Author: Rob O'Hara

As the world continually spins and we hurtle through space and time, musical genres make that journey with us, in which they appear to come and go, be renamed and reshaped by bands who continually adapt their sound or stick to a tried and tested formula.

In the world where blackened post-metal is concerned, MØL has reared their beautifully balanced heads to create ‘Diorama‘; a blend of emotions, blasts, post-rock style leads and post-hardcore rhythms.

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Callus, hailing from Preston, England, bring their own interpretation of stoner metal to the fore with their latest release, A Breath of Flesh Air. With plenty of stoner metal riffs, they also incorporate influences from other genres such as doom, thrash and heavy rock. Not only does this cleanse the stoner metal palette, but it shows they don’t want to be conventional in their songwriting process. This, for me, makes them stand apart as an upcoming band as it shows they are willing to experiment and diverge from the aforementioned genres. Sure there are the obvious sludgy tones driving each song, but with tempo changes and interesting rhythms, Callus keeps it fresh enough throughout.

When listening to newer bands, I often try to engage with the idea of who their influences are, but with Callus, it proved more difficult, as they do have a variety of songs and styles on A Breath of Flesh Air. The obvious comparisons, for me anyway, range anywhere from the Melvins, early Mastodon and Orange Goblin, but I wouldn’t be completely surprised if none of these bands has truly influenced them in any shape or form. (more…)

The definition of the word ‘heavy’, in terms of being an adjective, can be described as ‘of great weight; difficult to lift or move’ or ‘of great density; thick or substantial’. Taking this definition into consideration, ‘UNMAKER‘ by LLNN can be, without any doubt, described as, heavy.

With the opening track ‘IMPERIAL’, you straight away get the sense that there is a darkened tension that will need to be explored and to possibly never be relieved. Throughout there is an abstract and distinct darkness that lingers, none more so than in the synth and samples which really take the track into a bone-crushingly heavy realm of destruction and disarray. Let’s be clear about things first though, this isn’t just heavy for the sake of being heavy. There is a melodic sense and a textured denseness that flows throughout and these ideas are explored throughout ‘UNMAKER‘.

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As a fan of post-rock, very few bands come close to encapsulating energy and emotion as MONO. The instrumental band from Japan cover the very meaning of emotive music and you’ll do well to find a band with a better back-catalogue.

MONO have a way of making the listener envisage a time or a place or a memory and allow the listener to interpret their own recollections of those. I always feel emotional when listening to their music as it is never convoluted or at least contrived to be. There are numerous layers within the sound of MONO and I’ve yet to find anyone who listens to post-rock and experimental/instrumental music that doesn’t find their work appealing.
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When a relatively new band arrives in the (modern) metalcore genre, there are a few things I look for in search of me being able to enjoy the experience and have a want for more of what they offer. ‘Awake’ by Rituals covers most of what I instantly look for as they search for the melodic vocal hooks, slamming guitar riffs and thundering rhythms that will have you nodding your head in a timely fashion.

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I hope there are no vegans reading this because this album brings the beef.

Wristmeetrazor‘s newest album ‘Replica of a Strange Love‘ is a concoction of everything I like in metalcore and early screamo influenced bands. They bring the chug-tastic rhythms and aren’t afraid to throw in the octaves, dischords and the odd riff here and there.

‘Our Distress Entwined’ is a solid opener to the record and I feel the chorus has a darker influenced tinge of a certain Bert McCracken (the Used) to it. It grabs your attention with an enthusiastic energy and almost a mathcore influenced guitar style behind the screamo influenced vocals, a potentially potent combination. (more…)

Rob O’Hara

When I listen to music I want to be suitably engrossed in what it has to offer right off the bat and ‘Anabasis’ by ‘L’Effondras’ does just that.

At just under 40 minutes, ‘Anabasis’ is music that any post-rock fan will enjoy without having the feeling of it sounding too familiar in of itself. L’Effondras know how to phrase, extract melodies, find interesting rhythms and structure songs without ever being boring or formulaic and that is exactly what draws me to certain branches of post-rock.

From the interesting bluesy intro to ‘The Grinding Wheel’ I was hooked and intrigued as to how this song can and should progress. The ambient textures that are introduced via the second guitar add a whole dimension of feeling and thought into the riff, along with a progression upon the initial idea. (more…)

Rob O’Hara

If you’re a fan of melodic post-punk blended with ambient noise, heavy bass tones, jarring guitars, and a variety of vocals, then Finland’s Throat might just cover all of your musical needs and more with their newest release, ‘Smile Less’.

Having listened to Throat’s back-catalogue, with ‘Smile Less’ they have honed their sound into a largely cohesive effort inside of each individual song, yet kept their experimental side alive through the release from track to track. It can become all too easy for bands to fall into the trap of producing the same song over and over, but Throat is nowhere near that category of band.

Each song differs from Throat’s interpretation of melodic and sometimes distorted vocals, ambient sounds, and thundering drums. A perfect example of this is the opening track, ‘Conveyor Line’, which draws you in and mesmerizes you with a deep, haunting, and chant-like melody through vocalist, Jukka Mattila. (more…)

Rob O’Hara

With a solid foundation in sludgy stoner metal, Boss Keloid have developed and progressed their sound beyond those genre labels with their latest offering in ‘Family The Smiling Thrush’.

Loaded with progressive grooves, sludgy rhythms, melodic guitar leads and soaring vocals, the band have expanded on their sphere of sounds from ‘Melted on the Inch’.

Evidence of this in the opening track ‘Orang of Noyn’ is apparent, with an exotic feel to the intro and powerful vocals. This track opens up the record perfectly and clocking in at over 9 minutes, will take you on the start of a very epic journey. (more…)