A gorgeous grouping of the composer’s pieces offering a great deal of variety in terms of approach and texture, Caleb Burhans certainly lives up to his “emo-classical” moniker with this effort. The ability of the composer to define and convey subtle emotion through his music is exceptional. Also notable is the fact that each of these … Read more
Eureka, California
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Buenos Aires, Argentina
On TVL Records
New York, New York
Seoul, South Korea
… Read more
My previous encounter with Joey‘s music was with his Awash album, which was a really interesting mix of hardcore or metal music firmly rooted in folk. The Tale of the Lovelorn Outlaw stays within this realm, but seems slightly less experimental to my ears, given Joey’s cleaner vocal performance in general. It’s truly an amazing spin on modern folk music, and, being a concept EP, there’s a strong sense of continuity throughout, which helps keep all the individual songs together. We need more of this to reinvigorate folk music.
Devin Townsend is an artist that has always been hard to classify. Releasing such a wide range of music, from death metal, to ambient, to new age, to progressive rock, to country. But to be confined to just one genre wouldn’t be Devin Townsend. Which is why he lets it all out on Empath, jumping from style to style at whim, and creating something truly unique as a result.
I reviewed the last Devin Townsend Project (DTP) album Transcendence back in 2016 saying it took Devin’s sound to a new level. Now that I reflect on it, that … Read more
Mord’a’stigmata—not a name that is easily forgotten—has been a name on the periphery of my radar for years. The Polish group’s brand of bleak metal never captivated me enough to warrant much attention, but on fifth full-length Dreams of Quiet Places they have refined their sound into something impossible to ignore. Both composition and production have taken a substantial step up from 2017’s Hope, with nods to purveyors of blackened sludge like Rorcal and older Altar of Plagues, alongside psychedelic elements reminiscent of Entropia and older A Forest of Stars (or their lesser-known reincarnation, The Water Witch… Read more