Post-Metal

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    Sinistro – Semente (2016)

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    With only enough bandwidth to review music, we rarely have time to review the stuff we actually buy for ourselves. Thanks to all the Internet chatter and other connoisseur recommendations, we acquired Sinistro’s sophomore release “Semente”. Instantly blown away by the fierce combination of punishing riffs and the fragility of Patrícia Andrade’s vocals, this is a release we felt compelled to write about in order to pass on this finding to our readers.

    Opening with a commanding riffing onslaught, “Partida” sets a very high bar for this release. The track delves into your traditional Sludge/Doom/Post-Metal territories but is brilliantly contrasted by the hypnotic voice of Patrícia. Creating a very unique contrast the band instantly stands out from the competition. As the album progresses, the band focuses on creating a very unique and oppressive atmosphere which relies heavily on precise tempo changes and the use of keyboards, as tracks like “Estrada” and “Corpo Presente” demonstrate.

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    Crib45 – Marching through the Borderlines (2014)

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    Hailing from Finland, today we have an older release that managed to go under our radar for a while, that is impressive enough to be reviewed all these years later. Crib45 plays a mean Post-Metal with Sludgy influences, allowing them to sound like Neurosis on command, but also deliver a wider range of sounds. With their sophomore release “Marching through the Borderlines”, the band delivers over 70 minutes of soul-crushing music.

    Opening with the wall of sound created by crushing pieces like “Gathering the Storms” and “Catharsis”, the band really comes in tune with their characteristic sound with the dramatic “Waiting for Deliverance”. Aside the heavy distortion, the band layers atmospheric elements and dramatic lead guitars that give their music a certain Doomy feeling, setting them apart from the rest. Another interesting element in this song is the vocal experimentation introduced, which allows the song to be more dramatic and engaging.

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    Cult of Luna and Julie Christmas – Mariner (2016)

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    Completely catching us by surprise, today we have a very interesting collaboration between Sweden’s Cult of Luna and USA’s Julie Christmas. If you ever wondered how Cult of Luna would sound with a layer of female vocals on top, this is the perfect time to discover such a combination. Featuring five tracks filled with the band’s traditional atmospheric oppression, this release is a force to be reckoned with.

    Opening with the momentum building piece “A Greater Call”, the band wastes no time to introduce the listener to the dreamy combination of Julie’s sweet vocals and the harsh screams, both flanked by an intricate atmospheric backdrop. Leaving the listener no time to really adjust, the band pummels through “Chevron”, sparkling some pop-like influences along the way.

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    Deathkings – All that is Beautiful (2016)

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    Delivering brilliant waves of Doom/Sludge/Post-Metal misery, today we have Deathkings and their sophomore release “All that is Beautiful”. Clocking in at 62 minutes, this four song release is both punishing and extremely melancholic. We are quite surprised that the band is unsigned due to the quality of their material and how the North American scene is eating up bands that play this style of music.

    Opening with the bleakness of “Sol Invictus”, the band slowly builds up from some spacious Post-Metal momentum-building passages (a la Neurosis) to more hectic Doom/Sludge inspired riffing onslaughts. The pairing of the combination of multiple styles of vocals with the brilliant atmosphere crafted by the roaring guitars fits perfectly with the intricate drum patterns and overall pace of the music. Reminding us of bands like Fall of Empyrean and Mournful Congregation, “The Storm” delivers a very precise Doom message with some solid Post-Metal influences, making it one of our favorite tracks in this release.

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    Wall of Water - Promo (2015)

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    Delivering a furious 2-track promo, today we have newcomers Wall of Water from the USA. As the brainchild of Cullen Toner (ex-Abazagorath) and Shawn Eldridge (Disma), this band aims to merge the good old Black/Death Metal style with more modern and crafty Post-Metal/Rock influences. Not for the faint of heart, this is a release that brilliantly achieves their goals and delivers 13 minutes of very solid music.

    Opening with the mysterious “Exposure”, the band starts very mellow, setting a very atmospheric mood in the first few seconds. The first outburst of brutality is similar to a more Post-Metal version of Anaal Nathrakh filled with multiple vocal styles and crushing riffs. Perfectly blending old-school elements with more edgier and modern influences, this track sounds familiar, but yet fresh and different.

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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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