I was a proponent of Californian experimental black metal project Botanist, when their debut double album, I: The Suicide Tree/II: A Rose from the Dead was released, back in 2011. At the time, it was new and pretty much unheard of, at least not widely so. The following albums, however, felt like mere reiterations on the same themes and a simple reorganization of the same core sounds and ideas; no matter how long you shuffle your salad, it’s still going to be the same salad. That’s why I was [cautiously] optimistic for Botanist’s new project: there was no roman … Read more
Tag Archives: black metal
Biesy – Noc lekkich obyczajów
Biesy – Polish for “Demons” – will release their debut album, Noc lekkich obyczajów – free translation: “Night of Weak Morals” –, a forty-three-minute slab of dissonant and unforgiving death metal in the vein of Ulcerate and Deathspell Omega, on September ninth. The band doesn’t hide their true intentions, as the album straight away starts with dissonant intervals – the minor second is used and abused, a recurring theme in this genre’s music –, unstoppable blast beats, slow but heavy riffing, and miasmic growls with texts all in Polish. The album is a blast, enshrouded in a toxic mist of … Read more
Der Weg einer Freiheit – Finisterre
Finisterre — or, the end of the Earth — is German atmospheric black metal band Der Weg einer Freiheit‘s sophomore album, following 2015’s widely-praised Stellar. While I personally wasn’t very fond of their prior material — I recently double-checked to make sure this was still the case —, Finisterre simply blew me away. I don’t really know what change happened that made me react differently, but I believe this has to do with tighter production and compositions. The atmospheric elements are more poignant, the heavy-hitting parts hit harder, and each song is a rewarding experience to get through, … Read more
Jute Gyte – Oviri
Jute Gyte‘s sole member, Adam Kalmbach, is said to take some sort of break, or hiatus, after Oviri, the closing chapter of what I’ll call ‘The Colours Trilogy’. The only things that are in the works are a rumoured split release and an electronic music album for 2018. The end of an era is always something to grief, but also a moment to look forward to new beginnings. In the meantime, however, let’s discuss this latest progeny. Adam talked about striving to unite the two major aspects of his creative mind: the electronic and the black metal. Nowhere … Read more
Ex Eye – Ex Eye
We’re not new to the name of Colin Stetson, decidedly one of if not the best saxophone player of recent history. Although his works have been a lot into the ambient spectrum, his recent Sorrow: A Reimagining of Górecki’s Third Symphony is where he brought himself into the lands of metal. Being now part of the new band Ex Eye, his fast, relentless, versatile, and innovative playing style is a perfect match for the blackened doom they spew out. Whether they drone on in drawn-out atmospheric passages or tempestuously stampede during blast beat parts, Stetson is at the forefront, … Read more