Monthly Recommendations:
August 2018

by Dæv Tremblay

Convulsing – Grievous

Grievous is an expectedly fantastic release, maintaining Convulsing at the top of the sphere of dissonant death metal.

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Flora – Flora

The compositions of Flora Dekkers, albeit minimalistic in instrumentation, show a deepness and hidden complexity in the synthesizers and structures.

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Jackie Frank Russell III – I’m So Fucking Lonely

I’m So Fucking Lonely is at times aggressive (Likeme), at times ethereally contemplative (I’m So Fucking Lonely), and at times viciously catchy (V I B E), but at all times it’s a total pleasure.

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Masada – Book Three: The Book Ber’iah

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Flora – Flora

by Dæv Tremblay

The Music

The Words

From Berlin, Germany, Flora is a duo comprised of singer Flora Dekkers and pianist Benjamin Geyer. This is a very simple foundation, and, accordingly, it leads up to quite a minimalistic building, but the beauty and grace of it all entirely fills the remaining space.

At first, Flora’s voice reminded me of Lauren Kinsella’s, in Snowpoet and Blue-Eyed Hawk, but Flora’s singer has her own intonation, inflections, and timbre after the initial impression.

Flora is a simple and concise EP. It’s made of four songs, plus an introduction that is more than only a filler … Read more

Palm – To Live Is to Die, to Die Is to Live

by Dæv Tremblay

The Music

The Words

Japanese grinding hardcore outfit Palm—not to be confused with their New York counterparts, will soon release To Live Is to Die, to Die Is to Live, a relentless album that’s there to remind you that punk is not dead.

In fact, it’s even more lively than ever, despite its drastic transfiguration. The hardcore and grindcore elements fuse perfectly together, as do the death metal influences here and there too. The result of this is an incredible album that’s here to kick you in the teeth for a little less than forty minutes. Honestly, … Read more

Laudare – d.é.o.m.é.

by Dæv Tremblay

The Music

The Words

Life is a neverending game of catchup, recently demonstrated with Ryorchestra‘s overdue review, and today is Laudare‘s turn. d.é.o.m.é. was released in July and completely flew under my radar. The reason being that the band’s main music genre on bandcamp is “alternative”, a category I seldom if ever survey. I think it would do the band a great favour to change this to “metal”, and then complete with appropriate genre tags. But, in the end, the album has found its way to my ears, and I’m glad it did, because it’s phantastic.

The German … Read more