Veil of Sound

WherePostRockDwells - Monthly Roundup March & April

08 May 2022 - Thorsten

Another unfortunate event for the VoS & WPRD crew! This time it prevented the WPRD mastermind to sent out the list for March early enough and then we decided to rather combine the March and April lists together - meaning you have more to go through and enjoy!

Once Upon A Winter - Void Moments of Inertia (Post-Rock, Neoclassical, Post-Metal)

When a record opens with a clever-chosen vocal sample and then quickly moves to swirling guitar lines in the vein of post-rock and post-metal and adds some saxophone and guitar solo elements it already amazes my ears! Add a very variable drummer who can seemingly effortlessly move from jazz fills to some perfect storm and a guitar player who is as much a classical progger as he is a wonderful laid back supporter of the other musicians - you get an idea of the enamouring mix that is Once Upon A Winter from Thessaloniki, Greece. By the way - all of that is only “Far End”, the opening miracle of a song! And the rest of the record really holds up to the standard that his track sets!

OK WAIT - Well (Post-Rock, Post-Metal)

Golden Antenna is more than your average label. It is one of Germany’s most important labels for the unusual combination. Their hand-selected roster offers something for everyone and with OK WAIT they have another band that convinces with powerful rhythms, exquisite longing guitar motifs, staccato basslines. However, this description is not nearly close to the seductiveness these five tracks between 7:49 and 15:28 minutes radiate from the very beginning. Listening to this on good headphones and everything around you will immediately become obsolete and the only thing important will be the songs and motifs you hear.

Sunbleed - Amphitrite (Post-Rock)

This Atlanta, Georgia-based one-man-project shows very well, how variable our beloved hollow nutshell “Post-Rock” can be as he clearly anchors his music more on the technical and progressive side of things without ever trying to show off - even though he might given the music he records. The songs have a good crunch and are heavy post-rock but not really post-metal. Sounds like a ride on a very sharp razor? Surely is, but the music is breathtaking but not suffocating; it’s like seeing the golden line on the mountainous horizon in the far distance while you are standing in the middle of thunderous, blasting monsoon in the tropics. Hopeful, powerful, thoughtful.

Design Flaw - Beasts of a Future Decay (Post-Hardcore, Post-Rock)

How much post-rock vibes can a post-hardcore band emanate? Answer Design Flaw: Never enough. Their mix of Failure and Deftones on the one side and some Caspian and Battles on the other is quite unique in a way. Rarely do you hear such powerful guitar and basslines in post-rock songs, or such shifty drums in post-hardcore epics. The American band surely has found a pretty niche for themselves and one cannot deny the appeal that their music has, as we find ourselves in the middle of a storm within mili-seconds. And when the next track purveys a much more spacey post-rock vibe it is not for long as the next chunky guitar part is just a few moments away. The mix is surely something very pretty. And powerful.

Here are our honourable mentions:

Backbone - Embracing Dissolution (Post-Metal, Sludge Metal)

BRUECKEN - Innere Unruhen (Post-Rock, Post-Hardcore, Experimental) Be sure to check out Simon’s review here.

Darkfield - Reanimated Voices (Cinematic Post-Rock, Ambient)

Darkher - The Buried Storm (Doomgaze, Dark Folk) Be sure to check out Knut’s review here.

Day of Departure - s/t (Progressive Rock, Post-Rock, Ambient)

E-L-R - Vexier (Post-Metal, Doomgaze, Dark Folk) Be sure to check out Raniel’s review here.

Frakhtal - Plima (Post-Rock, Progressive Rock)

Georgeson - The Solitude of an Endless Sky (Ambient, Neoclassical)

Heimlich Manøver - Fragments 01 (Ambient, Electronica)

Jet Plane - Waiting For Civilization… (Post-Rock, Progressive Rock)

Non Somnia - Gehenna (Post-Rock, Post-Metal)