Latest Reviews
There are way too many records released every week - which one should you listen to? Why is the new Bruit the best record of the year? Which post-metal record is the dark-horse of the year? Questions that we want to answer - we review lots of records every week and you can also check out a little teaser before reading the whole thing. And if you want to, you can also browse through our archive and have a look at the amazing records you might have missed out on.
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Ranges - Cardinal Winds
27 Aug 2021 - Sebastian
Post-RockAfter four singles it might not be a surprise that there’s a new Ranges album on the horizon. However what might surprise you is that the album is out right now! What should be no surprise is, that they have once again released an incredible album and further evolved their sound.
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Vouna - Atropos
26 Aug 2021 - Knut
Funeral Doom MetalWhen a harp plays the first chords on the new Vouna album, Atropos, there is no indication that this is the start of a remarkable Funeral Doom album. But when the synths introduce the crystal-clear voice hovering over heavy doom riffs and the drumming with the rhythm of a funeral march sets in, you know what you are in for. Vouna´s album is a slow paced rural pastoral from the Cascadian mountains composed, played and recorded at the Owl Lodge Studio by the multitalented composer and artist behind this one-person band, Yianna Bekris. She plays most of the instruments herself, but has invited some guest musicians to join on the album.</i>
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Mossgiver - Led By The Glowing River
25 Aug 2021 - Pat O'
Post-Black/Blackgaze/AtmosphericIf you go down to the woods today….bring headphones, and let Mossgiver take you on a “post-black” journey through dense, dark woodlands that are choked with blast beats, vicious vocals and thunderous drums.
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Deafheaven - Infinite Granite
24 Aug 2021 - Simon
shoegaze/dream popMetal musics most talked about band return with a majectically beautiful album which will surprise as much as it delights
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/A\ - Dto.
24 Aug 2021 - Thorsten
Dark Americana, Noise, Post-MetalSometimes different forces joining hands and skills can achieve great things – better than many so-called supergroups, or does anyone know what became of bands like Son of Sam or Generation Axe? Well, /A\ are a band from Switzerland and its members are probably known much less than the members of the aforementioned now-defunct groups but I think that we will still talk about this record and band in a few years!
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Horte - Mann Antaa Yön Vaientaa
23 Aug 2021 - Thorsten
Post-Rock, Dark Folk, Electronica, Psychedelia”Let The Earth Be Silenced By Night” – that’s one translation for the title of Horte‘s new album Maa Antaa Yön Vaientaa. An ambiguous title as we will see later, but one thing should already be clear: This band’s closest label-mate is more likely Oslo Tapes and less probable Psychonaut. Thus is should also be clear that this is one of Pelagic Records’ more experimental records.
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Fluisteraars - Gegrepen door de Geest der Zielsontluiking
21 Aug 2021 - Thorsten
Black Metal, Dark FolkNever one to shy away from being productive, Dutch Black Metal masters Fluisteraars are back again (nearly) exactly eighteen months after the release of one of Black Metal’s most acclaimed albums of 2020. This time they release nothing less than one of the records of the year. Again. This level of productivity and quality is astonishing. Welcome Gegrepen Door de Geest der Zielsontluiking!
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Slomatics & Yanomamo - Split
20 Aug 2021 - Thorsten
Blackened SludgeTrans-Global collaboration in the sign of the riff released on a label named after the grandmaster of the riff himself! Slomatics and Yanomamo each contribute a track to a dark and fuzzy, feisty and dangerous 7-inch!
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Amber - Boundary of Time
19 Aug 2021 - Wouter
Instrumental/post-rockMelancholy and hope, those are the feelings that hit me from the moment I put this album on. Very fitting for the times if you ask me. Xi’an based postrock band Amber released Boundary of Time in June of 2021. It is there 3rd release in, after Tide of Soul (2018) and Drunk Star (2011), and it is a beauty. Boundary of Time is very much driven by rhythm and melody, cleanly captured thanks to great production.
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Sense Offender & NIL - Split
18 Aug 2021 - Thorsten
Blackened NoiseHardcore has always had an affinity for split releases, mostly split 7-inches, with two or more bands using their somewhat local statuses to gain a bigger attention outside their usually smaller scene. Another perfect example is now delivered by music lovers‘ secret gem Sludgelord Records combining the sheer overpowering forces of Sense Offender with the not less-impressive NIL.
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King Woman - Celestial Blues
17 Aug 2021 - Knut
Doom Metal/Post Metal/Post RockOn the first EP from King Woman in 2015, Doubt, the cover depicted a woman standing on a boulder shouting at the sky. On this album the woman stands with her back to us, a cigarette burning in her right hand, angel-wing scars running down her back. You almost expect her to turn and sing: Willkommen! And bienvenue! Welcome!. Kristina Esfandiari, the multitalented artist behind the band, is known for using her own life story in both personal and metaphorical ways. And the covers make us imagine a journey from an anguished figure to a strong, maybe misunderstood, Luciferian figure. The musical journey that began with Shoegaze and Blackgaze now ventures into the soundscapes of Doom Metal and Post Metal.
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Wolves in the Throne Room - Primordial Arcana
16 Aug 2021 - Knut
Atmospheric Black MetalAfter the band deviated from their Atmospheric Black Metal path on the albums Black Cascade and Celestite Wolves in the Throne Room came back to the genre with Thrice Woven in 2017. Four years after that release the band releases a crystal clear, emotional, nature inspired, Cascadian take on the style they became famous for. With Kody Keyworth as an integrated member, the Weaver brothers and he have written, produced and mixed a massive Atmospheric Black Metal album in their own Owl Lodge Studio.
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DUCHAMP - Slingshot Anthems
15 Aug 2021 - Sebastian
Punk, HardcoreAn album like a Delorean going back to the 80’s and 90’s – that’s Slingshot Anthems, the debut album of German Punk supergroup DUCHAMP.
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The Angelus - Why We Never Die
14 Aug 2021 - Pat O'
Desert-Rock/Doom/Post-Rock/Stoner-RockThe bells are ringing…and the third album from the Texan trio The Angelus is nearly upon us, and it’s worth the wait. It’s a boulder of hard hitting “stoner Rock” with some deep desert soul. Add some harmonising vocals and despairing lyrics to the mix and you end up with the brilliant new album Why We Never Die.
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Varego - Varego
13 Aug 2021 - Thorsten
Progressive Classic MetalItaly – a true treasure chest of heavy music with a pinch of classic Metal. Varego play exactly this kind of music: Progressive Heavy Metal with an ear for the classics and a heart for harmonies and melodies.
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Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster - The World Inside
12 Aug 2021 - Simon
Post metal/Alternative rock/Progressive metalTacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster return after a 6 year hiatus with a triumphant album which delivers on just about every level
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CZLT - Junkyard
11 Aug 2021 - Stephan
AvantgardePresented by three labels, which are all somehow nebulously located between esoterism, ethnic music, psychedelics, occultism, avant-garde and metal in the creative voltage field between East and West, it’s hard to imagine an album more suited to communicate those ideas in a more primal and genuine way than this solo record of CZLT.
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Between The Buried And Me - Colours II
10 Aug 2021 - Daniel F.
Progressive MetalBack in 2007, Between The Buried And Me released Colours, an album that catapulted them into progressive metal stardom courtesy of its unfaltering commitment to artistic integrity. It broke new ground in their search for everything bigger, bolder and more precise than anything that had preceded it. As something of a springboard, it helped drive future success, with following albums only cementing their position as a modern great. And now, the sequel is born, and Colours II sees them pick up where they left off fourteen years ago, eager to impress and push the experimental metal envelope.
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Various Artists - Open Language Vol. 6
08 Aug 2021 - Thorsten
Post-Rock and moreVarious Artists – Open Language Vol. VI (A Thousand Arms Comp.)
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Lingua Ignota - Sinner Get Ready
08 Aug 2021 - Thorsten
Avantgarde EcclesiasticalAs strange as it may seem, there is something uplifting about the new Lingua Ignota record Sinner Get Ready as it shows a woman at least a bit more fortified against the agony and trauma she had to endure in her life before turning into one of the most revered voices of a new female self-empowerment movement as she is still talking about her past self-denial and mental tortures endured at the hand of her oppressor. However, there are now some moments of a tiny, flickering, fragile light in her music and lyrics.
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Slaughter To Prevail - Kostolom
07 Aug 2021 - Daniel F.
DeathcoreI think it would be safe to assume that listening to Slaughter To Prevail is probably the closest thing to experiencing being hit by a train, without actually being hit by a train. When Slipknot released Iowa way back when, the predominant features were shocking heaviness, unbridled aggression and of course the absolute epitome of visceral vocals. Calling Kostolom Russia’s answer to Iowa may be a stretch too far, but there are certainly comparisons to be drawn, and all the signs of a future classic are present. There are plenty of Slipknot-isms on display, largely where the seemingly limitless energy is concerned, but Slaughter To Prevail have managed to bring shock factor into 2021.
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BLAK - El Tall d’Escil·la
07 Aug 2021 - Pat O'
Post-Rock/ Instrumental/EmotionalEl Tall d’Escil·la is an invitation to feel without eyesight - BLAK
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Various Artists - Silence Is A Dangerous Sound - a tribute to Fugazi
06 Aug 2021 - Thorsten
Math-Rock, Noise, Hardcore (originally)Covering one song can be difficult and hellish thing to do because there are so many options. Staying true to the original in music or in spirit? Covering it note by note or sticking to the theme? Keep the original lyrics or alter them a bit? Compiling a whole tribute album can be even worse but Ripcord Records navigates all the traps splendidly and today, August 6th, released a tribute to the one and only hardcore band that everybody, EVERYBODY, should know: Fugazi!
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Vallendusk - Heralds of Strife
05 Aug 2021 - Knut
Atmospheric Black MetalFrom the first self-titled EP released in 2012 and up to this release, Indonesian Vallendusk has earned a reputation for epic, long and melodic tracks inspired by traditional folk music. Throughout their albums they have developed a warm soundscape in the subgenre of Atmospheric Black Metal and their latest release shows a band at the height of their passionate creativity. There might not be many metal bands per capita in Indonesia, but bands like Vallendusk make us look closer at that scene.
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Netherbird - Arete
04 Aug 2021 - Thorsten
Blackened Melo-Death MetalNetherbird is a Swedish extreme metal band – and that may already be enough for some people to walk away from them, because many have heard that combination so often that they think nothing new can be offered by Swedes doing a combination of Black and Death Metal combined with a blue-sky-clear production and an ear for melodies. If you are one of them, do yourself a favor and listen to Netherbird!
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