Theo Young – Shadowplay

This Young British fellow *chuckles alone in the darkness* is a figure to add to the Plini-Sithu Aye duo. Yes, Theo would be able to sneak in cognito into any of those two’s albums! And that’s saying something, and that something is: it’s freaking GOOD!

And it’s no copycat, don’t get me wrong! Although he uses advanced techniques only present on Plini’s latest, such as thumb-picking, Theo really has his own compositional style – and playing style, too! Shadowplay, which came out today – September 14th – is a wonderfully beautiful little collection of music, … Read more

As We Draw – Mirages

France’s post-apocalyptic metal As We Draw comes back with their sophomore album entitled Mirages. In short: it’s awesome!

Their first album, “Lines Breaking Circles”, really sold me on the band. Their sound was pretty unique and the music was in good part driven by the bass – which is really my soft spot. Mirages is the logical evolution of As We Draw: crafting longer songs (the title track clocks in at more than 10 minutes), and bringing more complexity in their music; in song structures as much as in their playing. They’ve really … Read more

Amogh Symphony – Vectorscan

Amogh Symphony‘s third album, the sequel to the critically acclaimed progressive technical metal album “Quantum Hack Code”, which was released in 2010, marks a sharp turn from the previous direction of the band, and a slight departure from the whole “metal” genre. It’s a record as challenging to listen to as it is to read its track titles, but, in the end, it’s one of the most rewarding pieces of modern music there is, and, definitely, a change for the best.

Vectorscan will fuel the haters of the metal community because there is just so … Read more

Empirine – Oculi

Empirine‘s fourth EP, Oculi, has really made the light shine on this Swedish progressive death metal duo. It will crush you and amaze you, and that will be a good death.

The band goes straight to the point and hits you in the face with all the musical glory that it’s capable of. It’s fast-paced, it’s heavy, but most of all, it sounds incredibly good! The production work here is marvellous. They’ve got a little “standout” element of style akin to what Cynic used to have: the vocoder. And, unlike others, they actually use it … Read more

Jute Gyte – Ressentiment

Missouri’s marginal quarter-tone experimental black metal one-man-band Jute Gyte returns with a new album that is like the previous ones: worth your time.

Black metal can be a tough thing to approach if you’re not into the genre already: the purposefully bad production, the vocal style, the often fast and relentless drumming, and the tremolo picking all support this. On top of that, Adam Kalmbach, the mind behind the music, adds microtonality, in the form of a 24-EDO (24 equal divisions of the octave) musical setting. Compare this to your usual 12 notes per octave guitar, … Read more