full-length album, with three bonus songs. I could be talking about any of these releases as they are pretty similar in many ways. I don’t often like dungeon synth, and this genre is pretty new to me, so I still haven’t put my finger on what turns me on and what I don’t like. And, in the case of יצר הרע, I’m not sure if I like their music or not. It’s very simplistic, minimalistic, and the instruments are bathed in reverberation. I think that’s essential for the “dungeon” feel. I guess it could be a cool background music to play while exploring dungeons in a tabletop RPG.
Sebastian Gafencu is, to my knowledge, an Italian guitarist, and it’s also the name of its solo music project. EP II, which only contains the ten-minute song “Part I”, is a very jazzy instrumental melodic djent piece. I have to say I’m not a fan of the QR code on the album art, but I guess it serves its purpose… The song itself, however, is great, and wanders a lot in jazz territory before going even slightly metal, with glimpses of glitch music and plunderphonics as well! It’s a lot like less metal/jazzier Plini, and it’s a wonderful listen! Be sure to check this out!
Diploid‘s album, “Is God up There?”, comes out on September sixth. It’s a collection of short experimental grindcore/noise tracks totalling more than sixty minutes, thanks to the forty-five-minute-long title track, most of which consists of an excerpt from a movie or TV show or something else. It’s a really bizarre choice, but they do what they want! The music itself is abrasive and aggressive; it begins and ends quite abruptly. It’s an interesting headbanger!
Introspection is an EP by Slovakian guitarist Jakub Tirco that came out today. Overall, it’s a very cool melodic progressive metal EP of four songs. There are some very interesting moments here and there, somewhat reminiscent of David Maxim Micic at times, and some parts that sound more like some alternative rock chorus. It’s really good as it is, but it would be great if there was more focus on those Micicesque moments, but I understand that I might not represent the majority of people.
Stream this album here. Thank You Scientist are finally releasing their long-awaited third album, Stranger Heads Prevail, and it more than meets the expectations! I’ve been a fan of the band for a while, but their sound always begun to annoy me after a while, but this hasn’t happened yet with their new record! “Maps of Non-Existent Places” was a stellar album, but I think “Stranger Heads Prevail” surpasses it in every way. The songs seem more cautiously constructed, and all the elements of the band work together without stepping on anyone else. It’s a fantastic album to which you must absolutely listen.
Fractal Cypher is a progressive metal band from Montréal, and The Human Paradox is their debut album, coming out soon. Their sound is reminiscent of the good ol’ days of the genre: bumblebeeing keyboard solos, riffs in odd-time signatures and seldom used scales, high-pitched male clean vocals, and intricate song structures, as well as the usual handful of ballads that almost always overstay their welcome. Well, it’s no different here. The album is good and really remembers me of the first bands I listened to when I got into progressive music – Dream Theater, Andromeda, Redemption, etc. -, with all their qualities and flaws. It’s a good album for those of you who relish this genre of music, so be sure to check back when it’s released, and listen to the three singles that are out now!