Happy Samhain, you Pagans! This month, in addition to the regular monthly CTEBCM playlist, I’ve started a more curated Spotify playlist that will be constantly updated and will include only the best of the best of what’s featured on the website and other things I listen to that I adore! So, subscribe and enjoy!
October in 231 Albums
Monday, 1 October
Crystal Larva – “A Temporal God” [Single] (atmospheric black metal)
Toronto, Ontario
On Lichtung
Druj – Chants to Irkalla (blackened death metal)
Anchorage, Alaska
On Godz ov War Productions
Fero Lux – Cheap Funeral: For Me [EP] (blackened post-hardcore)
Florida
Neurasthene – Moloch (black metal)
Québec
Neptunus – Alien Conspiracy [EP] (technical death metal)
Medan, Indonesia
On Eastbreath Records
… Read more Ellen Kirkwood and Sirens Big Band, Permanent Tension, Philip Zoubek Trio, Big Lad, Esperanza Spalding, Voragine of Autumn, Bluelight, Julia Holter, and Amira Kheir
Ellen Kirkwood and Sirens Big Band – [A]part
From Earshift Music, we get this monstrous work of art: Ellen Kirkwood‘s tetraptych “[A]part” suite, played by herself and Sirens Big Band, with additional soloists. The album is lyriclessly about many contemporary social issues, and uses similarly modern jazz to convey them. This is an album that not only needs to be listened carefully, but also read into. This is an absolute must!
Permanent Tension – Dedicated to the Guilt That Should Have Been but Never Was
Technical and emotive, Permanent Tension‘s newest release is chaotic yet relatable. Dedicated … Read more
Weekly Release Dump
Saturday, 20 October
64-Hit Combo! – 64-Hit Combo! EP (progressive metalcore, post-hardcore)
Omaha, Nebraska
Sunday, 21
Thiquid – For She EP (progressive metal, mathcore)
British Columbia
Monday, 22
Barús – Drowned (black metal)
Grenoble, France
On Emanations
Edoardo Marraffa – Diciotto (avant-garde jazz)
Berlin, Germany
On Aut Records
Kalya Scintilla – Woodland Womp (psybient)
Australia
On Merkaba Music
… Read more Blast – Drifting
The Music
The Words
Blast is the newest project involving French pianist Anne Quillier, who seems to be unable to do anything bad, as our previous reviews of Watchdog, Asylon Terra, and her own sextet can attest. This new moniker is basically the aforementioned Watchdog duo with Pierre Horckmans with an added drummer: Guillaume Bertrand. Percussions were one thing I would have liked to hear on Watchdog’s album, so this should be perfect!
On Rhodes and Moogs, Anne’s parts are rhythmically interesting and lay down the complex harmonic framework of the compositions, mostly hers and Guillaume’s. Sometimes distorted, … Read more