Post-Metal

  • So Hideous, My Love… - To Clasp a Fallen Wish with Broken Fingers (2011)

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    As one of the most interesting albums we have received this summer, So Hideous, My Love’s debut EP “To Clasp a Fallen Wish with Broken Fingers” delivers one of the best Post-Black Metal releases we have ever heard from the USA. With four crushing sounds, this EP will surely get the band some attention and build momentum for their hopefully soon return with a full-length release.

    The second element that makes this band so interesting is the combination of classical music elements with Post-Black Metal. While this has been done in virtually all other genres of Metal, it sounds very well crafted and perfectly fitting for Post-Black Metal of this caliber. The instrumentation comes as the stronger element of the band’s sound and quickly allows the listener to shift their attention away from the sub par vocals.

  • Srodek – Förfall (2011)

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    Featuring a session member of Svarti Loghin, Srodek brings us with their second full-length “Förfall”, a total of 37 minutes of bleak and depressive Post-Black Metal. While Srodek is not as good as Svarti Loghin and genre heroes Lantlôs, this one man project does a pretty solid job in creating desolate landscapes and populates them with Post-Rock/Black Metal elements.

    With the eloquent name of Nekrofucker, the band mastermind gives us 7 tracks that have a very familiar Svarti Loghin sound. While this is not completely bad, we can’t help but wonder where the creativity presented in “En Hälsning Till Döden” has gone. But it’s not all bad news since some moments of this release set it apart and make up for a good album.

  • East Of The Wall – Ressentiment (2010)

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    Like a good wine, East Of The Wall has only been getting better with time. With “Ressentiment” the band not only improves over their perplexingly brilliant “Farmer's Almanac”, but they take things to a whole new dimension. The main addition to “Ressentiment” is the use of vocals to adorn the bands highly textured musical compositions. The vocals are partly because of the merger of Biclops and them.

    East Of The Wall’s brand of music is of particular interest to music connoisseurs that can greatly appreciate all the technical powers behind this band. Every single song is masterfully crafted to perplex the listener and make him have to listen to the songs a few times before fully digesting them. Then you move on to the next song and the process begins again.

  • Lantlôs - .neon (2010)

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    Hailing from Germany (well, the original ‘half’ of the band is from Germany), we get today Lantlôs with their second “.neon”, the band’s second full-length release. And right of the bat, we will tell you that “.neon” is one of the best depressive Post-Black Metal releases we have ever heard. The bleak atmosphere created by this release is unparalleled.

    Featuring Neige from Alcest on vocals, Lantlôs has crafted around 40 minutes of pure depressive music that will make Amélie Poulain get sad and depressed. The enchanting melodies crafted on “.neon” are greatly adorned by Neige’s sorrowful vocals, sounding sometimes similar to Alcest, but with a higher dose of jazzy elements that create an intoxicating atmosphere.

  • hYPNOTIC hYSTERIA – Feed On Me (2010)

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    With a very interesting mixture of Alternative Metal/Rock with some Post-Metal/Rock influences we have hYPNOTIC hYSTERIA from Italy. The band does a great job at sounding like nobody else does by borrowing many influences from ‘commercially’ stable bands as well as the brilliant underground pool of Post-Metal/Rock bands.

    One thing we immediately agree on is that the band creates very hypnotic atmospheres that are very well crafted. This shows great songwriting skills from the band and makes “Feed On Me” a very interesting release to have. We must say that this band can generate a following from both the ‘commercial’ world and the underground.

  • Eclectika – Dazzling Dawn (2010)

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    Hailing from France, today we get a very unique Post-Black Metal band that is not afraid of pushing the boundaries of music. This French trio plays a very well balanced mixture of raw Black Metal with experimental elements that makes “Dazzling Dawn” a very refreshing album that is both aggressive and very melodic.

    Starting off with a very symphonic intro, you are set to expect something like Dimmu Borgir or similar Symphonic Black Metal bands, but instead you get a very raw BM approach with some female vocals. All this for 2 tracks and then it changes into a very melodic acoustic ballad that could be from any Gothic Metal band out there. This is pretty much how the album flows, featuring a wide variety of styles and elements put together in a very intricate way.

  • Rosetta – A Determinism of Morality (2010)

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    Hailing from Philadelphia today we have Rosetta, a band that combines elements of Hardcore, Shoegaze and Post-Metal with heavy melancholic atmospheres. This American band has been around for a while and has a pretty strong following in the scene, achieved thanks to their superb releases.

    “A Determinism of Morality” is the band’s latest effort. The album is being released by Translation Loss Records, a very unique label that has such acts as: Javelina and Mouth of the Architect. “A Determinism of Morality” starts off very aggressive before blending into an intoxicating mix of atmospheric passages. The band does a great job in gravitating between aggressive sections and instrumental passages that remind us of God is An Astronaut and similar bands.

  • At The Soundawn – Shifting (2010)

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    At The Soundawn comes from Italy and are here to show us what they are made off with “Shifting”, the band’s second release. For a band so young the musicianship in “shifting” is pretty impressive to say the least. Fusing Post-Rock, Post-Metal and even some Jazzy influences, the band will easily draw comparisons to Cult Of Luna, Mowgai and similar artists.

    While there are countless of boring Post-Rock/Metal album, “Shifting” is one of the best we have heard this 2010. The band does an excellent job at creating haunting atmospheres and instrumental passages to transport the listener into a different world. Featuring healthy doses of raspy vocals and aggressive parts, this release does not fall into the ‘too much atmosphere, not enough content” category that many bands playing this genres of music do.

  • An Autumn For Crippled Children – Lost (2010)

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    With an extremely interesting (and messed up) name, I was very intrigued by this band. After reading the release’s press information I got even more excited, since they claimed that the band mixes Atmospheric Doom Metal with Black Metal and Post-Rock, a combination that on paper sounds heavenly but in practice can be a total failure.

    So being both excited and skeptical about An Autumn For Crippled Children (AAFCC for short), I decided to dive in and take a swing at this release. Let me tell you, this album is all that it was hyped to be and even more, the music is both dense and haunting creating a tick atmosphere that will immerse you into AAFCC’s demented world since the first minute of “Lost”.

  • Dioramic – Technicolor (2010)

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    Dioramic makes a bold statement on their myspace saying that you can’t categorize their music and they are pretty close to reality. The German trio creates a musical palette featuring influences from Progressive rock/Metal, Post-Hardcore, Post-Metal, but in their own terms making for very diverse and interesting songs.

    Signed to Lifeforce records the band unleashes “Technicolor” an 11 song album that will have you scratching your head from song to song. Trying to figure out how the songs will progress was the most fun we’ve had while reviewing albums in the last few days.

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