Post-Metal

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    O Graceful Musing’s Burden - im draußen bricht sich das drinnen (2015)

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    Arriving in a beautifully hand-crafted package, today we have “im draußen bricht sich das drinnen” from the German band O Graceful Musing’s Burden (OGMB). In this very atmospheric release, we are treated to around 50 minutes of very emotional and magical music. Perfectly blending Post-Rock soundscapes with some Folk and Post-Metal/Post-Black Metal outburst, the band continues to refine their very unique sound with the powerful release.

    Opening with the expansive “Nuboeiro Acrarante”, the band slowly builds tension with very sparse drums and playful guitar licks. With some parts in this track having Post-Black Metal levels of viciousness, the band manages to perfectly carve a unique listening experience through all their musical influences in under 16 minutes.

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    Minsk – The Crash & The Draw (2015)

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    Having recently returned from a hiatus, Minsk delivers one of the early candidates for top 10 albums of 2015 with “The Crash & The Draw”. Following the same footsteps of bands like Neurosis, Year of No Light, and The Ocean, we get 11-tracks of brilliant Atmospheric Post-Metal/Sludge music that is both complex and crushing. Returning with a 75 minute opus is an ambitious task that Minsk manages to pull off flawlessly.

    Instantly making their mark with the 12-minute opener “To The Initiate”, we have a very playful track that changes moods and delivers a good amount of intricate percussions and powerful riffs to keep you listening to it on repeat for at least a day. Slowly building with “Within and Without”, the band crafts a very tight short piece to hold the listener over until the unleash their four piece behemoth of “Onward Procession”. In part I and II the band invokes their inner Neurosis with heavy and dense tracks that nicely evolve into the trippy atmospherics of part III and IV. This four-piece track showcases the band’s ambitions and excellent execution of a multi-faceted song that nicely evolves and dances around all the genres the band has influences from.

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    Dynfari - Vegferð tímans (2015)

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    Hailing from Iceland, today we have yet another outstanding Atmospheric Black Metal band named Dynfari. In the band’s third full-length release we get eight melancholic tracks of mournful music with just the right amount of brutality and external influences to make them quite unique and enjoyable.

    Leading the album we have the Post-Metal /The Ocean-esque intro “Ljósið”. “Óreiða” paves the way for more melodic and depressive territories with the weeping guitars in this track. The vocals are your very traditional screams that don’t sound too aggressive to be typical BM or to mellow for the hyper fast drumming. The band is not afraid of experimenting enriching their sound with some hypnotic melodic passages and droning headbanging moments.

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    An Autumn for Crippled Children – The Long Goodbye (2015)

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    Greatly anticipated for 2015, An Autumn for Crippled Children’s fifth full-length release delivers in all possible levels and takes the band’s sound even further into the depths of depressive Post-Black Metal / Blackgaze. In “The Long Goodbye” the band hones in their skills to produce nine of the bleakest tracks they have ever written clocking in at 41 minutes of pure emotional rawness.

    The opening track, “The Long Goodbye” starts off with a hectic level of intensity with Shoegazy dreamy guitars and brilliant harsh vocals. The overall tone is quite melancholic, making this track a perfect mood setting piece for what is to come. On “Converging towards the Light” we jump into a bigger atmospheric vibe with very dramatic ambiance perfectly capped by the punishing vocals of Mchl. As “A New Form of Stillness” rolls by, we get a certain Synth-pop vibe going with a very interesting melodic passage.

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    Abstracter – Wound Empire (2015)

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    Hailing from Oakland, CA, today we have the Abstracter and their 2nd punishing aural assault titled “Wound Empire”. Featuring over 40 minutes of crushing Blackened Sludge/Crust/Doom music with some Post-Metal elements, this is one hell of a punishing release that will subdue the listener from start to finish.

    The opener “Lightless” slowly builds up with pummeling riffs and a nice progression as the nearly 11-minutes of music go by. The vocals are quite strong and nicely fit the equally crushing guitar riffs. Abstracter goes into further exploration of their dark sound in the atmospheric “Open Veins”. This song provides us with some more typical Sludge/Doom riffs arranged in a very precise manner to fit their atmospheric passages and massive drumming.

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    Ashen Waves – Premonitions (2015)

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    With a very engaging sense of experimentation and lush Post-Metal/Prog influences, today we have Ashen Waves and their debut album “Premonitions”. Being from the USA, the band brings some of that European ingenuity into their music with a very diverse blend of musical genres cohesively put together to deliver 10 tracks of solid music.

    Opening with the Amorphis/Vintersorg influenced “Whispers”, we are treated to a very promising opener that perfectly blends multiple genres. We particularly enjoyed the upbeat keyboards and crafty mixture of clean and harsh vocals. The band’s next musical exploration is the surprising “Enmity” that delivers a healthy mix of Doom/Sludge riffs with dreamy Post-Metal/Proggy passages. While this style might sound odd, the band gracefully pulls it off.

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    Lotus Thief – Rervm (2014)

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    As soon as we received this release with the association of featuring members of Botanist, we braced ourselves for the worst. In return, we actually are quite surprised and pleased on how Lotus Thief’s “Rervm” has turned out, featuring a truly unique and engaging sound that is very structured and free-flowing, unlike Botanist. Delivering six very solid tracks, this is probably at the top of our “Best surprises of 2014” list.

    The album kicks off with the heavy riffing of “Aeternvm” creating a very hypnotic passage that is later complemented with brilliant atmospheric elements and female vocals. The drumming still has that Botanist edge to it, but it is far less chaotic and fits the music perfectly. There are some trippy atmospheric sounds here and there that nicely complement the atmosphere of this track. Things pick up with “Miseras” and its Sludge/Alt-Rock vibe, showing a different side of the band while retaining its atmospheric uniqueness.

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    Downfall of Gaia – Aeon Unveils the Thrones of Decay (2014)

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    As one of the least conventional bands in Metal Blade, Downfall of Gaia delivers a punishing 60 minute musical experience with their third full-length release “Aeon Unveils the Thrones of Decay”. Perfectly crafting an apocalyptic sound that fuses Black Metal, Post-Metal, and Sludge elements, this band will mercilessly make your speakers pop and have you begging for more.

    Getting down to business with the bestial opener “Darkness Inflames These Sapphire Eyes”, the band spews their message with a brutality and firmness. The Black Metal sections are perfectly craved into the heavy riffing of this track, and the different vocal styles further extend the songs brutality. Just when you things are getting calm, blistering passages change the mood and direction of the songs, like in the epic “Carved into Shadows”. The underlying Doom/Post-Metal elements of tracks like this one and “Ascending the Throne”, make the band’s sound even richer and very diverse, making it harder to pin them down.

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    Kruger – Adam and Steve (2014)

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    Having released one of our favorite albums of 2010, Kruger finally returns with an even more impressive follow-up with “Adam and Steve”. With a very melodic and yet crushing sound, the band takes Post-Metal/Sludge to new heights in this eight track assault.

    The insanity beings with the very intense opener “Bottoms Up” and never lets go. Vocalist Renaud Meichtry delivers a savage performance with his charismatic screams and greatly elevates the level of intensity presented by the music. The band’s ability to craft intricately layered songs like “Discotheque” and “Charger” is truly unique and its one of the factors that makes them stand out from the rest.

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    Autumn’s Dawn – Gone (2014)

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    Arriving on Eisenwald Tonschmiede, today we have Australian duo Autumn’s Dawn and their debut full-length release “Gone”. Being no strangers to the scene, Sorrow and Anguish are musicians that play in at least 4 bands each, the most famous of them being Tim Yartas of Germ and Austere fame. Anyways, the band presents nine melancholic tracks of pure brilliance that eerily remind us a whole lot of Tim’s previous band Grey Waters.

    Opening this release we have the very emotive “The Ashes of a Life”, a track that has a very Rock-ish structure and melancholic clean vocals from Tim Yartas. The very ethereal atmosphere is always present and it is allowed to shine (even more) in some instrumental passages. Don’t you think this release only features clean vocals, we get a treat of Tim’s harsh singing through this release, starting with the epic “Until My Heart Corrodes with Rust”.

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