Latvian experimental atmospheric black metal band Eschatos have released a promising album, last year, in The Grand Noir, and they’re already back at it with their EP Mære. It consists only of an eight-minute track and a fifteen-minute, three-part epic, but displays in that short amount of time great leaps from its predecessor. The first part of “The Night of the White Devil” is one of the most emotionally intense pieces of black metal I’ve recently heard, with some passages reminiscent of Oathbreaker, with the broken voice Kristiāna Kārkliņa pulling those same strings. Mære is a great EP, … Read more
Fire-Toolz – Interbeing
Angel Marcloid’s musical essays with Fire-Toolz paid off, as many lauded the black metal and vaporwave crossing sophomore Drip Mental. Now with the third iteration – Interbeing – finally out, we get to ask ourselves: “What more is there to say?” On the one hand, many of the praises and critics of Drip Mental still apply. The odd but fascinating offspring of two radically different musical genres is still as good, if not better, than ever – imagine slowed-down, funky pop tunes from the eighties (or an original composition aimed at mimicking that aesthetic) with screams and blast beats … Read more
Floom, Kodian Trio, The Last of Lucy, Impureza, High Aura’d, Les chevals & Allonymous, Gnarbot, Kurushimi, and Entheos
Floom – Multi-Voice of the Immensity
It is with a rather questionable portmanteau that guitarist, flautist, and singer Maxx Katz present to us a sludgey, droney doom album filled with flutes and female vocals. The band is an all-women trio, with Christina Fleming and Cathy Monnes supporting Maxx with vocals. The riffs are great, all drowned in fuzz and distorsion, and the flutes are just the icing on the cake.
Kodian Trio – II
The second album of the Belgian free jazz trio is even better than their first. The dynamics between the guitar, the saxophone, and the drums are … Read more
The Knells – Knells II
You don’t often see, or hear, a troupe of classically trained musicians making progressive rock music along with an all-female vocal trio. Yet, as its name alludes to, Knells II is the second album of New York’s The Knells, a band united under Andrew McKenna Lee’s vision. The compositions are rather short and to-the-point, but are meticulously written with many intertwined layers more akin to a woven tapestry than merely a bunch of parallel threads. Knells the Second is a direct successor of the first of its name, superior in every regard – except in duration. The Knells was … Read more
Merkabah – Million Miles
Moloch was a defining album for me. As one of the first, and, above all, best, albums truly bridging the gap between jazz and metal into a strange form of palatable yet challenging avant-garde jazz record. The Polish quintet is now back with their third release: Million Miles. Their newest takes up where Moloch left off – kicking and screaming –, and offers us an experience that’s almost as searing as its predecessor. However, instead of pure abrasive power, Million Miles is more delicate, tasteful, and mature than its older sibling. They obviously still share the same genes, but … Read more