Post-Metal

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    Celeste - Assassine(s) (2022)

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    On their first release as part of Nuclear Blast Records, France’s Celeste unleashes “Assassine(s)”, a vibrant 40+ minutes release blending their Black Metal with Post-Metal/Sludge influences. The band creates a very unique and punishing sound, filled with harsh vocals and crafty riffing, creating an unparalleled wall of sound and destruction.

    The release fully kicks off with the intricate drumming of “Des torrents de coups”, which leads way to incisive guitars and crafty tempo changes. Picture listening to Cult of Luna with an Amenra edge. As the riffing barrage fully warms up, tracks like “De tes yeux bleus perlés”, “Nonchalantes de beauté”, and “Draguée tout au fond”, further develop the band’s massive sound with piercing onslaughts of crushing guitar work.

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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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    A Secret Revealed - When The Day Yearns For Light (2021)

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    Unleashing one of the most heavy-hitting releases of 2021, today we have A Secret Revealed with “When The Day Yearns For Light”. Hailing from Germany, this quintet takes a page from bands like The Ocean and King Apathy and create their own blend of Post-Metal/Post-Hardcore music filled with raw emotions and crushing arrangements. Nearly clocking in at 40 minutes, this album is intense from the first few seconds and never lets go.

    After a short melancholic opening, “As I Watch You Perish” quickly delivers waves of crushing guitars and the intense screams of Michael. The band’s style borders on many genres, perfectly mixing raw aggression, crafty tempo changes, and relentless drumming, as we can hear in songs like “No Shelter. No Hope.”, the moody “With Blind Apathy”, and the vicious onslaughts of “In Shoals”.

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    Sol Sistere - Sol Sistere (2021)

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    Unleashing one hell of a crafty and emotional release, today we have Chilean outfit Sol Sistere and their eponymous third full-length release. With over 60 minutes of intense Atmospheric Black Metal / Post-Black Metal music, this album delivers waves of aggression, melancholy alongside hellish vocals and very solemn passages. While most bands in these genres sound the same, this outfit manages to carve an original style that will certainly appeal to fans of outfits like Heretoir, Alcest, Harakiri for the Sky, etc.

    After an instrumental opener, “The Narrow Path” fully demonstrates the band’s powerful sound with blistering onslaughts of aggression perfectly flanked by emotionally charged layered guitars and very melodic passages. Long tracks like “Ashes” showcase Sol Sistere’s ability to weave back and forth from traditional Atmospheric BM territories into dreamier and more melancholic territories, making them quite unique and engaging.

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    Ghost Bath - Self Loather (2021)

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    As a huge fan of the band’s first two releases, the band continues to struggle to find a new identity. With “Starmourner” things seemed to be going well as it had great ideas and solid songs, however, “Self Loather” seems a bit too sparse and while it has some fine moments, the band sounds too much like others in those slivers of home. For over 45 minutes we get a mixture of old-Ghost Bath and some odd new elements thrown into the mix, creating an interesting release in some parts, but mostly average.

    Starting strongly with “Convince Me to Bleed”, we get a blistering opening with crushing drums, punishing harsh vocals, and soaring guitars similar to Deafheaven’s pre-2021 releases. With a darker atmosphere, “Hide from the Sun” is an interesting piece with a certain sinister sound that we enjoyed. On the other side, “Shrines of the Bone” and “Sanguine Mask” mix long instrumental and minimalist sections with average heavy onslaughts.

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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.

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    Unreqvited - Beautiful Ghosts (2021)

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    Slowly evolving over time, Unreqvited has always pushed the boundaries of Atmospheric Black Metal/Post-Black Metal with its lively and expertly crafted music. With “Beautiful Ghosts”, this one-man project nearly achieves Nirvana, thanks to the unparalleled liveliness and emotiveness of this excellent release. With a very positive and uplifting nature, the seven tracks and 42 minutes of music in this release are plain brilliant.

    Opening with the moody “All is Lost”, we get a bit of the band’s previous style with more lush and ‘bright’ atmospherics. The mixture of harsh screams with dreamy arrangements is top notch, but the simplicity of the guitar work and drumming is what really separates this opener. Focusing more on the atmospheric part, “Autumn Everley” builds slowly into some killer aggressive cathartic moments adorned by a subtle piano track.

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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.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Agrypnie - Metamorphosis (2021)

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    As one of our favorite bands in the Post-Black Metal space, Agrypnie is finally back with the punishing “Metamorphosis”. Featuring nearly 70 minutes of highly intense music, this release continues the band’s musical evolution with a more defined and electrifying sound. While some Post-Black Metal bands focus on making things a bit too mellow or melancholic, this band achieves the melancholy part with droves of punishing guitars and instrumental passages.

    Opening with “Wir Ertrunkenen”, the first part is an orchestral prolog that suddenly turns dark as Torsten’s hellish vocals nicely weave between punishing riffs. However, this is not the only thing to digest, as the tempo changes keep things fresh. After a pummeling start, “Verwuestung” has a more introspective nature as it slowly evolves into more aggressive and yet melancholic moods. For those looking for the band’s faster and more ‘traditional’ BM side, tracks like “Am Ende der Welt - Teil 1” deliver the goods.

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