Post-Metal

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    E-L-R - Vexier (2022)

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    Unleashing waves of trance inducing music, today we have Switzerland’s E-L-R and their sophomore release “Vexier”. As it is to be expected from a Prophecy Productions release, this album goes beyond atmospheric and into hypnotic territories with a brilliant mixture of Doom, Shoegaze, and Post-Metal elements. For around 46 minutes, the listener is nicely transported by the intricately crafted expansive music in this release.

    Opening with the dreamy “Opiate the Sun”, the band slowly unravels a 12-minute piece filled with haunting atmospherics and powerful distorted guitars. Think of The Ocean paired up with some Tide From Nebula and some sprinkles of SubRosa, as other tracks like “Three Winds” and “Seeds” further enshroud the listener into the band’s unique and expansive sound.

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    Sylvaine - Nova (2022)

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    Being huge fans of multi-instrumentalist Sylvaine and her enchanting music, we completely cleared our review queue and went deep into the intricacies and layers of “Nova”. Perfectly balancing the fragility of genres like Shoegaze and Atmospheric Metal with the aggression of Black Metal and Post-Metal influences, this release marks Sylvaine’s best effort to date with around 45 minutes of complex enchanting music.

    Setting a very ethereal vibe with the album title track, things quickly escalate with the piercing guitars of “Mono No Aware”. This track perfectly blends onslaughts of harsh screams alongside dreamy vocal melodies, creating a very intense and yet melancholic atmosphere. We are always quite impressed with the build-up of songs like “Nowhere, Still Somewhere”, which slowly hypnotize the listener with siren-like vocal arrangements and shoegazey guitars.

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    Eight Bells - Legacy of Ruin (2022)

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    It is rare to find truly unique bands these days, luckily for us Eight Bells answers the call with their powerful release “Legacy of Ruin”. Featuring an extremely crafty amalgamation of Post-Metal, Doom Metal, and even some Black Metal-ish elements, this release unleashes over 45 minutes of intricate and engaging aural assaults.

    Led by Melynda Jackson, the band quickly establishes their piercing atmosphere with the opener “Destroyer”, a piece filled with piercing guitars and harrowing and contrasting vocal arrangements. Creating a very sinister mood, the release is far from one dimensional as “The Well” explores calmer and yet disturbing interludes alongside faster and punishing onslaughts of heaviness.

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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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