Post-Metal

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    ISON - Aurora (2021)

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    Unleashing one of the most dreamy and melancholic releases of 2021, today we have ISON with “Aurora”. After the departure of original vocalist Heike Langhans, many of us were concerned about what direction (If any) this project from Daniel Änghede would take. Instead of finding a new singer, ISON enlisted eight unique singers from different bands/projects around the world to bring additional life to its very ethereal music. The result is one hell of an album that any fan of the band will certainly love.

    The sidereal journey commences with the dreamy opening of “Jupiter”, as the track progresses distorted guitars lead the way alongside Vila’s dreamy vocals. Signaling things to come, this track sets a very hypnotic mood that is continued with the drony opening of “Waves” and the sultry vocals of Cammie Gilbert. Filled with emotive arrangements and a mellow pace, the album title track brilliantly combines Lisa Cuthbert’s vocals alongside Daniel’s in a very.

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    White Ward - Debemur Morti (2021)

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    Marking the release number 200 from the forward thinking label Debemur Morti, Ukraine’s White Ward unleash two very unique pieces of music with their signature style. Featuring anything but traditional elements, this release delivers nearly 18 minutes of enigmatic and highly experimental Black Metal. For the uninitiated, White Ward is one of the most exciting bands of the last few years, with their expertly crafted experimental music featuring heavy atmospheres and an avant-garde mixture of elements and styles that puts them years ahead from their competition.

    Opening with the EP title track, the band first sets a very jazzy and sultry atmosphere that quickly escalates into full on blistering drums alongside a sexy saxophone. Things pick up as the aggressive BM onslaughts proceed alongside crafty tempo changes. If this wasn’t enough, guest vocalist Lars Nedland (Solefald, Borknagar) soaring clean vocals provides a brilliant complement to an already highly intricate backdrop.

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    Olhava - Frozen Bloom (2021)

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    Delivering an relentless wave of atmospheric brilliance, today we have Russia’s Atmospheric/Post-Black Metal/Blackgaze duo Olhava and their mesmerizing release “Frozen Bloom”. Filled with intensity, ravaging brutality, and yet unparallelled beauty, this release unleashes nearly 60 minutes of crushing music. For fans of bands like Lustre, An Autumn for Crippled Children, Heretoir, Alcest, Deafheaven, etc. this release takes the genre to a whole new level of intensity and explosivity.

    Opening with the towering “The Queen Of Fields'' and it’s 20 minutes of sheer intensity, we are treated to lush shoegazey guitars, pummeling drums, frosty harsh screams and crafty tempo changes. The switch between furious onslaughts and more delicate atmospheric dreaminess is one of the band’s strengths and signature moves. The dreamy instrumental “Adrift” paints a more restrained picture with lush arrangements and very introspective moments.

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    Psychonaut / Sâver - Emerald (2021)

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    Featuring two of the most interesting and genre bending bands in Pelagic Records roster: Psychonaut and Sâver, “Emerald” is a massive 35-minute long EP. With each band doing just one long song, we get to perfectly enjoy the moody Post-Metal antics of Belgium’s Psychonaut, and the lush atmospheric intro to the punishing sound of Sâver. If you like Post-Metal and adjacent styles, you can’t miss out on this

    Opening with the introspective and slow-building “The Great Realization”, we get a very nice warmup to when the vocal arrangements quick in and the tempo changes go in full effect. This gives a certain dreamy and mellow effect that suddenly transforms with waves of heavy riffs and harsh vocals. The band’ perfect timing and elegant evolution creates very lively and mellow passages that are nicely contrasted with more dominant and loud yet also melodic sections.

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    Harakiri For The Sky - Mӕre (2021)

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    As one of the most awaited releases of 2021, Harakiri For The Sky returns with their melancholic Post-Black Metal with “Mӕre”. Unleashing a massive 84 minutes of music, this release further develops the band’s melodic sound into more complex and yet atmospherically sweeping territories. From start to finish, this release will please fans due to the band’s signature style, while taking in new listeners with a more refined take on the genre.

    Opening with “I, Pallbearer”, we get that signature bleakness of Harakiri For The Sky through their layered guitars and J.J’s emotional vocals. Expanding the band’s sound, “Sing for the Damage We’ve Done” has a dreamier edge while featuring Neige on guest vocals, and “Us Against December Skies” delivers a doomier edge with dramatic keyboards and a very crafty drumming.

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    Psychonaut 4 - Beautyfall (2020)

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    Hailing from Georgia, a place where we have only heard of a few bands, today we have deranged outfit Psychonaut 4 and their latest opus “Beautyfall”. As one of the weirdest and intense bands in Depressive Black Metal, this album showcases their maturity and intensity of their craft. We rarely review albums we didn’t receive for review, but this release is one that has been in constant rotation in our playlist and we believe more and more people should know about this excellent band.

    The release kicks off in style with the pummeling opening of “One Man's War”, showcasing that this album will be heavy and yet feature a good dose of melody as the song evolves alongside dramatic vocal arrangements and solid guitar work. Our favorite track in this release, and probably one of our top 10 of the year has to be the emotive “Tbilisian Tragedy”. We particularly enjoy the eerie atmospherics and funky tempo changes, transmitting magical misery through its mixture of clean vocal passages and dramatic guitars.

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    Epitimia - Allusion (2020)

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    Crafting a very unique and cinematic Post-Black Metal experience, today we have Russia’s Epitimia and their latest opus: “Allusion”. Featuring seven tracks and nearly one hour of extremely crafty and well engineered music, this release has a little bit of everything. Not going down the same path of most Post-Black Metal bands, this outfit focuses on creating a brutal experience that manages slower and melancholic passages quite efficiently.

    After a lush opening, “Clue I: Animist” delivers blistering harsh vocals alongside intense guitars creating a hash but intriguing atmosphere. Weaving back and forth between melodic interludes and aggressive passages, this track sets a very engaging mood. After a punishing opening, “Clue II: Melancholia I” hones in on more melancholic and intricate territories with some more experimental and seemingly free-form sections near its end.

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    Atlases - Woe Portrait (2020)

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    Delivering a fresh and quite engaging take on Post-Metal, today we have Finland’s Atlases and their sophomore release “Woe Portrait”. While many bands are staying within the confines of the genre, this band expands its boundaries with a very melancholic and melodic approach, filled with lush vocal arrangements, and additional atmospheric elements to create a very cohesive and expansive sound. As always, releases from LifeForce records continue to amaze us by their creativity and uniqueness, and this one is no exception to the rule.

    The release opens with the punishing riffs and growls of “Dreadlight”, a very typical and powerful opening that gradually transforms into a completely pummeling riffing contest, setting a very hectic mood. “Halos” and “Eternia” change the pace a bit with a more hypnotic approach with lush clean vocals that suddenly merge with very aggressive onslaughts. These tracks have more of a Post Rock vibe with very interesting and powerful contrasting elements thrown in the mix, keep things heavy and dreamy at the same time.

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    Chrome Waves - Where We Live (2020)

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    Dropping one of the most surprisingly awesome releases of 2020, today we have Chrome Waves and their latest amalgamation of Post-Black Metal with all kinds of extra genres, under the title “Where We Live”. Featuring nearly 45 minutes of brilliantly intricate and nicely layered music that will appeal to fans from bands like Deafheaven, Abigail Williams, to Mountaineer or Alcest.

    Opening with the dramatic “Hallow Dreams”, the band leads with lush instrumentation and suddenly escalates to dreamy riffs and catchy passages, all rounded up by harsh vocals. This track instantly showcases the band’s unique musical proposal as the vocal harmonies further elevate the already imposing atmosphere. This bleeds into “Gazing Into Oblivion”, a track that gives us that playful and in a way a bit pop-ish sound of bands like Amesoeurs.

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    The Ocean - Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic | Cenozoic (2020)

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    Unraveling part two of their cinematic masterpiece “Phanerozoic”, today we have Germany’s The Ocean (Collective) with 50-plus minutes of captivating music. Split in eight gargantuan tracks, this release keeps the same dramatic and larger-than-life vibe from the previous release while introducing a few new elements into the fold. If you like the band’s previous releases, you will instantly enjoy this blistering release.

    Opening with “Triassic”, we are immediately immersed into the band’s subtle instrumentation with calming guitars and a very mellow and hypnotic pace. The first thing that stands out is Loïc Rossetti’s use of different vocal styles, in this track using some effects to add versatility to his already signature style. This is actually one of the biggest differences in this release as there is a lot more use of clean vocals (“Jurassic | Cretaceous” and “Eocene”) and

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