The Big Fat Meanies – The Time Has Come…
Rarely have I grinned so much while listening to a recent progressive rock album. Thanks to their ska band roots and influences, Pennsylvania’s Big Fat Meanies make energetic and uplifting prog ska music on their most recent album. The Time Has Come… is over one hour long, but never feels like it’s too much. Brenna’s vocals are a perfect blend of power and emotion, and the brass and woodwinds quartet is an uncommon sight in the prog scene that adds a ton to the music. Truly, an album that shouldn’t go … Read more
Making Music: What CD Packaging Is the Best?
When making music, choosing to go ahead and make physical copies of your latest release is always an exciting moment. But, it does come with its own problems, questions, and moments of doubt. It’s especially true if it’s your first time taking the plunge; it can be scary! That’s why I decided to write this article. I will provide facts and opinions about some aspects of CD packaging in the hopes of informing you and helping you make a decision. Each option has its pros and cons, and, depending on what you value most, they will affect your ultimate choice.… Read more
Morrow – Fallow
This British septet just released their sophomore album, Fallow. The band’s raucity is most apparent in their folk-influenced, blackened hardcore sound, which covers most if not all of the playtime of this album. The most entrancing moments of this forty-five-minute album are present in its opening and closing acts; “Auguries of Menace” and “Crown in Red” respectively. Although all the songs played here reek of a sense of doom and impending destruction, the two aforementioned acts push it one step further and develop this feeling over the course of twelve minutes. Morrow‘s use of violin is genially implemented … Read more
Weekly Release Dump #3
- Sunday, 17 December
Außerwelt – Transitions (post-black metal)
- Monday, 18 December
An Autumn for Crippled Children – Trust (blackgaze)
Haunts – A Lack of Empathy (post-rock)
- Wednesday, 20 December
Andrew McCommons – Passion; Obsession (instrumental melodic progressive metal)
Indurate – Panopticonic Phantasm (instrumental progressive metal)
Jiggly – Demos 2016-2017 (experimental math rock)
Opposite Day & Sam Arnold – Space Taste Race Part Zero (experimental progressive rock)
- Friday, 22 December
Ur – Black Vortex (black metal)
Свентояр (Sventoyar) – Ethnix (Slavic folk progressive metal)
… Read more
Haunts – A Lack of Empathy
British post-rock collective Haunts recently released their debut output. A Lack of Empathy, just shy of the thirty minutes mark, is a refreshing take on the genre, thanks to Dalma’s violins expanding into reverberating swells, and Kurt’s minimalistic drumming, using a variety of rim shots and uncommon percussions to fill the available space, and, finally, the omnipresent synths, which fulfill their purpose without being overwhelming. Like clanths in an abandoned shack, Haunts remind us of old, simpler times while, on the other hand, providing us with new ways to confront the future. My favourite effort on this EP is … Read more