Hearing Thantifaxath’s debut full-length Sacred White Noise for the first time in 2014 formed an epiphany, an immediate realization of witnessing the manifestation of an instant contemporary classic in the field of black metal, a work of art almost too strange, horrifying and beautiful to comprehend, and one that has stood the test of time. Those of us ravenously chasing the first high of experiencing the album got their fix in the form of 2017’s magnificent, and aptly titled, Void Masquerading as Matter EP. At long last, we have Hive Mind Narcosis, a new portal to the collective creative ps ..read more

There is no other band out there like Botanist.  A lot of bands make this claim for themselves, and for most of them it is more or less true, but in this case there is no denying it: there is no other band out there like Botanist.  From the aesthetics to the instrumentation to the execution, everything about this project is both wholly unique and contrary to the dour, sometimes hostile black metal that this project shares its roots with, pun very much intended.  On VIII: Selenotrope, mastermind Otrebor returns to solo recording and expands the already inventive music they are k ..read more

Avant-garde metal is by definition unrestrained, experimental, and innovative. Perhaps more so than in other metal subgenres, legacy avant-metal bands might have a harder time outdoing themselves through fear of retreading old paths or simply going in an uninteresting direction. Dødheimsgard make a triumphant return with their first material in eight years with Black Medium Current; this is DHG once again pushing their sound forward with full force in ways blackened as much as avant-garde, and the result is one of the finest albums of the year so far. 2015’s A Umbra Omega was an album that ..read more

In college, a friend of mine had a radio show called “Indie, Electronics, and The Issues.” He would play indie rock and electronica, then talk about “the issues.” Side note; the show eventually turned into my friend just playing whale songs and self help books. Anyways, Severance, the latest from Netherlands, could alternately be titled “Metal, Industrial, and The Issues.” It’s a mix of sludgy and industrial sounds with lyrical content dealing with a variety of current issues; animal rights, toxic masculinity, etc. Yet despite Netherlands leader Timo Ellis’ best efforts, Severance never reach ..read more

Longtime readers of this site know that we’ve been on the tip about Imperial Triumphant for quite a while now.  Between profiles, interviews, podcast episodes and, of course, album reviews (of which I’ve had the distinct pleasure of supplying two, plus a review of their tea collab), I think it’s safe to say we are pretty well sold on their particular brand, nebulous as it may be at times.  Even though Alphaville is barely two years old as of this writing, Spirit of Ecstasy feels like a long time coming.  Maybe it’s just because I can’t get enough of what they put out. As you ma ..read more