Steven Wilson – 4 ½

by Jeff Nixon

Steven-Wilson-Four-halfSteven Wilson surprised me last year with his album Hand. Cannot. Erase. which I absolutely loved. So when I heard that his new EP 4 ½ mostly contained unreleased material from the Hand. Cannot. Erase. sessions I got pretty excited.

And it didn’t disappoint! The lineup that’s been on Steven’s solo albums since The Raven That Refused to Sing has been really solid, and they continue to nail it with this half album.

4 ½ has a nice mix of soft proggy melodies, rocking riffs, and unique solos. The glitchy sounding solo on “Vermillioncore” sounds especially cool and actually has … Read more

OSR: January 21st, 2016

by Deidre House

Amsterdam’s Spinifex erupt with chaotic intensity on Hipsters Gone Ballistic, a set of avant-punk-jazz aberrations that are simultaneously crushing, refined, and unpredictable.

Based on his incorporation of retro synths into his cutting edge jazz fusion style, I get the impression that Evan Marien is a fan of chiptunes,  however his production skills and bass chops help put his latest release, Artifacts, on an entirely different level.

The debut Advent EP from blackened folk metallers Wandering Oak is a promising display of occult darkness forging a distinct identity without forgetting the roots from which it sprung.

Satan’s Secret is … Read more

Axon-Neuron premieres “Eyes”, from their upcoming album, Metamorphosis

by Dæv Tremblay

Announced some time last year, with a little bit of a line-up change, as a follow-up to their sophomore album, “Dreamstate”, Metamorphosis will come out January 28th! As a reminder, here’s the songs “Euclid”, “Shattered” and “Suspicion” that were also debuted, but in a live setting instead of a studio one!

Euclid

Shattered

Suspicion

… Read more

Book of Sand – The Face of the Deep

by Dæv Tremblay

RELEASE-distro-bookofsandBook of Sand is a black metal one-man band that has been around since 2009, and The Face of the Deep is their fifth full-length. It seems that, specifically for this release, they went out of their way and dove head first in experimental and avant-garde waters. However I feel they did so in the shallow and might have broken their neck…

Their previous catalogue comprises pretty traditional black metal with various external influences that almost go unnoticed if it were not for the addition of violin. Some songs are very decent, like “Arran Boat Song“, with its contemplative monotony, … Read more

OSR: January 15th, 2016

by Dæv Tremblay
Sealclubber returns with Stoical, a very energetic and heavy album drawing influences on both crust punk and sludge metal, a very fun listen! The album comes out February 5th.
Tectum Argenti is a progressive and melodic instrumental metal album with slight djent influences from Divine Realm and there’s no shortcoming of technical musicianship either. A melodic death metal album from 2012 with various Middle-Eastern influences, especially in the wonderful folk song “Iram of the Pillars”. The Purge EP comes out March 7th, but “Innocent Blood” is on it. Cabal makes a very heavy and angry blackened deathcore sound fit… Read more