Sometimes an album is able to capture a moment in time and this EP by Phoenix, Arizona's six piece Hellas Mounds does just that with an instrumental offering of dark, brooding post-rock that reflects the turmoil raging in my mind. The songs build from glacially paced emotive moods to crashing crescendos reminiscent of GYBE! and the best of the genre.
Tracklist :
1 Passage I
2 Movement I
3 Movement II
4 Passage II
5 Movement III
A Death Cinematic is a one man project originating from the midwestern United States that features multiple layers of looped guitar and improvisations done with minimal post recording manipulation. The EP begins menacingly and sets the tone for a journey through madness including washes of anger and detuned wonder. The final track opens with amp noise and feedback but gives way to a beautifully simple guitar that awakens emotions long thought dead. I can't end without mentioning the packaging for this disc. A Death Cinematic is an artist of many disciplines and the digipack is entirely hand made with wood veneer, cardboard, artwork, and a poem typed on paper that he constructed. In an increasingly digital era this is a release that I treasure for it's visual and tactile art as well as it's audio.
Tracklist :
1 Your Fate Twisting, Epic In It's Crushing Moments
2 .
3 In The Tumbling Dawn Lights, Their Eyes Fall Frozen Through The Mist And Rain
This ep finds Zahedan Iran's Zakhm mining the depths of human misery on it's third release. The minimalist ambient/DSBM project of lone member Sad is entrancing and draws the listener into a world of pain and suffering that is raw and oppressive through the first five tracks with the last drops of blood exiting during Last Tear. The end track leaves us with the contemplation of what remains in the shadow of our existence.
Tracklist :
1 Sad Funeral (intro)
2 The Way for Suicide
3 Must Kill
4 Last Winter's Sunset
5 End of Life
6 Last Tear
7 Push Me Down
Godsaga is the third full length release from London Ontario's Sig:Ar:Tyr which is comprised solely of Daemonskald playing all instruments and singing. The album blends black metal, folk and ambient beautifully and deals with the concept of loss and sacrifice in the Icelandic epic of Egil's saga and Odin's hanging from Yggdrasil. The blending of acoustic guitar and blackened riffs works to great effect and projects a mood consistent with the lyrical themes. The level of musical proficiency is high and impresses with the fact that it is all accomplished by one man.
Tracklist:
1 Nights All Nine
2 Midwinter Sacrifice
3 Blood of the North
4 Black Sun's Bane
5 Eternal Return
6 Sleep of the Sword
7 Sonatorrek
8 Godsaga
9 Distant Northern Shore
Garden of Sadness is a one man project from Poland consisting of Marek playing and singing on this depressive opus full of despair and isolation. The album progresses at a funereal pace with the only trajectory being downward as the listener is drawn into an existence rife with anguish. The mood created is unrelenting and serves as a fitting soundtrack for those that feel the heavy burden of this life.
Tracklist :
1 Distorted in Pain
2 My Empty Life
3 Chains of Infirmity
4 Another Failure
5 Surrounded by Their Laughter
6 Kill Another Day
7 No Shelter From Suffering
8 Self - Loathing
Neon is the second album from the German post metal/shoegaze band consisting on this release of multi instrumentalist Herbst and vocalist Neige. The blend of light and dark that is this genre is infused with jazzy chords in some of the softer parts to create an interesting contrast with the more blackened moments. The album plays with an almost soothing effect and is realised in an overall optimistic mood.
Tracklist:
1 Minusmensch
2 These Nights Were Ours
3 Pulse/Surreal
4 Neige de Mars
5 Coma
6 Neon
Wintercult is a one man project from the Russian Federation in the depressive black metal genre. The production on this album is raw which furthers the atmosphere of misery that is unrelenting and oppressive. The vocals exist in the realm of suicidal agony and take the music to a place haunted by the demons of isolation and despair. The album cover is a perfect representation of the images conjured during a listen to this fine release.
Tracklist:
1 Frozen in Melancholy
2 Neverending Selfhatred
3 Submerged in Desolation
4 Nocturnal Silence
5 The Somber End
Vigri is a five piece band from Reykjavik, Iceland and on this first self released album they deliver a dreamy, melancholy pop masterpiece. They seem to have an innate feel for haunting melodies that are all their own and the vocals shine with their immediately memorable sound. Apparently the album was mostly recorded with a laptop and one microphone in various places around Iceland including a restaurant, retirement home and church. This is amazing considering the quality of the recording. I feel lucky for having stumbled across this album and look forward to future releases.
Tracklist :
1 Awakening
2 Drag Down the Dark
3 Animals
4 Coin Finder
5 (fyrir) Skikkan Skaparans
6 Sleep
7 Maternal Machine
8 I Augsyn
9 Fume
10 These are the Eyes
This second full length from Cork, Ireland's, Altar of Plagues brings an atmospheric black metal gem. With extended songs the band is able to cover plenty of ground and seamlessly blend black metal, post rock and ambient into a cohesive whole that draws you in and keeps you listening. The inclusion of a vocal lament by an elderly woman in a funerary custom during the third track adds to the weight of this listen. The mood is set early and captivates on this impressive release.
Tracklist :
1 Neptune is Dead
2 Feather and Bone
3 When the Sun Drowns in the Ocean
4 All Life Coverges to Some Center
Pale Roses is a neofolk band from Lorient, France that keeps it stripped down to mostly acoustic guitar and vocals with splashes of bass, piano and drums. Their influences are laid plain with a song called Sol Invictus and like it's namesake it conjures images of plaintive balladry on the moors. The vocals are prominent in the mix and while not always perfect they project a mood of a troubled troubador watching the world disintegrate. The video I'm including is not on this album but it's the only one I can find and it is also a great cover of a Saxon song.
Tracklist :
1 Flow My Tears
2 Four Winters
3 Sol Invictus
4 Lord Gregory
5 Heroes Dawn
6 When the War is Over
7 Niflheim
8 Pagan
9 Two Ravens
10 Are You Ready( For Total War) ?
