Tag Archives: post-metal

Built-In Obsolescence – Instar

by Dæv Tremblay

The Music

The Words

The post-metal of Italian band Built-In Obsolescence is one of those that we could qualify as “cinematic”. The compositions on their sophomore album Instar build slowly and leash out gloriously. Usually one or two themes are shyly introduced in the beginning of a song and built upon, brick by brick, until it reaches a climax, then things calm down a bit, and then pick up again into an higher climax, and then again for a final blaze. The way the group plays with different themes and structures makes Instar a very interesting experience. It would have … Read more

Soldat Hans – Es taut

by Matt Matheson

The Words

Soldat Hans is an outlier in their musical setting, lilting tranquilly somewhere in a liminal dimension between post-rock and post-metal. They are an outlier because they do not demand your attention in an immediate way, as most bands in the modern era of streaming and accessibility have to do. If a listener is bored of your track within fifteen seconds, they’re not coming back, so you have to compose songs that hook people with a certain urgency. Soldat Hans are not interested in appealing to those casual listeners; their songs are enormous, expansive, patient meditations on minimal themes. … Read more

Eryn Non Dae. – Abandon of the Self

by Matt Matheson

The Music

The Words

French quintet Eryn Non Dae. are back with a massive slab of math-minded sludge. Abandon of the Self follows a six-year absence after 2012’s Meliora, and finds the band settling into a more reserved, contemplative approach. Whereas previous material spent more time punishing the listener with breakneck tempos and eardrum-battering percussive rhythms, the new album is characterized by expansive introductions, simplified riffs, and moody drumming. There are peaks that almost rival the intensity of their prior catalogue, but they certainly wander through the valleys a lot more along the way.

Opening triad of tracks “Astral”, … Read more

[‘selvə] – Doma

by Dæv Tremblay

The Music

The Words

Italy’s Selva – stylized [‘selvə] – is a potent purveyor of blackened post-hardcore. Their 2016 album Eléo was impressive enough as it was, but I think they truly hit the nail right on its head with their just-released EP Doma. With only two tracks, the twenty-five-minute record delivers a level of aggression only matched by their Swiss cousins Rorcal. Indeed, the similarities are unescapable: both “Silen” and “Joy” sound like they could have been on any Rorcal album.

Such comparisons are always a bit diminutive of the work of their respective artists, so let me … Read more

Jute Gyte and Spectral Lore – Helian

by Ignacio De Vincenzi

The Music

The Thoughts

The ruin of a generation is shattering.
In this hour, the eyes of the one who watches fill
With the gold of his stars.

Georg Trakl was one of the pioneers of expressionism in its poetry form, an art movement which started in the early 20th century with the purpose of using powerful emotions and moods to express one’s view of the world. “Helian” was, according to him, his most precious and painful poem ever written; dealing with death, decadence, existential crisis and man’s struggle with religion. With this topic on the table, avant-garde masterminds Ayloss … Read more