Wovette – Steeple

Wovette is the pseudonym of Californian musician Brady Miller, who has made a name for himself in many bands, including the infamous Upsilon Acrux on guitars. Steeple is the latest effort from this solo project, and it’s comprised of eighteen short compositions for acoustic piano. Made to be played by whom I do not know, but the superhuman that succeeds will probably have turned its tendons to goo in the process. So much so that I think they could only be played by a pianola (a self-playing piano often seen in the context of American Far West saloons) or, effortlessly, … Read more

White Ward – Futility Report

mulating our opinion of an album before diving back into the endless sea of new releases. Sometimes, however, a confluence of factors generates a scenario in which one album stays in rotation for an extended stay before pen gets put to paper. White Ward‘s Futility Report is an album I’ve been trying to write about since January, when I heard its first publicly released song. It took about 30 seconds of that track to convince me this was a band worth paying attention to. They were kind enough to send me a review copy, but shortly thereafter, the always-excellent … Read more

Schammasch – Triangle, an Analysis Of

covertriangle2The Swiss avant-garde black metal band Schammasch – name taken from Šamaš, the Mesopotamian God of Justice – will release their third full-length album, simply titled Triangle, on April 29th. As the name suggests, the concept of this highly ambitious work is tripartite, each side clocking in at 33:30. Yes, that makes for more than a hundred minutes of music! Inspired by Richard MacDonald‘s sculptures, the cover album portrays circus artist Sasha Krohn, falling into nothingness, photographed by Ester Segarra. Every side of the Triangle has its own identity, and feels very unique, they deal with various concepts, Read more

Slice the Cake – Odyssey to the Gallows, an Analysis Of

The release of the much-anticipated Odyssey to the West, from the progressive deathcore band Slice the Cake, has been somewhat obfuscated by some internal problems. I do not wish to delve into this, but rather write about the music itself, the lyrics, and the concept surrounding it all. Understand that I do not take any side there, but merely observe the fact that the music is out there for everyone to hear, and that I wish to express my opinions on it, as well as expose the underlying storyline. Today, I will cover the Gallows part. So without … Read more

Kurushimi – Kurushimi

Kurushimi album artKurushimi is a new collective of sorts including members of Serious Beak, Instrumental, adj. (bands we have covered here on CTEBCM!), Fat Guy Wears Wolf Shirt, as well as a few other members. They just dropped their self-titled debut on Art as Catharsis, and I’m going to be up front with you: there is no point trying to attach genres to this (so naturally we’re going to try it!). Like all great music, it defies easy attempts at description and categorization.

The first question that came to me upon hearing of this project: What does Kurushimi mean, anyway? Knowing nothing … Read more