Receiving the Evcharist is our weekly feature where we pair choice albums with our favorite libations. Drink from the cup of heresy. This week’s offering: Dawn Fades’ S/T and Hop Secret Brewing Company’s Provacateur Porter. Continue reading
post-metal
Don’t Look Back in Anger: Revisiting Chris’s 2018 Anticipated Records
From a prognostication perspective, four out of five ain’t bad as far as picking albums that actually got released (I’ll hopefully see you in 2019, Napalm Death). One thing I’ve definitely come to realize is that no matter the quality of the albums I was most looking forward to at the beginning of the year, it’s always something different that captures my attention when the curtain is finally closed. Maybe I’ll learn my lesson and eschew the whole “Most Anticipated” list next year…
…or not. I heard Darkthrone is supposed to have a new album out.
Anyway, here’s a quick reflection on what I picked and what I thought. Continue reading
Album Review: Sumac – “Love in Shadow”
The music of Sumac seems to always exist in states of perpetual construction and deconstruction. On a macro level, the trio of Aaron Turner, Nick Yacyshyn and Brian Cook frequently conjure up some truly giant apocalypses. And yet on a micro level, there’s all kinds of jagged and uneven sonic qualities brought to the surface that create a texture of crumbling brittleness. Picture a skyscraper heavily damaged, still standing but with huge swaths of rebar exposed. In this metaphor Love in Shadow, Sumac’s most recent 2018 album, tries to patch up the crumbling sections without losing its distinctiveness. Continue reading
Album Review: Flood Peak – “Plagued by Sufferers”
Whenever I listen to an album, I try to see what I can gain from it, and that usually depends on how I am feeling week to week. It’s sometimes the reason why it takes me some time to listen to new music – it’s not the right time for me to dive in. Now, post-metal has been making a comeback in my listening rotation, and I am surprised by the melody it has implemented since I last heard some of it many years ago. In the case of Flood Peak, they have managed to blend post-metal with elements of drone and sludge to create a haunting record that recalls the inconsistency of life and its routines.
For someone who has been experiencing a lot of upheaval these last couple of months, Plagued by Sufferers is a balm to my weary soul. Continue reading
Album Review: Khôrada – “Salt”
The impressionistic artwork that adorns the cover says it all: a being, stitched together from the bones, blood and sinew of many things. The semblance of something recognizable, but also out of joint. Dark and disturbing, but backed by a pastoral beauty. Art is subjective, and whether I’m looking at the image painted by Cedric Wentworth or listening to Salt, the debut from Khôrada, I’m left with the same impression, of recognizing frameworks and influences even as the whole defies easy categorization. In other words, the best kind of music to my ears. Continue reading
