Written by: The Administrator
Let's start with the obvious. As anyone you has listened to their music will attest, attempting to pigeonhole or pin down Horned Wolf in the span of a mere introductory paragraph (or, indeed, the span of a whole review) is a fairly fruitless activity. This crew demonstrates little regard for genre expectation or compositional convention on Become Like They Are, and, as a result, their work sticks out from the crowd in a big way. To be markedly different and hence produce unique results is always an excitingly quality. Refreshing, even. I'll be upfront: I've spent a lot of time with this album this year. A scary amount. If it tops my list o' most listened albums, I won't be surprised in the slightest. If the brilliant title track isn't my most consumed song of the year, I'll eat my boots. Paradoxically, though, this obsessive listening has been to the detriment of my actual ability to wrap up the review. The "listening for enjoyment" phase never really ended, and the "listening for writing" phase never truly began in earnest. In retrospect, this is obviously a Very Good problem to have, as much of the time spent with Become Like They Are has been pure and unadulterated by notions of my own imposed narrative framing or turns of phrase. But! In any case, here we are. Let's get the fuck into it already.
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Written by: Chuck
Gates To The Morning are a worldy band. Not as in world music, rather, they have a stunning ability to craft a recognizable and familiar world in which their sound lives. All of their songs have a distinct connective tissue that binds them to a common essence. There is a mythology to their timbre; concept albums for sonic expression. Walk Between Worlds delivers both a response to, and a continuation of, their stunning 2019 debut Return to Earth, revisiting lyrics and melodies in a progression and expansion of that message. “I have never seen your colors that way” is a strikingly apt description of the music, being that most songs are reworked versions of their presentation in the debut. None lose their general shape and all retain a recognizability and connection to the original form. That is not to say there is no new material--there certainly is, and it is cohesively blended together creating a work that stands on its own.
Guest Post by: Ria Wigley
1. Old Nick
If there’s one thing that defines the microgenre of Vampyric Black Metal other than lyrics and imagery about vampires, it is flamboyant, dare I say CAMP riffs, a big focus on atmospheric synths, and absurd song titles. No band exemplifies this better than Old Nick. In fact, the 16-bit inspired keyboard sounds were almost too silly for me to really enjoy this band upon first listen, but after giving it more time I quickly grew to love it. There is an inherent silliness to the obsessive adherence to a particular aesthetic that most vampire media portray, even when it still manages to be coldly sinister and atmospheric at the same time, and Old Nick is the perfect musical representation of that. If you were hoping for second wave worship with some more gothic elements...well this isn’t that, it’s much better. Plus, who doesn’t love song titles like "Blood, Blood, Blood, Blood, Blood" or "Spooky Wicker Basket 1994 (Yes, a witch!)" Recommended album: A New Generation of Vampiric Conspiracies 
Written by: The Administrator
I must admit: I feel like a bit of a tease when it comes to premiering this particular track. Listening to a single song in isolation from By Torchlight's forthcoming A Night To Remember is a little like ripping a random chapter out of a mystery novel and attempting to piece together the narrative without a true beginning or end. However, a lil' intrigue goes a long way, and in the case of "A Dangerous Game," today's track in question, I hope yer investigative acumen is primed and ready to fire. A Night To Remember is, in the artist's words, a thrilling tale of betrayal and murder. The narrative follows the trials (and trails) of private detective Stephen North, who catches the scent of one murderous Mr. White. Hijinks ensue. "A Dangerous Game" is the fourth track, and, as ye shall soon hear, details the a mourder most foul. Listen below! As always, we'll be lurking on the other side.  Written by: The Administrator
Drone: a severely underappreciated entity 'round these parts. There's something arresting and alluring about the promise of a sustained sound stretching forevermore into the abyss. But, despite the implicit draw, I seldom find myself submerged in the genre. One reliable exception to the trend is the work of Depression Quilt (which, as an aside, is in the running for my favorite band name of all time.) Depression Quilt notably mixes the dronier elements with a dark ambient vibe and flair for atmosphere, resulting in a sonic blend that handily avoids the doldrums of the component parts. It is a conglomerate that provides interesting soundscapes without demanding too much from the listener. 2021's excellent [OVERLAPPING WHISPERS] spent a lot of time in rotation due to a unique ability to calm me down at a point in time when calm was an incredibly scarce resource. Needless to say, I was excited to hear that Depression Quilt was set to release a new album--and on the fantastic Trepanation Recordings, no less. And then when sirshannon asked for a track/music video premiere, I could hardly pass up the opportunity. And so here we are. Check out "The Walking Cure" from the forthcoming [INDISTINCT CLATTER CONTINUES] below! As always, we'll meet ye on the other side.
This year, in an attempt to cover more music that would all-too-oft slip through the very large cracks, we're trying something new and novel around these parts. Namely, we're gonna actually publish the little one-off reviews that were previously (and arbitrarily) deemed too short for publication. In that spirit, here's a mini-review of a single that captures a certain rage.
Written by: The Administrator
Much like, y'know, anyone reading this, I'm consumed by persistent overboiling rage. Such rage necessitates an appropriate soundtrack, and here I am, hitting repeat on Helena Ford's "A Song of Independence" for the fourth time today. This is flag-burning music of the highest and most overt order--an explosive harsh noise catharsis with corresponding conflagration. This 10-minute-and-change track has a strong foundation in the classic power electronic stalwarts. Roaring static and undulating waves of squealing and/or jittering feedback. A torrential white noise. Thrumming bass that sounds like the unholy lovechild of a hovering helicopter and the purr of a malfunctioning mechanized feline. Screaming electronic death knells. An unflinching wall of distortion. A tantalizingly nauseating environ. The noise is consistently overwhelming across the breadth, but the track truly hits a profoundly forceful peak as the vocals enter the fray. The delivery is so gloriously harsh, like unto the last monologue of a drowning artificial intelligence. While brief in the grand scheme of "A Song of Independence" as a whole, the vocals serve as a center point from which the remainder of the track is grounded. I'll be the first to admit that harsh noise, power electronics, and experimental electronic music in general is not my bread and butter. As such, I have few points of comparison, and so any description mustered here is based entirely upon the listening experience itself. Hopefully that is a useful frame. In any case, if you're in the mood for an overwhelming and thoroughly enraged soundscape, "A Song of Independence" will undoubtedly serve you very well. In additional, all proceeds will go to anarchist mutual aid funds, so you really can't go wrong. Check it out below, andpurchase via bandcamp! Helena Ford - A Song of Independence was released July 4th, 2022
Helena Ford can be found:
Bandcamp 
Written by: The Administrator
Here in the ivory tower of our dusty scriptorium, we slumbering scribes often get caught up in our own machinations and obsessions. The other residents of Ye Olde Sleeping Village find us aloof, at times, and in the interest of furthering their musical opinions, a little intervention is rightfully required. Take this morning, for instance, when the guy who rubs cow brains on cow skin shouldered his way through our door and demanded that we leave the highfalutin horseshit behind and set our quills to a death metal review for once. I, for one, am not prepared to argue with anyone drenched in cow brains, let alone a burly tanner, so here we are, presenting a death metal review. Extensive intro aside, let's get bloody, shall we? 
Written by: The Administrator
Doom and thrash might not be the most common (or expected) bedfellows, but there's a certain appeal to the confluence of, say, Motörhead's breakneck bombast and Sleep's fuzzy weight. On their debut 4-track EP–Thrice Majestic, for those taking notes–LA's own The Cimmerian taps into the implicit speedy thrust and plodding gravitas of component genre parts, riding the pendulum betwixt the two with a delightful barbarism. The tracks herein do an excellent job of maintaining variation in terms of sonic makeup, which makes avoiding a track-by-track analysis difficult. It also makes selecting a favorite track near-impossible, as everything feels fresh and essential to the overall picture. In that spirit, let's dive right in! |
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