Cryptic Ruse – Chains Of Smoke

by Dæv Tremblay


Microtonal music artist Jason Yerger’s project Cryptic Ruse (formerly City of the Asleep) – now with actual microtonal guitars! – returns to show us his new and masterfully crafted work: Chains of Smoke.

Using three different exotic tuning systems – 13 EDO, 15 EDO, and 23 EDO (EDO stands for Equal Divisions of the Octave) – and a wide palette of musical genres, Jason makes us travel to never-before heard sonic landscapes. By using “oriental” and “middle-oriental”-sounding tunings with a more standard (for us, westerners!) metal band quatuor instrumentation, with due distortion, riffs, … Read more

ART238 – Atavism

by Lefteris Kefalas

Many things can change in a seven year period; many things can work for the better or the worse. Fortunately, this hiatus worked for the benefit of ART238. After some intense live shows the band did last year in French soil, atavism_recto_promothey decided that 2014 is the right time to hurl their newest offering (the first in seven years) like a radioactive missile ready to awaken and revert the most primal human instincts. However, after the addition of new members,  there are certain elements that have shaped the band’s sound into something different.

At first, Atavism may seem like an … Read more

Clément Belio’s Contrast

by Ben Norton
Clément Belio: the Man, the Myth, the Legend

Clément Belio: the Man, the Myth, the Legend, the Goofball

Clément Belio is, quite simply, making the music of the future.

I don’t say this lightly. It’s a common (trite) trend, to call experimental music the “music of the future” (or, for extra pretense, the “Music of the Future”), acting as though some EP recorded in the bedroom of your favorite obscure indie band is going to herald in a new era of music.

I don’t know if Clément Belio’s music is going to herald anything in, per se, but I would still describe it as the music of the … Read more

How much should I pay for a “pay-what-you-want” album?

by Dæv Tremblay

Bandcamp has this feature called “pay what you want” which gives the opportunity for bands to put an album, or a track, for free, and to accept donations. That is great for artists because it gives their music a higher probability of being downloaded, thus listened to, and possibly creating new fans! It’s also great for music fans because it lowers the financial burden of being a melomaniac, and allows everyone to listen to more artists they like.

When one wants to support an artist they like, however, there are no guidelines about how much to give! “Am I giving … Read more

Soulmass – Despairing Fates

by Dæv Tremblay


Souls-themed blackened doom metal band Soulmass delivers us, through their indiegogo campaign, their new album, otherwise due October 31st, entitled Despairing Fates. The album is full of great riffs and deep vocals, along with a sense of loss and despair in its oppressing atmosphere.

Bryan and Brett, the two men of the band, wrote lyrics based on the ever more sad and melancholic stories found throughout the games Demon’s Souls, and Dark Souls I and II. This kind of music really is the best to support such lyrical content and emotions, the weight of the … Read more