Post-Rock

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    Mountaineer - Dawn and All That Follows (2024)

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    Just like clockwork, The Bay Area’s Mountaineer returns after 2 years with their latest opus in melancholy titled “Dawn and All That Follows”. Not on LifeForce records this time, the band unleashes a hefty 50-minute release split into eight highly engaging and very dreamy tracks. For the uninitiated, the band’s mellow sound combines elements of Post-Rock/Post-Metal with some shoegazey influences and highly melancholic clean vocals, creating a very crafty and highly atmospheric release.

    Opening with the devastating “Cradlesong”, the band quickly unleashes their powerful riffs alongside a thick and demoralizing atmosphere, perfectly paced to inflict maximum pain as the mopey clean vocals of Miguel Meza come into play. There are definitely some crafty Doom/Sludge influences in the band’s sound, as tracks like “Hypnos” and “Prism” continue to develop the crushingly melancholic atmosphere, similar to Katatonia, but more ‘alternative’.

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    Botanist - Paleobotany (2024)

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    We always had a love and hate relationship with Botanist and their music since their earlier more ‘experimental’ release. While totally flamed them on their first albums, we have grown to actually like them as their later stuff has been more structured and genre-bending. In “Paleobotany”, the band unleashes ten tracks and nearly forty five minutes of quite interesting and complex music, ranging from Post-Metal/Rock elements to Progressive Metal/Rock passages, to darker and more experimental efforts.

    The release opens with the dreamy “Aristolochia”, a piece that has a certain Katatonia-esque sound, with proggy and Post Rock-ish elements, something we didn’t quite expect from the band, but we totally dig it. The dramatic clean vocal arrangements make tracks like “When Forest Turned to Coal” and its Black Metal riffs, “Magnolia” and its moody madness, have a very lively and engaging nature, as well as an interesting interplay with the growls and the melodic nature of the dulcimer.

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    Welmoed - Ask & Embla (2023)

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    Crafting a truly unique and powerful mixture between heaviness and dreaminines, today we have Dutch project Welmoed and their debut release “Ask & Embla”. Featuring five tracks and over 33 minutes of Atmospheric Post-Black/Shoegaze Metal/Rock music, this release creates a very engaging and fragile atmosphere thanks to ethereal keyboards and dramatic vocal arrangements.

    The album sets a very hypnotic pace with the shoegaze-y opener “Naga'' and its dramatic tempo changes alongside crafty instrumentation. While the opener is pretty good, one starts thinking that this will be just another one of those Post-Black Metal releases as the intense tremolo picking sets in. This impression continues as “Ask & Embla” continues the release, until a magical change happens as angelic female vocals are introduced and the whole vibe instantly changes.

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    Isafjørd - Hjartastaki (2022)

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    Formed by Aðalbjörn Addi Tryggvason (Sólstafir) and Ragnar Zolberg (Sign/x-Pain of Salvation), Isafjørd is a new project that delivers a very unique and bleak form of Post-Rock, filled with desolation and despair. Perfect for the winter, this release clocks around 52 minutes of expertly crafted music divided in eight tracks filled with melancholy and atmosphere. If you like Post-Rock, but of the more depressive kind, this is an album you can't miss.

    Opening with the trance-inducing “Falin Skemmd”, the band really sets a low-energy desolate mood with weeping guitars and crafty percussions. Aðalbjörn Tryggvason’s vocals perfectly fit the level of melancholy created by the group and when sung in Icelanding add that extra layer of uniqueness as they transmit emotions without necessarily understanding the lyrics, as “Mín Svarta Hlið” and “Hjartastjaki” perfectly capture.

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    Lost in Kiev - Rupture (2022)

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    Having slowly creeped its way into influencing Metal bands, Post-Rock is a genre we have always enjoyed and found quite engaging and dreamy to so extent. One of the best bands in the genre has to be French outfit Lost in Kiev, which returns this October with their latest opus “Rupture”. Producing over 51 minutes of high-octane cinematic music, the band covers many different moods and tempos in a very cohesive and engaging release.

    The release nicely builds momentum with the intriguing “We Are” and its crafty progression, filled with intricate guitars and engaging drumming. Featuring Loic Rossetti from The Ocean, “Prison of Mind” perfectly layers dramatic and aggressive vocals on top of the band's exploratory and momentum building style. This is definitely the heaviest track of this release. Our favorite track in this release has to be the magical “Another End is Possible” and its oozing bleakness alongside dreamy shoegazing passages.

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    SOM - The Shape Of Everything (2022)

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    After their killer 2021 “Awake” EP, all-star outfit SOM returns with their much anticipated full-length release “The Shape of Everything”. Featuring members of bands like Junius and Caspian, this album delivers over 34 minutes of extremely melancholic and yet heavy amalgamation of all kinds of genres ranging from Doom to Post-Rock and Post-Metal. Creating a very unique signature style, this release is set to be on plenty of best albums of 2022 releases.

    Opening with the melancholy of “Moment”, the band quickly establishes a very moody atmosphere, similar to bands like Deftones and Junius, but with a more shoegazey and dreamy edge. The clean vocals create very powerful melodies, perfectly soaring from the textured guitars of tracks like the Deafheaven-esque “Animals” and the playful “Center”. The band’s versatility can be heard on our favorite “Shape”, a piece that delivers a hefty dosage of heavy riffs alongside more subtle and ethereal guitar work.

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    Mountaineer - Giving Up The Ghost (2022)

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    After making a huge splash with their 2020 release titled “Bloodletting”, Mountaineer achieves the impossible and unleashes an even more melancholic and more polished release with “Giving Up The Ghost”. For fans of Post-Rock/Doom/Shoegaze, this release delivers over 32 minutes of highly emotional and disharming music, creating a fully immersive atmosphere and a truly magical listening experience.

    Opening with a mood setting instrumental, the band gets down to business with the dreamy “Blot Out the Sun”, filled with soaring vocal melodies (both harsh and clean) and very dynamic guitars, perfectly capturing the ‘Mountaineer vibe’ but further extending it with even more melancholy and sublime arrangements like we can hear in “Bed of Flower” or the The Ocean-esque “Touch the Glass”.

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    Two Hundred Wolves - The Hold (2021)

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    One of the best parts of the gig of reviewing music for this site is that I get to enjoy countless amounts of music, particularly the submissions from up-and-coming bands. Today we have one killer gem that made its way into my inbox: Two Hundred Wolves and their release “The Hold”. With a style similar to Jess and the Ancient Ones and Madder Mortem but with a fuzzier and jazzier side, this release delivers 44 minutes of captivating music led by the sultry vocals of Anna Matveinen.

    Opening with the jazzy/proggy “Visceral Redemption”, the first impression the band makes is one of a highly original sound perfectly fronted by a versatile singer. We like all kinds of music, and this band certainly has a bit of everything, from post rock to occult rock/metal influences, creating tracks like “Oblivion”, the dynamic “Absolute Bearing”, and the highly emotive “Event Horizon”. We are huge fans of deep and unique female voices, and the band’s vocalist definitely stands out from the rest.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Illudium - Ash of the Womb (2021)

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    Unleashing one of the most emotionally charged and disarming releases of 2021, today we have Illudium with “Ash of the Womb”. With a very difficult sound to define, the band mixes elements from acts like Kate Bush, Pencey Sloe, all the way to ISIS and Alcest, creating a very dreamy and yet powerful amalgamation of melancholic sounds. If you are looking for dark, dreamy, but with a hefty dose of fuzzy heavy riffs, this release is one you can’t miss.

    Opening with the moody “Aster”, the band creates a very overpowering atmosphere with heavy distorted guitars paired with Shantel Amundson’s emotionally charged vocals and a slow but steady progression. As “Sempervirens” comes along, the mood shifts into a livelier Post-Rock/Metal territory with a wide variety of guitar progressions, crafty drumming and a solemn bass guitar line. We particularly enjoy how the band transitions between levels of melancholy, while keeping their signature elements intact.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Lesotho - Summer Wars (2021)

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    Hailing from Boston, USA, today we have Lesotho, an intense trio playing some lush and expansive mixture of Post-Rock with Post-Metal flair. For fans of bands like Caspian, This Will Destroy You, pg.lost, and Tides from Nebula, this release is filled with cinematic aural experiences that are both dreamy and yet intricate and complex. If you are in the market for mellow and introspective music, this is a great place to start.

    This EP starts with the momentum builder “Plusone/Timestwo”, a track that slowly evolves into heavy but dreamy territories thanks to engaging distorted guitars and crafty tempo changes. We particularly enjoy the shoegazey cathartic feeling of this track as it peaks. Our favorite track in this release has to be the engaging “Altar Fire”, and its crafty manipulation of expectations with heavy distorted riffs nicely lined up against sweeping guitar leads and very dramatic crescendos.

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