Forced Fusion

by Dæv Tremblay

Mute the Saint is the latest example of what I will call forced fusion, but they are certainly not the only one, and definitely not the first or last one we’ll have to endure. Forced fusion is the merger of two musical genres, or the addition of a gimmick to an already existing genre, in a rushed or shallow manner.

The first other band I can think of is M.A.N, later known as Massive Audio Nerve. They claim to be the first microtonal metal band, and I am very highly doubtful on that, with their first album released … Read more

Sha’s Feckel – Feckel for Lovers

by Deidre House

Cover art

Reed player Sha has made a name for himself over the years among fans of the Swiss “zen funk groove” school of jazz pioneered by Nik Bärtsch and Don Li among others. The full-length debut from his project Sha’s Feckel, Feckel for Lovers, is a diverse and dynamic set of heavy jazz fusion tunes. Featuring Sha on sax together with a guitar, bass, and drums trio, this group weaves huge riffs with odd grooves within engaging and thoroughly fearless compositions.

The album starts out with “A,” a 13 minute piece that gradually crescendos from somber, pensive fusion to … Read more

OSR: December 3rd, 2015

by Dæv Tremblay

In today’s one-sentence reviews, we’ll take a jab at

An inventive and sweet prepared piano and beats album; gets better the more you listen to it. A saturated sort of death grind EP that’s quite good, really! An ambient and dark jazz album that’s quite minimalistic and dissonant in its approach.
Finally, new Sikth music; need I say more? A rather odd experimental rock album that will seduce you with its careless innocence. I’m all for innovation, and it’s the first time I hear saxophone and jazz influence in sludge music; it’s great, too! Antigama have returned with probably the… Read more

Atena – Shades of black won’t bring her back

by David Lopez Jr.

In your fucking face. That is how this album will feel and that is great. Catchy grooves that are met with interesting layers and song structure bring life to this album. It just keeps you interesting in the content while giving you dynamic range to rest your ears from the typical squashed modern sound many bands seem to enjoy.

Atena seems like the kind of band that would be excellent to see live. Shouting, singing, grooves for days just make you want to shout along with the band and push everyone around you.

The production on it is a great … Read more

Monthly Recommendations: November 2015

by Dæv Tremblay

monthlyrecommendationsnovember15

Here are the best of the best from this crazy month of November. Seriously, we could’ve put way more amazing albums to not miss on, but we chose the four on top.

Alarmist – Popular Demain

Brimming with complexity and catchiness in equal measures, Popular Demain is an uncompromising masterwork of progressive fusion that I suspect I’ll be coming back to for a long time. Rarely do you hear such tuneful melodies amidst such deep and layered arrangements.

Instrumental (adj.) – A Series of Disagreements
“A Series of Disagreements doesn’t have any fat; it’s only meat. That’s also what makes … Read more