solstafir – Nine Circles

CANTO: Distant, Revocation, Prong, and More

January 11, 2023January 11, 2023CoreyLeave a comment

Lots of big announcements yesterday, so I wonder what the inbox holds this evening…

Leading off, we have new stuff from Sólstafir to share. A new video for “Dionysus” can be seen here, a track taken from 2020’s Endless Twilight of Codependent Love. That album is available through Season of Mist, should you be a couple years late in giving it a listen.
Next up, we have the latest from Distant. The deathcore juggernauts are releasing their third full-length, Heritage, on February 10th through Century Media. Today, they unveiled a video for a new track titled “Argent Justice”. Give it a watch, and be sure to catch them on tour this March with Bodysnatcher, Angelmaker, and Paleface.
Heavy metal veterans Prong have returned with a new single titled “Breaking Point”. Give the video for that a watch here. Sounds like there might be more new stuff coming in 2023, so we’ll keep an eye out.
California psychedelic metallers Owl are releasing Geomancy on February 17th through Lummox Records, and today you can stream the first single, “Minion Of The Amethyst Cave”, and grab your pre-orders through Bandcamp.
Closing out our Wednesday, we have a new video from Revocation for “Godforsaken”, which you can view below. That song, of course, is taken from Netherheaven, which is out now through Metal Blade.

“Ein Bier… bitte.”
– cmb

The Path to Paradise Begins in Hell — Post-Metal

December 16, 2021December 15, 2021HeraLeave a comment

Look who’s back for the last time!

As a farewell to this column, where I have prattled about my various love affairs with various genres, I have decided to save the genre I have grown to love for last. After all, I still need to continue to expand my musical education before I talk about more genres, so maybe, one day, I will resurrect this column once I have more stories to tell.

Who knows? Maybe down the line, my tastes will have changed enough so I can revisit some of these genres with a new perspective – and maybe talk about some of others that I have still haven’t warmed up in my years as a metal listener (looking at you, thrash).

Now, at the most current point of my story, I think it’s time to bring up a genre that I have noticed has gotten more traction over the years and has moved on from its rather humble beginnings. After all, this genre seems to have gotten under my skin and I want to talk about it at length.

It’s time we talk about Post-Metal.

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CANTO: Sólstafir, Like Moths to Flames, Veil of Maya, and More

October 6, 2021October 6, 2021CoreyLeave a comment

This week is starting to taper off, and I’m really excited about it.

So this sounds really freaking cool. Sólstafir and Vreid are teaming up for a very unique concert stream, scheduled for October 15th and taking place on the mountaintops of Iceland and Norway. It’s scheduled for 3:00 PM EST, and you can tune in here.
This is a Europe thing I can’t participate in, but for those that can… I’m jealous. Arcturus and Iotunn have a run of shows planned in January and February of next year. Having seen Arcturus live once before, I would love to do that again someday in a not-MDF setting.
Monuments released the first single off of their upcoming new album, the name of which either does not exist yet or I simply can’t find. Anyway, that will be out sometime in 2022, and the clip for “Lavos” can be seen here.
Like Moths to Flames have announced a new EP, Pure Like Porcelain, which will be out on November 5th through UNFD. Check out the new track, “The Preservation of Hate”, right here.
And we’ll wrap up with the new video from Veil of Maya for “Outrun”. That new single is available through Sumerian Records. They’re also on tour throughout October, if you’re interested in that.

“Ein Bier… bitte.”
– cmb

CANTO: Mono, Insomnium, Armored Saint, and More

July 20, 2021July 20, 2021CoreyLeave a comment

Alright, after a some time off I think I’m finally getting the wheels turning again. Not at work, of course. But everywhere else, for sure.

This is from last week, but since I can’t get enough of Insomnium I’m going to share it anyway. The Finnish melodic death metal legends announced a new EP, Argent Moon, which is set for a September 17th release through Century Media. In conjunction, they also dropped a new track and video titled “The Antagonist”. Personally, I love the melancholy vibe of the last few singles I’ve heard. This band can do no wrong.
Armored Saint have announced fresh tour dates with Black Label Society and Prong. It’s a very brief run of five shows, all out west, from December 27th through the 31st. The only band I’ve seen live out of this bunch recently was BLS, and based on that alone I can confirm these shows are worth attending if you can manage it.
Bastardur, the crust punk project from Aðalbjörn Tryggvason (Sólstafir), has officially signed on with Season of Mist and announced new album details. Satan’s Loss of Son will be out on October 29th, and you can preview what’s to come with the new single titled “Viral Tumor”.
Let’s close out a very weird day with the new single and video from Mono, who I love dearly. This track it titled “Riptide”, which is taken from Pilgrimage of the Soul. That album is set for a September 17th release through Pelagic Records.

“Ein Bier… bitte.”
– cmb

Album Review: Sólstafir — Endless Twilight of Codependent Love

November 5, 2020November 4, 2020IanLeave a comment

The one thing that has been the most consistent about the almost quarter of a century long career of Icelandic giants Sólstafir is their inconsistency. Certainly not in terms of quality, but in their sound. There’s always been a strong tendency to break any semblance of genre rules and regulations and do whatever their hearts desire. This has led them through the labels of black metal, post rock, grunge, art rock and more. But to them, they’ve always just done their own thing, and on their newest effort Endless Twilight of Codependent Love, they’re even harder to pin down.

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