The Electronic Music of 2017

2017 has been a great year in music for me. Some might argue otherwise, but I’d reply that they simply didn’t look hard enough. That’s because most of the gems that came out didn’t get the full attention they deserve, and were somewhat far from the spotlight. Here, I’ll gather a few of the names that resonate with me still, now at the end of the year. Here we go!


Ariadne
Stabat Mater
I’ve written my thoughts on this album at least twice already here, so let me just reiterate briefly. The Ariadne duo cranked up their creativity to 111, … Read more

Weekly Release Dump #2

    Saturday, 9 December


Les chevals & AllonymousBig Mess (jazz fusion/R&B)
MindpatrolVulture City (progressive metal)


    Sunday, 10 December


Blvck CeilingThe Lost 5 (darkwave)


    Monday, 11 December


SlvmbvrSlvmbvr (drone doom metal)
VexovoidCall of the Starforger (technical blackened thrash metal)


    Tuesday, 12 December


AstropheDeconstruct (instrumental progressive metal)
Crawl across the SkyThe Silent God (post-rock/black metal)
GardenjiaIn Dreams (progressive metal)
KäkiDada Flesh (experimental rock)
Сольвычегодск (Sol’vychegodsk) – Вежливый приказ (Vezhlivyy prikaz) (experimental jazz)

    Wednesday, 13 December


⛧⛧⛧ (Triple Pentagram) – ⛧⛧⛧ (grindcore)

    Friday, 15 December


Al Read more

Long-Form Self-Indulgence – A Compendium of Overlong Music from 2017

Some may know already, but one of my many péchés mignons is a certain affection for long, single compositions. I can trace this likeness to my first encounters with progressive metal – the real beginning of my musical journey –, and to Dream Theater especially. The title track of their double album Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence was truly mind-blowing for the teen whom I was, with its eight movements spanning over forty minutes of impressive musicianship and songcraftsmanship. I’ve grown out of my fandom for the band, somewhat, but there’s still some magic in their earlier catalogue. Since then, … Read more

The Callous Daoboys, Destroy Uranus, Dialgo, Dialectical Imagination, Gardenjia, In Lights, Entheogen, Astrophe, and Fixions


The Callous DaoboysAnimal Tetris
Ugly mathcore. Yeah, this is some A-grade unpolished, dirty-sounding, noisy, aggressive, and mathematical hardcore music. What makes The Callous Daoboys stand out, among other things, is their use of a full-time violinist within their ranks. This adds a new flavour that’s often missing from the usual mathcore band. So, check out their EP Animal Tetris!


Destroy UranusIn the Scale of Galaxy
In the Scale of Galaxy is the debut release from this Estonian doom metal project. From “1:1000000000” to “7:1000000000”, the sludgy quartet invokes earth-shattering riffs and chilling atmospheres. I’ve got … Read more

Vexovoid – Call of the Starforger

Italy’s Vektor, Vexovoid, just released their debut album, Call of the Starforger. Despite their name, more reminiscent of Portal than anything else, Vexovoid’s sound lies somewhere between aforementioned Vektor, and Voivod. Their own take on progressive, blackened thrash metal is nothing new, thanks to Terminal Redux being one of the absolute best albums of last year, but this had the side effect of making this special brand of metal highly demanded. Call of the Starforger is great and the flow of riffs is unstoppable, making it a very welcome addition to the not so expansive array of releases … Read more