Post-Metal

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    Lunacy – Act One. Youth Manifesto (2017)

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    Hailing from Belorussia, today we have Lunacy, formed by Morena and Stone of Closed Room fame. In this full-length release, “Act One. Youth Manifesto”, we are treated to eight tracks of brilliant atmospheric Rock / Post-Metal in the vein of The Gathering, Amesoeurs, and Closed Room. If you like uniquely odd and very emotional female led dreamy music, this is definitely a release worth checking out.

    Opening with the melancholic “The Ballad of Youth”, we are instantly graced with Morena’s sultry vocals surrounded by dreamy guitars and a very moody tempo. Interestingly enough this track takes a turn, and delivers a very aggressive closing. Delivering a more intense musical experience with lush guitar leads and a vibrant pace, “The First and the Last” is a very upbeat track that nicely sets the mood for this dynamic release.

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    Telepathy – Tempest (2017)

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    Hailing from the UK, today we have Telepathy and their crushing release “Tempest”. Mixing elements of Post-Rock/Metal with Sludge and a few other influences, the band manages to release a triumphant album that will put them on the spotlight right next to outfits like Cult of Luna, The Ocean, and Tides from Nebula.

    Setting the mood with “First Light”, the band really showcases its riffing capabilities with the tense “Smoke from Distant Fires”. In this track we have a slow progression that weaves back and forth between Post-Metal and Post-Rock soundscapes. The drumming even reaches some Black Metal-esque passages that are actually quite fitting with the music’s direction.

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    White Ward – Futility Report (2017)

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    Our never-ending quest to find the most unique and bizarre Metal bands has lead us this month to Poland’s White Ward and their debut full-length release “Futility Report”. This very unique band delivers a strange mixture of Black Metal with Jazzy and a few Electronic elements structured in a very unusual way. For over 40 minutes you are led to a very different and exciting musical journey that will haunt your dreams from start to finish.

    The album opens with the first few minutes of “Deviant Shapes” sounding like you are in for another Melodic/Post-Black Metal release. However, as soon as the 2:30 minutes mark hits the album takes a turn for the unexpected with a solemn saxophone making its entry and switching the entire direction of the band’s sound. Creating a very unique and relaxing vibe, this element while not atypical in Metal releases is unique combined by this band to craft a contrasting and yet brilliant juxtaposition of sounds.

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    When Icarus Falls – Resilience (2017)

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    It has been three years since the band unleashed “Circles” and we are glad they are back with their latest opus “Resilience”. Featuring nearly 40 minutes of suspenseful and engaging cinematic Post-Metal, this release does a great job in delivering a wide variety of moods while immersing the listener’s in the band’s craftiness. While not your run-of-the-mill Post-Metal release, you can clearly see the Neurosis/Amenra influences, but When Icarus Falls makes them their own and delivers another solid effort with this ones.

    Opening with the hypnotic “One Last Stand”, we have a very intricate build up that is quite mellow and yet creates enough tension to keep the listener fully engaged. The clean vocals add that extra level of anxiety to the track as the tempo increases, making it quite a unique ad engaging experience. Things get more intense with the pulsating bass guitar line of “Into the Storm”, which slowly continues to get more playful as the track reaches achieves catharsis with harsh vocals and a very climactic ending.

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    Owler – Soil (2016)

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    After a killer debut EP with “Waves” Owler returned in 2016 to unleash “Soil”, a highly melancholic collection of five songs that showcase more maturity and creativity from these Finns. Clocking in at around 30 minutes, this release takes all the elements of their first release and further refines them and integrates them into the band’s own signature style. This music is still highly recommended for fans of bands like Insomnium to The Man Eating Three.

    Opening with the soaring vocals of “Storm”, the release kicks off with a very theatrical piece that fully takes advantage of “Juha Simola’s melancholic clean vocals. Things turn a bit darker and doomier with the heavy atmospheric and crushing riffs of “Amend”. We really enjoy how the subtle atmospheric keyboards set the mood for the harsh vocals and slower tempo.

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    Ghost Bath – Starmourner (2017)

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    Continuing with their impressive momentum after the release of “Moonlover”, Ghost Bath returns on a bigger label and with a more expansive sound in “Starmourner”. Delivering over 70 minutes of soul crushing music, the band continues to evolve with a richer and more diverse sound. Equally pleasing for older and new fans, this release is a perfect continuation of the band’s path.

    After the mood setting intro track, the band gets down to business with the incisive lead guitars of “Seraphic” a highly emotional and ravaging track. The onslaught continues with the sheer brutality of the opening of “Ambrosial”. Here we have the traditional shrieks being outlined by pummeling drums, and before you know it the song turns highly melodic and hypnotic with some truly outstanding passages.

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    Dynfari – The Four Doors of the Mind (2017)

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    Unleashing their most mature work to date, today we have Iceland’s Dynfari and their fourth full-length release “The Four Doors of the Mind”. Delivering over 48 minutes of majestic music, the band finds itself transitioning into more atmospheric and dreamy music than before while retraining some of their aggressive roots.

    Opening with the dreamy album title track, the mood is set with a very martial pace and very interesting spoken vocals. The album continues its build-up as “1st Door: Sleep” slowly picks up the pace and the clean guitars give way for heavier distorted riffs, harsh vocals and pummeling drums. Keeping up the intensity, “Sorgarefni segi eg þér” delivers seven-minutes of killer tempo changes and lush melodic passages.

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    Owler – Waves (2015)

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    Hailing from Finland, today we have a band that perfectly combines elements from Post-Rock/Post-Metal with traditional Finish Melodic Death Metal. Delivering over 25 minutes of melancholic music, this band could be described as a mixture of The Man Eating Three with Before the Dawn.

    The EP starts with the lush “Throes”, a track filled with melancholic clean vocals and dreamy guitars. At first glance, the guitars seem a bit heavier than usual for this type of music, but they do an effective job at preparing the listener for what is to come. As “Distance” kicks off we are instantly reminded of Before the Dawn during their “Soundscape of Silence” years. The mixture of growls and clean vocals is very effective and they perfectly contrast the ethereal keyboards and weeping guitars.

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    Anomalie – Visions (2017)

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    Continuing with their mission of pushing musical boundaries to deliver some of the most disarming songs ever written, today we have Anomalie’s third full-length release titled “Visions”. Slowly refining the band’s music over the years, the band’s mastermind, Marrok, manages to deliver seven visionary tracks that ooze of melancholy and brutality. If you are a fan of modern Post-Black Metal, this is definitely one of the albums you don’t want to miss in 2017.

    Instantly setting a very somber and melancholic mood with “Vision I: Towards the Sun”, the band warms up with acoustic guitars and eerie vocal arrangements, slowly building up to crushing riffs and mournful vocals. Wasting to time, the band delivers one of their best songs ever with the brilliant “Vision II: The Wanderer”. Perfectly combining aggressive drumming and weeping guitar leads, this track has a very interesting Doomy vibe that perfectly blends with the super catchy riffs and tempo changes.

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    Varaha – Varaha (2017)

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    With the considerable amount of albums that we receive for review each month, it is quite hard for one of them to standout as much as Varaha’s self-titled EP did. Featuring 15 minutes of uniquely blended Post-Rock/Doom/Gothic Rock influences into a highly atmospheric canvas, the band crafts three lush tracks that leave the listener wanting a lot more.

    Opening with the melodramatic riffs of “Cubicle”, we are instantly impressed as the song weaves back and forth between Doom and Post-Rock elements while delivering killer clean vocal sections by Fabio Brienza. Once you feel that you have the band pegged down, they switch the script as the clean vocals turn into blistering shrieks while the intensity of the drumming and riffing picks up. All of this magic happens… on the first track.

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