For the most part, Solstafir’s seventh full-length album follows in the footsteps of its predecessor, 2017’s Berdreyminn (Season of Mist). The songwriting still largely favors the band’s subdued side with influences ranging from Post Punk, Prog Rock, and Ambient greatly informing the Post Metal whole. Tracks like ‘Rokkur’ and ‘Her Fall From Grace’ are heavy on atmosphere with extensive space to breathe and ‘Or’ throws a curveball with its almost Jazz-tinged rhythms.
After a few out-of-genre collaborations with Lume and Catchechism, REZN’s third proper album returns to their signature Electric Wizard meets Elder on Quaaludes style. Chaotic Divine (Off The Record Label) is right in line with its predecessors, for the most part, pairing the sprawling length of 2017’s Let It Burn with the broadened atmospherics and instrumentation of 2018’s Calm Black Water. However, the heightened Ambient and Post Rock influences have resulted in what is easily their most ambitious effort so far.
Considering the lengthy silence between Chrome Waves self-titled EP in 2012 and 2019’s A Grief Observed, it’s great that the group has been so prolific since their comeback. Their second full-length album, Where We Live (Disorder Recordings), picks up where its predecessor left off while featuring its own set of changes. Dustin Boltjes (ex-Skeletonwitch, Sacred Leather) is on drums in place of the tragically passed Bob Fouts, and the eclectic influences behind the band’s melancholic sound are given room to expand even further. Continue reading
At first impression of Uniform’s latest LP Shame (Sacred Bones) the impression I’m left with is that this is a strange album, if not group. And don’t confuse strange for off-putting, quite the contrary actually. Song after song I’m legitimately curious as to how the next slab of noise and guitars is going to render out. Shame doesn’t come across as musicians playing in unison as much as an A.I. becoming aware of what music is and taking a stab at it. Continue reading
Icelandic Metal collective Dynfari will release their new opus, Myrkurs er þörf, on September 18th via Code 666! Their fifth album furthers the narrative of their haunting mix of atmospheric Black Metal and post-Rock music. To match the kvlt inspired sonics, the iconic looking album artwork was crafted by Metaztasis (Watain, Behemoth). Their last album got high marks from our site, and this new release figures to be one of the top releases this fall. Pre-orders are live on Bandcamp now and you can stream their new single, “Langar nætur”, here at Ghost Cult!
Have you ever heard a debut album from a band and wondered how they will, if possible, top their material in a follow-up record? Lesser Glow provides us an excellent example of consistency and development in their sophomore record Nullity (Pelagic Records), full of heavy, melodic, and huge wall of sounds that will keep you wanting more. The band, originated in Boston, Massachusetts, brings a different perspective to the Doom Metal world, adding the different influences of other sub-genres of Metal like Hardcore, Post-Hardcore, Post Rock, and more. Coming up from their amazing debut Ruined (Pelagic Records) Lesser Glow keeps bringing a fresh and new perspective in a genre that arguably has a lot of bands sounding the same. Continue reading
Tune in to Ipepec Recordings on YouTube to watch ISIS perform live throughout the 2000s from their Clearing The Eye DVD The video will only air from today through June 24th as part of Ipecac’s “Stay In Cinema”. Continue reading
Apparently pronounced ‘parentes 0 parentes’, Danish quintet (0) displayed arty leanings right from its beginnings: the four tracks on debut EP (0) (Self-Released) affirming the band’s fascination with numbers by being named merely after the track lengths. Debut album SkamHan (Napalm Records) expands to give imaginative song titles and further explore the dark experimentalism that was tested within that initial foray. Continue reading
Well, I had a completely different set of expectations heading into Loathe‘s I Let It in and It Took Everything (SharpTone Records). See, one of my co-DJs on my radio show Stress Factor (cheap plug) had played ‘Gored’ and ‘Broken Vision Rhythm’ a few weeks back so I thought I was headed face-first into a sea of gnarly down-tuned Hardcore riffs with some Industrial elements tossed in for good measure. Not quite. Continue reading
Proggy post-Black Metal band Karg is back with a new full-length album Traktat, out this Friday, February 7th, 2020, via AOP Records. The evocative, inspirational project started out in 2006 as a solo endeavor from J.J. of Harakiri For The Sky in Salzburg Austria but is now more of a fleshed-out, full-band project. Fans of atmospheric Black Metal, post-Metal, Blackgaze, prog, and drone styles will love the emotional ebb and flow of Traktat with all the gravitas of the greats of the genre. The band will celebrate the release with a European tour, kicking off tomorrow night in Oberhausen, Germany at Helvete. You can stream the entire new album, right here at Ghost Cult, right now! Continue reading