Experimental

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    Ulver - Liminal Animals (2024)

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    Mostly first released over the last year as singles, “Liminal Animals” marks Ulver’s latest opus, filled with their usual catchiness with a flair of darkness. Dedicated to the late Tore Ylvisaker, this release sees the band continue their dreamy/catchy endeavors of the last two releases, and also push forward with more somber and experimental elements thrown into the mix. Masterfully structured, this album makes all previously released singles come to life and showcase a different side to themselves, so be prepared for some aural exploration.

    Opening with the superbly dreamy “Ghost Entry”, the band sets a very glamorous and ethereal vibe, similar to their last few albums: catchy AF. The transition into “A City in the Skies” and “Forgive Us” are masterful as the percussion and electronics set a very futuristic mood. We have always been huge fans of Kristoffer Rygg’s vocals and the way they blend with the atmospherics of the music and the choir arrangements is just magical. Providing some nice change of pace, “Nocturne #1” has a great cinematic feeling, while the second part further explores more dynamic atmospherics.

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    Oranssi Pazuzu - Muuntautuja (2024)

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    There is ‘normal’ experimental/weird music, and there is Oranssi Pazuzu weird, which is 100x more intense than the latter. Unleashing their sixth full-length release with “Muuntautuja”, the band goes down into the depths of hell and delivers seven unnerving tracks that are both intense and insane. Anybody familiar with the band would not expect anything less, and for nearly 45 minutes, they manage to push the boundaries of aural assaults with their music, creating one truly chaotic and ravaging release.

    In no time, the band immediately grabs the listener with their hypnotic opener “Bioalkemisti”, a track that slowly lures them into the band’s madness. The hellish vocals and crafty samples work wonders until the deranged guitar work unleashes its magic. With the album title track we get an interesting ‘drum and bass’ core aligned with crazy samples and electronics to create a very bleak soundscape. If the listener is not smitten already, “Voitelu” and its creepy subtle keyboards allows the band to further expand the atmospheric madness of this release.

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    Trelldom - .​.​.​by the Shadows​.​.​. (2024)

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    Unleashing one of the most unexpectedly interesting releases, today we have Trelldom and their long awaited fourth full-length release, titled: “.​.​.​by the Shadows​.​.​.”. While many will be waiting for a traditional Black Metal release, the singles have steered people in a completely different direction as the album is more of an avant-garde/experimental release. Featuring a sound reminding us of the later stages of The 3rd and the Mortal, Lethe, and similar outfits, this release features seven tracks of unconventional and highly engaging music.

    Setting a very chaotic and contrived tone with “The Voice of What Whispers”, this release starts its aural explorations with a jazzy and a bit proggy piece that clearly signals this is going to be a very different release than expected. As “Exit Existence”rolls in, we get a sultry sax playing alongside Kristian Eivind Espedal’s (Gaahl) haunting vocals, creating a very eerie and yet intoxicating effect. We particularly love how this track transitions into sinister Black Metal riffs and a heavier nature as it progresses.

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    Vuur & Zijde - Boezem (2024)

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    Dramatically moving away from their original Atmospheric Black/Post-Black Metal sound, today we have enigmatic Dutch outfit Vuur & Zijde and their debut full-length “Boezem”. Featuring members from bands like Laster, Terzij de Horde, and Grey Aura, there is no surprise that the music presented in this release is captivating and truly unique, with seven tracks and nearly 46 minutes of hypnotic music. This release is for fans of bands like Beastmilk/Grave Pleasures with some Wave influences and featuring sultry female vocals.

    Opening with the mysterious “Onbemind”, the band sets a very unique Post-Punk vibe that quickly escalates into fierce guitar riffing and pummeling drumming. One would think that the harsh vocals would follow, but they never really do, instead we get the dreamy clean voice of Famke. This gives the band’s sound a very unique proposition, with heavier passages with more restrained drumming and a very organic and catchy vibe, perfect examples of this are songs like “Zusterzon”, “Omheind”, and “Us”.

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    Nel Buio - Nel Buio (2024)

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    Unleashing a pretty nifty and weird Black Metal adjacent release, today we have Nel Buio and their eponymous EP. Led by Claudio De Rosa with members of Blasphemer and Electrocution, this outfit pushes the boundaries of the genre with their futuristic five tracks and 22-minutes long release. If you like electronic/darkwave elements in your music, you are in luck as this release perfectly blends them with a very aggressive BM core.

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    Ulcerate - Cutting the Throat of God (2024)

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    Abundantly delivering on one of the most awaited releases of 2024, Ulcerate returns with another incisive release titled “Cutting the Throat of God”. Featuring seven tracks and nearly one hour of punishing music, filled with raw brutality alongside crafty instrumentation and hypnotic melancholy. Slowly getting better and better over time, we thought it would be hard for the band to surpass “Stare into Death and Be Still”, but they managed to completely leapfrog it and set a whole new standard.

    Opening with the crushing “To Flow Through Ashen Hearts”, the band over the years has moved away from a more traditional Technical/Brutal Death Metal into more expansive and experimental Avant-garde territories and this track is one perfect example of that. The mysterious mood is perfectly flanked by textured guitars, pummeling drums, and harrowing harsh vocals, however, it's the crafty tempo changes and sinister melodies that make it interesting.

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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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    Brume - Marten (2024)

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    Featuring a very sultry and jazzy sound, today we have Bay Area outfit Brume and their latest full-length release “Marten”. Featuring eight tracks and nearly 50 minutes of music, this release has a very hypnotic and enigmatic pace, nicely mixing Doom/Occult Rock with more experimental influences. If you are looking for something unique with a chill vibe, but with some heaviness to it, this is a very interesting release to check out.

    The release opens with the magical “Jimmy”, a six-minute piece filled with moody tempo changes and hypnotic doomy riffs. Susie McMullan’s vocals are quite sultry and perfectly fit the loungey nature of the music, with tracks like “New Sadder You” and its magical cellos, “Faux Savior” and its melancholy, or the dreaminess of “Otto's Song”, showcasing the bands versatility and uniqueness of their style.

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    Anatomy of Habit - Black Openings (2023)

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    Immediately doing a double take to figure out if Garm from Ulver was singing on this one, Anatomy of Habit unleashes their latest release “Black Openings”. Creating a very unique and intricate atmosphere, this release delivers over 38 minutes of an experimental amalgamation of Doom, Post-Punk, Drone, and a few other genres. If you like hypnotic music with singular vocals and crafty instrumentation, you can’t miss out on this one.

    Opening with the engaging “Black Openings”, the band quickly sets a very mellow mood that slowly progresses as it hooks the listener with its mystery. As Mark Solotroff vocals come on, the listener will immediately think of Ulver as he sounds just like Garm. However, this is not the only stand-out element from the music as it brilliantly layers tons of elements like a vibraphone, lap steel, and analog synths to create a nice and warm loungey vibe.

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    The Lovecraft Sextet - Black†White (2023)

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    Creating a truly unique and somewhat demented release, today we have the enigmatic The Lovecraft Sextet and their latest EP “Black†White”. Featuring two tracks of pure jazzy madness, this EP delivers a digestible entry into the highly mysterious and chaotic world of Jason Köhnen. Filled with atmospheric weirdness, this release is certainly not for the close minded, as it embarks the listener on an aural journey.

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