Vak – Budo

The Music

The Words

Sometimes, an album can put me under its charm even before playing me the first note of music. Of course, it helps that I already liked the band because of their 2014 album, Aedividea, but forget that for a second. Upon arriving on their Bandcamp page, I am greeted with three songs for a total of one hour of music; one thirty-minute song, one twenty-minute song, and one ten (if we round those numbers). Following this, I scroll a bit and see the “rock in opposition” and “zeuhl” tags. That’s it, I’m sold!

There’s more … Read more

NOT MUSIC: Vox Medusae Is Out Now!

The Music

The Words

Potmos Hetoimos‘ 11th album—the first on the Not Music label—is now out!

The album is available to download for free. Alternately, you can acquire this limited digipak for just $10, shipping included, anywhere in the world.

This is a 56-minute concept album in 8 tracks telling the metaphorical tale of Perseus slaying Medusa, who is tearing his life to shreds.

Matt plays all instruments safe for the saxophone and guest vocals and solos. The album is mixed by Angel Marcloid (Fire-Toolz, Mindspring Memories). Members from the bands Curse and Usti Waya appear on Vox Medusae, … Read more

Organ: – Everything Is Pared Down. Minimal Expectations

The Music

The Words

Everything Is Pared Down. Minimal Expectations is the Norwegian-Italian trio Organ:‘s third release, nine years after their 2009 self-titled EP. This album has taunted me for so long, sitting there as a pre-order on Duplicate Records’ Bandcamp page without any official release date… And then, without warning, it came out! Well, to be exact, the album became streamable in full, while the official release date was set to October 30. Let’s see what this beast is made of.

Save for the blast beats and clashing notes, everything reeks of retro prog: the guitar and bass’ … Read more

遺伝学者 – 芸者

The Music

The Words

Good can come from death. Some would argue that, indeed, djent is a dead genre. I’d have to admit that it has seen better days, but, every once in a while, some shiny thing rises through the ashes and comes to the surface. A miniature speck of jade in a dull grey pile. Today, this is thanks to Mexican quartet 遺伝学者 (Iden Gakusha) and their Japan-oriented EP, 芸者 (Geisha). I believe the band achieves something great with this twenty-minute EP; here’s why.

First of all, the foundation of djent—and metal—is the riffs. Fear not, the riffs … Read more

Five Pound Pocket Universe –
Brain Bubble Party

The Music

The Words

Jazzgrind is one of my all-time favourite musical genres. It’s often very wild, barely tamed, so it goes into whichever direction it wants to go, and changes decision every thirty seconds or so. Swiss trio Five Pound Pocket Universe excels at this, and their debut album Brain Bubble Party is the proof of it.

Not only do they interweave metal, jazz, and grindcore in many aspects of their compositions, they seem to have a certain musical fetish for Japanese music, which also appears out of the blue on some occasions, sprinkled here and there throughout the … Read more