It’s clear to all and sundry who follow metal review sites that 2016 has been another bang-up year for extreme music. Hardcore-inflected brutality, slickly produced progressive epics, and mind-bending tech-death journeys have had reviewers swooning with delight. Sure, I’m personally not so much into all of that, but even I have found several outstanding releases in the past six months that have made their way into constant rotation.
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CANTO: A new song from Ihsahn, updates from Goatwhore, and more
“At night walking on the tracks, change my perspective. Idle hands with wounds and cracks, stale, ineffective. But past the veil, the memories of things. Still so in love with you. So dense this strife. Kicked the life. I feel this weight upon my heart.”
- Looks like that Chris Adler experiment with Megadeth has been going well. Dave Mustaine has come out and said that if the Lamb of God man wants the gig… it’s all his.
- We haven’t album sales in a reason (for a good reason, I assure you). But why not take a look now? There weren’t any big new releases to speak of, but you can see how the likes of Inverloch and Wolvserpent stacked up.
- Goatwhore is back in the studio tracking new music! There’s a chance their seventh album could be out some time later this year.
- Anybody else super jacked up about Ihsahn newest album, Arktis., set to drop on April 8th. Until then, you can stream a new track called “Pressure” here.
- And there was also that ridiculous video of Aric Improta backflipping between drum kits. Just… not human.
“Ein Bier… bitte.”
– Corey
Initial Descent: March 4, 2016
Another Friday is here — a little lighter than last week’s, to be sure, but some definite highlights all the same. We’ve got Inverloch, we’ve got Wolvserpent, we’ve got a new split from Primitive Man and Northless…you name it. Plenty to satiate yourselves with. So forget about what I’m writing here and get yourselves started. Here’s what’s on tap for Friday, March 4:
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Album Review: Wolvserpent – “Aporia:Kala:Anata”
Drone is an ambitious path to tread. Couple those doom influences with the idea of forcing it all together into a single 40 minute track EP, and we’re taking paths very few should. In fact, upon learning what Wolvserpent were attempting to do with Aporia:Kala:Ananta, I almost immediately turned away from it. Surely nothing can come from such an idea. It must sound forced and uninteresting. Too ambitious to impact an audience in any way. Yet, here I sit, having pressed play on this single track several times now, each time being driven further into a mental abyss. And, somehow, becoming more addicted to it. Definitely one of the more complex pieces of music to be released in 2016, Wolvserpent deserve credit for everything they manage to do with seemingly so little. It’s a trip you’ll both love and hate simultaneously. Continue reading
Nine Circles Ov… February 2016
It’s not just rumor that I listen to an asinine amount of music. Previewing almost every single promotional album that comes through the door fits in with my obsessive personality. February 2016 really tested me. No less than one hundred and forty-two albums came through our rotating doors. And one hundred and forty-two is the number of albums I clicked play on to test them and suggest for review. So I’m a bit tired in an auditory sense. But I digress. In today’s post we will run through a bunch of larger releases that I hope no one missed and then feature nine smaller releases that are top notch. February was a great month. And another sign that 2016 is headed in very much the right direction. Continue reading
