Countdown from Ten, Hexecutor, Mungion, Bruit ≤, Szilárd Mezei Túl a Tiszán Innen Ensemble, Xander Naylor, Earthmass, Avast, and Outre-Tombe

by Dæv Tremblay

Countdown from Ten – Speakeasy Petting Zoo

This Pennsylvania instrumental trio delivers some nasty math rock-tinged post-hardcore on their debut EP Speakeasy Petting Zoo. It’s in your face but also in your mind, thanks to interesting riff ideas, time signatures, and song structures. There’s quite a show of proficiency from each instrumentalist here, so strap in and prepare for a good time!

Hexecutor – Poison, Lust and Damnation

What would you say about some blackened thrash metal with a rather old school sound and vocals lifted straight from Adventure Time? The latter trait refers to the high-pitched squeals of … Read more

Weekly Release Dump

by Dæv Tremblay

Saturday, 6 October

自決 9 6 (Jiketsu kyū roku) – → (Rightwards Arrow) (vaporwave, experimental)
Dublin, Ireland

Sunday, 7

Alfa Mist – 7th October (Epilogue) EP (jazz-hop)
UK

Bruit ≤ – Monolith EP (post-rock)
Toulouse, France
On Elusive Sound

Mononeon – “She Was Round & Brown” Single (experimental jazz, hip-hop)
Memphis, Tennessee

My Deathbed – The Thin Line between Sanity and Insanity EP (depressive black metal, noise)
Greece

… Read more

Leonov – Wake

by Dæv Tremblay

The Music

The Words

Leonov, from Oslo, Norway, is a band that calls itself a blend of post-rock and metal. Wake is set to be their second release, after a self-titled album in 2014, and will be out on Fysisk Format on October 26. The quintet is made of Tåran Reidal on vocals and keyboards, Ole Jørgen Reindal and Rune Gilje on guitars, Morten Kjelling on bass, and Jon-Vetle Lunden on drums. It’s the first time I’m acquainted with the band, but a few minutes only sold me on it. Let’s see what it’s all about…

Wake commences rather … Read more

Birushanah – 灰ニナルマデ

by Dæv Tremblay

The Music

The Words

Naniwakko trio Birushanah released 灰ニナルマデ (Hai ni narumade) on October 3. The Japanese group has been around since 2002 under the moniker 毘盧釈那 (Birushana), and this latest opus is their fourth full-length release. The style of the band is sludge metal that includes a lot of elements from Japanese musical culture and pitched percussions.

This mix certainly makes them stand out musically. From the first minutes on 灰ニナルマデ, the pitched percussions come in and battle with the guitarist and singer for centre stage with their counter-intuitive melodies and unfamiliar harmonics. I’ve written about harmonics in … Read more

Weekly Release Dump

by Dæv Tremblay

Saturday, 29 September

Necronomidol – Voidhymn (darkwave, black metal)
Tokyo, Japan
On Imperiet Ⅳ

Out of Time – Esquisses (jazz fusion)
Chambéry, France

Sunday, 30

The Aporia – Crowhurst (progressive metalcore) EP
Saint Petersburg, Russia

Cyan Marble – Imaginarium (progressive rock)
Sweden

Depths Above – Ex nihilo (post-metal)
Brno, Czechia

… Read more