Nachtvorst - "Silence" CD

Forward-thinking post-doom-black metal with swirl and drone...

Nachtvorst are a Rotterdam, Holland-based duo, and their second album, "Silence", shows a remarkable ear for texture and mood, especially for a black doom metal-oriented act. Opening with the epic 11-minute "The Serpent's Tongue", Nachtvorst combine the bewitching ferocity of black metal with classical, drone, post-rock, and electronic textures. "After..." is a lovely piano and string-laden instrumental interlude that shows these guys have skills and interests well beyond the usual, and the album opens up deeper from there.

"Nightwinds" is a moody, atmospheric 9-minute drone/post-metal that strikes hard, while the depressive "Gentle Notice Of A Final Breath" could be a distant cousin of Mono, building to a crushing crescendo before....the track simply cuts off. Not cool. A terrible shame, especially considering this may have been the album's high point. "A Way Of Silence" closes it out with 14 minutes of mid-tempo atmospheres, from speedy thrash to mopey, melodic darkwave. It's a strong track, to be sure, taking us on a journey across a landscape of sorrow and loss. A brilliant ending to a strong, but flawed album.

Code666 / Aural Music

Nachtvorst site

Nachtvorstspace

Neurosis - "Honor Found In Decay" CD

The long-awaited studio album from influential "post-metal" group Neurosis offers much to those who listen. In the wake of other heavy music (don't call them "metal") mavens like Pelican, Isis, or the formidable Russian Circles, Neurosis are like grand-dads now, re-asserting their throne after a 5-year absence.

Neurosis begins with the subtle textures of "We All Rage In Gold", which takes a few minutes to build. By the end of it's 6+ minutes, the band is in full-on sludge mode. This is just about as heavy as rock can get. "At The Well" is initially as plodding/grueling as early SWANS, all slow-motion pummel and agonized wails, before erupting outwards. "My Heart For Deliverance" is a huge 11-minute monolith of down-tuned riffage, scathing vocals, and ambient effects that climax with soft strings and mountainous guitar churn. 

Neurosis haven't missed a beat on "Honor Found In Decay", proving that this former Bay Area hardcore band has evolved well beyond what anyone could've ever imagined. This is a monster of an album, complete with huge riffs, subtle introspection, throat-searing anger, psychedelic textures, and massive drums. Play this one loudly and absorb. 

(Neurot Recordings)

Ufomammut - "Oro: Opus Primum" CD

This veteran Italian group has been garnering some notice these days, and with good reason. Now signed to the esteemed Neurot Recordings label, Ufomammut's 6th album opens with the epic "Empireum" -- a 13-minute slab of mammoth instrumental riff that's equal parts down-tuned stoner metal and evil post-Sunn O))) drone. "Aureum" is even heavier, with spacey electronic elements complimenting the crushing guitars and sparse drumming. Think SWANS meets Hawkwind.

"Infearnatural" slow-churns in the style of Neurosis -- sludgy, slow, and grinding. Other cuts, like the mantric "Magickon", echo this direction. Ufomammut are a crushingly heavy act, focused on low and slow assaults, and "Oro" is a massive juggernaut of seething power. I'm impressed. (Neurot Recordings)

Ufomammut site

Wolves In The Throne Room - "Celestial Lineage" CD

Opening with the ethereal ambiance of the 12-minute "Thuja Magus Imperium", complete with female vocals, it's evident that this isn't your typical black metal album. If anything, "Celestial Lineage" is a post-black metal album, delivering much more than just blasting beats and demonic vocal stylings.

Underneath it all, these eco-warriors eschew the genre's trappings, and create majestic songs that herald a new age of back-to-nature idealism. In fact, both members (and their families) even live (and work) a natural lifestyle and grow their own food. But that's beside the point. The music here blends black metal with ambient, psychedelia, post-rock, and drone in an unusually cohesive fashion.

"Subterranean Initiation" is a bruising and fiery tempest of rolling metal that opens up to a low-and-slow psychedelic/krautrock thud, like a mix between Neurosis and Can, before refueling back to a torrent of cascading black metal stylings. "Woodland Cathedral" is a beautifully evocative stab at medieval Popol Vuh-style ambiance that conjures just what the title implies. "Astral Blood" is another dynamic and masterful 10-minute journey that blasts, lulls, and blasts again. The closing piece, "Prayer Of Transformation", is an epic swell of symphonic post-metal rich with bombast and beauty. A tremendous work, "Celestial Lineage" is Wolves' sonic tour-de-force. (Southern Lord)

Wolves website

Isolation - "Closing The Circle" album

This German doom/post-metal outfit aren't quite there yet, but this debut album shows great promise. Isolation dare to combine the post-punk dirge qualities of Joy Division or Red Lorry Yellow Lorry with the gargantuan post-metal of juggernauts like Neurosis or Isis, with a tendency towards more atmospheric dynamics. The clean vocals move them well beyond traditional categorization, though I get hints of black metal deep within the mix, too, especially on tracks like "Closing A Circle", with its swell of guitars and blastbeats.
Isolation show a willingness to experiment with and subvert the usual metallic genres, and they are able to combine unusual sounds and inspirations. Here's to hoping their next release will be a stronger breakthrough. (Eisenwald)

Isolation website

Year Of No Light - "Ausserwelt" CD

From France comes this formidable and majestic post-metal juggernaut which calls to mind the potent tribal nihilism of bands like Isis or Neurosis (sans caveman grunting, thankfully), all the while maintaining a crystalline drone/shoegaze guitar backdrop that could please fans of Mono or Explosions In The Sky. "Ausserwelt" opens with 20 minutes of "Persephone" (in 2 parts), and these crushing instrumentals aptly exhibit the massive, earth-crushing momentum of what must be one of France's most potent bands.

This album only contains 4 tracks, but make no mistake -- it's 48 minutes of carefully-crafted, intense psychedelic-metal that's so stunningly tectonic that YONL must aim to summon primordial beasts from beyond with every reverberating drum laceration and swirling guitar whirlpool. When it all winds down, on the 13-minute "Abbesse", a fleet of ambient sounds gently lulls the beast back to the abyss. An amazing, powerful, and standout release here. I am duly impressed. (Conspiracy Records)

Year Of No Light site

Year Of No Lightspace

Rosetta - "A Determinism Of Morality" CD

Taking obvious cues from post-metal juggernauts like Neurosis or Pelican, as well as the expansive, atmospheric guitar landscapes of Mono or Explosions In The Sky, this Philadelphia band's 4th full-length resonates with a duality that's impressive, if a bit hard to swallow for purists of either the avante-metal or post-rock scenes. On one hand, Rosetta's moody, churning guitarscapes are often as ambient and melodic (even delicate) as they are metallic. The throat-shredding vocals by Michael Armine act as a bit of a counterpoint to the band's sound, adding a powerful, lung-shearing anguish to the mix. Opening with the harsh "Ayil", which could be Mogwai if they added the guy from Isis on vocals, the stage is set for Rosetta's sprawling and textural songs, self-described cheekily as "metal for astronauts". Certainly, there are some superb, dense, and even beautiful passages here. Witness the chime & drone of "Je N'en Connais Pas la Fin", broken by Armine's gutteral vocals, and ending with a rather impressive epic buildup. Fans of bands like Envy can relate. Me? I really like parts of "A Determinism Of Morality", but can't get my head around the juxtaposition of brutal shouting with soul-crushing loveliness. (Translation Loss)

Rosetta site

Rosettaspace