avant-garde metal

Album Review: Imperial Triumphant — “Spirit of Ecstasy”

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Imperial Triumphant - Spirit of Ecstasy

Longtime readers of this site know that we’ve been on the tip about Imperial Triumphant for quite a while now.  Between profiles, interviews, podcast episodes and, of course, album reviews (of which I’ve had the distinct pleasure of supplying two, plus a review of their tea collab), I think it’s safe to say we are pretty well sold on their particular brand, nebulous as it may be at times.  Even though Alphaville is barely two years old as of this writing, Spirit of Ecstasy feels like a long time coming.  Maybe it’s just because I can’t get enough of what they put out.

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Album Review: White Ward — “False Light”

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white ward - false light

White Ward is not afraid of change. From the adventurous and heartbreaking Futility Report to the intricate, dangerous intimacy of Love Exchange Failure White Ward is mutable, changing sound according to their experiences – a testament to a moment in time. With an atmosphere akin to fluorescent lights illuminating a dark hallway, the band continue to push their musical limits, blending their brand of post-black metal with dark jazz and synth sections making the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. False Light, their third album, is a continuation of their sonic explorations on Love Exchange Failure with a new, refined eye, one that speaks deeply to my avant-garde tastes.

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Album Review: Thy Catafalque — “Vadak”

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thy catafalque - vadak

I will say this again, louder this time: Tamás Kátai has one of the most impressive and extensive musical catalogs, standing on par with the likes of both Devin Townsend and Colin Marston, which makes him one of the hardest-working musicians in this industry. Also, to no one’s surprise, I am here once again talking about my love for Thy Catafalque and how ecstatic I was when I heard that the band was releasing a new album. Having loved last year’s Naiv, I knew Vadak was going to exceed my expectations and further show how music can be expanded across textures, sounds, and atmosphere into a cohesive experience worth its runtime – a true avant-garde metal staple.

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Thy Catafalque’s Tamás on “Vadak,” creating music on a Commodore Amiga, the art of blending multiple styles and genres, and much more!

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Photo by Orsolya Karancz

Thy Catafalque hold the great distinction of simply sounding like no other band out there.  Hot off the heels of their stunning 2020 release Naiv comes Vadak, and it’s no secret to say the entire 9C crew is in the bag for more twisting songs that break genre convention yet maintain a level of heaviness that will induce even the most discerning of metalheads to thrash with abandon.

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The Path to Paradise Begins in Hell — Avant-Garde Metal

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The Path to Paradise Begins In Hell

Surprise! Thought you had seen the last of me, huh?

Well, joke’s on you.

I am not dead. I have just been incredibly busy and now I return to bestow upon you more stories about listening to different genres. The story will soon end, but I have such sights to show you in the meantime.

Now that I have graduated and have more free time, I can talk about the more important things in life: the weirdness of music. Granted, my journey coming into this genre has been an interesting one, and while I aim to show you things that most people aren’t familiar with, I also want people to listen to these albums. Thus, I started with albums that have less barriers to cross than others that I will mention for the sake of the story.

It’s time we talk about Avant-Garde Metal.

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