A decent start to the year with a few surprise highlights and a couple disappointments. Click the album titles to listen.
Deep Mountains – Perforate The Horizon
Deep Mountains are a Chinese post-black metal group signed to Pest Productions (of course). On New Year’s Day they dropped this lovely little EP that is essentially two short instrumentals alternating with a couple of heavier tracks which themselves are filled with pretty interludes. This is a neat example of one of the label’s frontrunners and provides a welcome wintry experience.
I decided to check out this album after hearing of it being an emotional black metal release, but it turns out it’s not that straightforward… The first thing I notice is the artwork, which suggests something dark and otherworldly, but doesn’t really give much away. The opener begins with an audio clip which sounds like a German version of ‘The Exorcist’, before jumping into steady post-metal with clean vocals, and I don’t know what to think. Those cleans are so expressive and enthralling that they quickly grasp my attention, as the instruments slowly escalate until the vicious black metal and harsh vocals burst through. The two styles converge in the desperate climax that I adore and I am already hooked. I wish the rest of the album was more like this, as what follows is more what I originally expected but still with some pleasing deviations. It’s a quality effort that improves a little on each listen and I encourage to you at least experience the opening track.
After a five year gap, majestic gothic doom metallers Helevorn return with another full length. Their modern take on doom features an equal mix of harsh and clean vocals, combined with chugging down-tuned guitars overlaid with ambient keyboards. It’s hard to be disappointed when they haven’t really put a foot wrong, but I wasn’t blown away by this one. The artwork is their best yet, but the music doesn’t break any new ground. Still, if you’re looking for some accessible and balanced melodic doom, ‘Aamamata’ is not a bad choice.
Malist – In The Catacombs of Time
This is a very neatly-presented effort from another one-man black metal project, coming out of nowhere and released on Northern Silence Productions. The cover art is dark and sinister, fitting perfectly with the tone of the music. I expected something a lot more raw and unpolished from such a newcomer, but instead we are treated to 50 minutes of hellish extreme music bookended by a couple of lavish instrumentals – like the warm up and cool down to an exhilarating workout at the gym, except your trainer is Satan and he is motivating you with fireballs.
Mineral – One Day When We Are Young
Although this is only two tracks, this is the first new music in over 20 years from the best emo band to have blessed this Earth, so it’s certainly worth mentioning here. The first track, ‘Aurora’, was actually previewed late last year and it’s a stunner. At a few seconds past 8 minutes, the song rises and falls in the way that is typical of emo music, but this happens several times over the course. Chris’ voice has changed a bit since 1998 but the Mineral sound cannot be mistaken even when revived in the 21st century. The second song was given with the release of a 10” and housed inside a commemorative book of the band’s history – a humble way to give long-time fans something new to feel nostalgic over. Sadly this song is very underwhelming especially when compare to its euphoric twin. Nevertheless I am grateful for new music from this special group and although I’m not demanding it, I hope they have the will to do more.
To kick off the 20th anniversary celebrations, Mono bring us an extension of the darkened composition style we have been hearing since 2014’s ‘Rays of Darkness’. Although not as relentless and oppressive as their last album, the weight of Mono’s orchestral, avant-garde post-rock is apparent from the start. At just over an hour, the album is impactful but with plenty of breathing room. I do prefer the more melodic, lighter and emotional side of Mono’s split personality overall so it’s nice to hear some of that again here. The band are still continuing to progress higher and further beyond their contemporaries and that has to be respected.
Panopticon – The Crescendo of Dusk
By way of an apology after I was disappointed by last year’s double album, my favourite black metal project offers up a surprise two-track EP to try to win me back around. The first of these opens with the familiar ‘elemental’ black metal sound, with hollow snares and cascading guitars, which flow into a spacious and light atmospheric section. The second is in the melancholic folk style which the band is also famous for and on this release I find it more compelling than I usually would. It starts quite minimally but then as the chords and percussion are brought in, along with sorrowful chants, the emotion really sets in. Both of these songs would fit well on each half of the aforementioned double album, as if these were bonus tracks that didn’t make the cut. Nevertheless, they are both worthy of releasing.
Late in 2017, David Bazan decided to recreate his beloved indie/slowcore project Pedro The Lion and has just put out the first release under the name for 15 years. Forgive me for I am not yet knowledgeable of Bazan’s legacy so I cannot compare ‘Phoenix’ to his back catalogue, but it seems to me to be a worthy addition. Bazan’s voice is warm and comforting and along with the nostalgic and carefree musical themes, successfully creates an experience reminiscent of the more memorable work of Idaho or American Music Club from the 90s.
This new Belgian group have composed a pleasant and dreamy slowcore album along the lines of Barzin or Savoy Grand. It’s a fairly simple and sparse album, but fulfils its purpose as an effective method to soothe and relax your soul. The title comes across as ill-fitting however, as I don’t find it melancholic, especially compared to what you’ll usually hear me playing, so I would rename it something like ‘CALM CALM CALM’.
Inspired by the events that happen when we dream, Somn is a brand new project sharing band members from various other signings of the Elusive Sound roster. Their approach uses contemporary black metal and displays the future of the genre with finesse. Clean-sounding, layered guitars create a wall of noise across four lengthy tracks, and the duo of screaming vocalists is a nice touch too. I am easily pleased when it comes to emotional and atmospheric black metal, but I recognise quality even when I am a little biased: ‘The All-Devouring’ is an early highlight for the year.
Stellafera – Collapsing Domain
‘Collapsing Domain’ is the first major release of this solo black metal project. This well-produced album features guttural screams and aggressive instrumentation, with a sprinkling of arpeggiated guitar solos and more ambient passages. It’s bit more straightforward in style than I am used to but still contains enough diversity to be worthy of a mention.
Swallow the Sun – When A Shadow Is Forced Into The Light
This band does not need an introduction if you know anything about doom metal. As one of the most consistent bands in the genre, Swallow the Sun’s instantly recognisable take can be divided into two main themes: half is melodic, up-tempo distorted riffs with blackened screams, and the other half is slow, grand sections, often with clean singing. I prefer the former of the two and unfortunately this album is almost entirely the latter which starts to grate on me after a while. There’s nothing of what I look for from the band and unfortunately it’s a drag to sit through the whole thing. ‘Stone Wings’ stands out above the others as the most engaging, as it opens with a haunting section reminiscent of ‘The Giant’ from their second album and I like the phrasing of lyrics in the chorus. The band has never disappointed me before which is a shame, but other people seem to really like it, so maybe it’s just me.
The Twilight Sad – It Won/t Be Like This All The Time
I feel that The Twilight Sad have improved slightly with every release. This, along with the preview single ‘I/m Not Here [Missing Face]’ being possibly the best song they have ever written, made me very excited for this album to come out. The band have once again successfully elevated their unique blend of indie, post-punk and shoegaze to a new level, where the wailing walls of synth and e-bow are more prominent than ever this time around. Combined with the careful delivery James’ honest lyrics, every song causes feelings of anxiety and empathy to surge, bringing them to the forefront of my troubled mind. At times it’s more cathartic and devastating than some of the most beautiful doom metal. Play it loud for maximum reward, or better yet go see them live.
Veldes is a Slovenian atmospheric/folk-inspired black metal solo project. The style is everything you might expect: high-pitched tremolo guitars mixed with rasping vocals and a few chants or maybe a keyboard interlude here or there, as well as trees on the album cover; in fact there are trees on all of Veldes‘ covers. So many trees – John Denver would be pleased… you get the idea. It’s perfectly satisfying, albeit accessible (if you’re comfortable with calling black metal accessible like I am), and I will always be impressed by a single person producing consistent material whilst doing pretty much all of the work.
With Hidden Noise – Beneath The Sea
Canadian multi-instrumentalist Charlie Berger wears his influences on his sleeve, as he is clearly paying tribute to the reverb-soaked minimalist styles of slowcore and dreampop. I can hear most similarities here with the likes of Low, particularly their most tranquil and wintry album, ‘Long Division’. ‘Beneath The Sea’ is an unpretentious collection of colourful love notes and a pleasure to listen to when you’re looking for something ethereal and soothing.
Thoughts Of Decay 