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

Entropia – शूत्य स्थान / Vacuum

by Matt Matheson

The Music

The Words

Stop me if you’ve heard this one: a priest, a rabbi, and a minister walk into a bar. The priest is actually a huge Oranssi Pazuzu fan. The rabbi is wearing a Thy Catafalque shirt. The minister was blasting Neurosis in his car when he pulled up. The bar is actually a jazz club. There’s a swing band playing.

That’s as far as I feel like pushing the ridiculous setup, but here’s the punchline: Entropia‘s शूत्य स्थान (Shoony sthaan) / Vacuum is psychedelic blackened sludge metal with a twist—not a gimmick, mind you, but a … Read more

September in 179 Albums

by Dæv Tremblay

This is a new column, similar to our beloved Weekly Release Dumps, but in a monthly fashion. Quite simply, I will just put every album I’ve listened to in one month. The reason for this is because I sometimes miss a few releases from a certain week, that I stumble upon or discover only a few days or a week after the WRD post. In this new column, I will be able to give them their fair share of spotlight. I hope you enjoy it!

Saturday, 1 September

Cryptovolans – Microraptor Mix (experimental, avant-prog)
United States

Golden Hymns Sing ‘Hurrah’

… Read more