Third Avulse full length. Closer to I Am The Liquor than that was to Granted but Grace, We Are All Code takes black metal, d beat, and punk and mixes them to form a new whole. Whereas IATL was nihilistic and very abrupt on the state of a life, WAAC is rather themed by the slipping away of the norm, and the scrambling and grasping to retain some sense of sanity. Hard sci-fi fans will note the M. John Harrison reference.
I posted Vaniardur's space themed Rhea Before Titan a little while back. I liked the spacy-dark ambient-cum-instrumental black metal that it presented. Now Vaniardur is taking on Tolkien. At best, this sounds like a interlude on a symphonic LotR black metal band. At worst, it sounds like Rakoth. The synth guitars are the icing on the weird ass cake. Now, just because I don't like this release does it mean that I don't appreciate Vaniardur. Their talent is apparent, and they have a great ear for melody. I just think in the context, I appreciate less organic music when it deals with a less organic medium like space. I've just heard this record before many times, some worse, some better.
First thing, I see this cover with the text in what appears to be the Harry Potter font. Bad feeling right away. Fortunately, the music doesn't remind me of teenaged wizards. Prison of Mirrors plays a variation on the atmospheric black metal/post black (not blackgaze) that every one and their grim and frostbitten grandmother seems to be playing today. The things that set them apart are their extremely well crafted songs, their intensity, and not treating the black metal parts of their songs as afterthoughts. I enjoy this. You might, you might not. Do what thou wilt...
As opposed to the Cityscape Drawn in Black Ink EP I just posted. I am damn sure this is not a joke. Vuota also blends post punk with black metal but with a steadier hand and much more terrifying results. Drop a whole shit load of LSD and listen to this, then record your reaction. I need samples for the next WF record. This record is not your usual BM beast so if you want bullet belts stay away.
Where the fuck did the term "depressive rock" come from? And why the fuck does it refer to bands like Lifelover and CDiBI, who are DSBM/post punk combined for the most part, and not to bands that are depressive rock n' roll like Band of Horses, Carissa's Wierd, or Sinners and Saints? I just don't know. I've seen the name Cityscape thrown around very recently and have seen songs from his first EP get quite a few plays on last.fm and youtube. That first EP was more directly black metal, almost overwhemingly DSBM. This new EP is a different beast. He has talent, that's apparent. However, the Line 0 EP seems like someone tried to marry suicidal black metal and post punk, much like lifelover was able to, but much more harsh and jarring. I'm not 100% convinced this isn't a huge Kaufmaneque joke, the last track is their version of elevator muzak (entitled Hellevator) and their is a section in the third track with a person saying "Fuck youuu" in a childlike inflection which caused me to spit out my drink and laugh my ass off. Joke or not, at least the first track is good for what it is.
Vox Clamantis are an atmospheric black metal band. The atmosphere they are trying to present to us however is being stuck in the middle of a swarm of killer bees. You are really stoned and the bees are stoned too. So it sounds like a constant warbling buzzing. If you couldn't follow me in that rambling shit, let me break it down for you. I love the songwriting that Vox Clam is putting forth here (it actually reminds me a little of Lurker of Chalice), but this record has the worst high end I have ever heard. Its like they high shelfed everything but the drums at an extra 10dB, threw a reverb on it, a very fast chorus onto that, and then another reverb. They even suggest using the bass boost when listening to it. Again, this is far from a bad record, just a bad sounding one. I wanna see what Vox Clam can do with a solid low end and no oscillation above 10kHz.
The first demo of a brand new band. Of themselves, Aerugo says,
"Split between New York (E – all instruments) and Indiana (X – vocals), Aerugo are a mixed breed of black metal and doom with some ambient influence. Formed in 2012, this is their first demo.Split between New York (E – all instruments) and Indiana (X – vocals), Aerugo are a mixed breed of black metal and doom with some ambient influence. Formed in 2012, this is their first demo."
I'd have to say they are a very raw brand of doomy black metal, and they need more bass in the mix. The second track here is the stronger of the two. These guys just need to hone their craft a little bit more and I can see them putting out some really interesting stuff soon.
http://www.facebook.com/BlackMetalOwnsYou
I'll make a twitter for it when Fear of Eternity gives up their Casios.
I have a lot of your submissions backed up guys, and I'm gonna try to get to them soon. I'm starting with this project, Vaniardur. My interest was piqued when I read the title. The music is pretty much exactly what I thought it would be: layers of keyboards over instrumental black metal. Usually I hate keyboard black metal, but the mixing of dark ambient and/or space themes always gets me. This music goes perfectly with the state of mind I've been in recently. If you enjoy space themed DA like Undiscovered Moons of Saturn or SFE, you'll probably enjoy this.
My fourth LP as Auspicium. I'd like to think its the best one yet, but judge for yourself. Atmospheric black metal. 6 songs.
