One thing I keep stating is that black metal is at its most interesting when it escapes the confines of the genre or ‘trve black metal’ and explores different sounds. Post-black metal is a genre that revels in experimentation and So Hideous are a prime example of a band from this subgenre pushing black metal to its experimental limits and mixing in a multitude of elements from outside of the genre. None But A Pure Heart Can Sing is the third album from the New York post-black metal band and it is a sonic tour de force combining black metal fury with cinematic post-metal with the inclusion of a string section, a horn section and Afrobeat percussion. It sounds like a head fuck of a combination and at times it is but it is also absolutely glorious.
None But A Pure Heart Can Sing is a compact album with five songs spread out over 32 minutes but there is so much jam packed into those 32 minutes that it seems like a far longer album than it actually is. The five songs themselves are all unique to themselves from the opening maelstrom of guitars and strings that is Souvenir (Echo) which is equally dissonant as it is epic. The Emerald Pearl mixes elements of a spaghetti western soundtrack with post-metal aesthetics and fantastic use of the horn section which is followed by the wonderful Intermezzo which has a vast post-rock feel to it with gorgeous melodies before it switches to gentle shoegaze like guitars, piano and strings and provides us with some of the most jaw-droppingly beautiful music on the album. The longest song on the album Motorik Visage is probably the most ambitious with a mix of furious post-black metal and classically influenced sequences with greater prevalence on the luscious string section whilst still managing to remain heavy as hell with a suitably unhinged vocal performance from frontman Christopher Cruz.
I absolutely love it when metal gets out of its comfort zone and leaps forth into the realms of creativity and experimentation and So Hideous are a band that have absolutely blown me away with this album. It’s not really a fitting band name as this album is far from hideous it is absolutely stunning. A blinding mix of the furious, the cinematic and the experimental. It is one of those rare albums that I wish was a bit longer. 9/10
Nightshade - Sounds Of Dark Matter (My Kingdom Music) [Paul Scoble]
Nightshade are in the second part of their career. The first part lasted from 1998 to 2005 and produced one album in 2001’s Nebula Trance. The band, who are based in Lausanne, Switzerland, features two members; Tom on Guitar, Bass and Programming and Dave on Vocals. The pair decided they had unfinished business and reformed in 2020, Sounds Of Dark Matter is the first album that Nightshade have released since reforming.
Nightshade are in the second part of their career. The first part lasted from 1998 to 2005 and produced one album in 2001’s Nebula Trance. The band, who are based in Lausanne, Switzerland, features two members; Tom on Guitar, Bass and Programming and Dave on Vocals. The pair decided they had unfinished business and reformed in 2020, Sounds Of Dark Matter is the first album that Nightshade have released since reforming.
Nightshade’s sound is firmly rooted in Industrial, the fact that the band were first active in the late nineties and early two-thousands isn’t that surprising as some of the material does have the feel of that era of Industrial, but it’s not as simple as that. With the bands reformation they have added the ‘Blackened’ prefix to the Industrial label, something that wouldn’t have been used on their first time round as the term ‘Blackened’ was better known in association with eggs, rather than with music. Sounds Of Dark Matter does have a Blackened edge to it, you can hear this in the music on at least two different tracks, and the harsh vocals that are used throughout this album could have come from a Black Metal album, nice and nasty. The track New Era, probably has the most obviously Blackened material on it as there are industrial sounding blast beat on it, the rest of the track features chanting (so black metal), and some very effective electronics that flow nicely with the Guitar riffs and in some places it reminds me of Black Metal/Psy-Trance lunatics Mesarthim.
The material that doesn’t feel that Blackened is similar to early 2000’s Industrial (for obvious reasons), there are parts that are reminiscent of Rammstein, there are some parts that are quite Strapping Young Lad/Early Devin Townsend, and a lot of originality as well. The beats are mid-paced with lots of energy, and the electronic parts are handled very well, particularly on the tracks where the distorted guitar takes a back seat, Zero Matter Gravity for example has mix of harsh and nasty guitar led industrial and minimal electro pop that, despite the disparate nature of the structure, works very well because the transitions between the different sounding parts are handled very well. Final track A Call From Distant Skies is another interesting track, that is dramatic and measured, there is the feel of a soundtrack, when the basic sound grows to huge proportions. The track has a slow and mellow piano part before the dramatic electronica drives the song to a quiet end. Sounds Of Dark Matter is a very good piece of Industrial Metal. The material is rooted in the early 2000’s but with the addition of blackened elements and a lot of nuance the band have brought everything up to date to be a really good contemporary Industrial album. 7/10
Weedpecker - IV: The Stream Of Forgotten Thoughts (Stickman Records) [Rich P]
Weedpecker is back after multiple lineup changes with a huge step forward from their back catalog with IV: The Stream Of Forgotten Thoughts. A band named Weedpecker can sometimes do themselves an injustice with the assumption that they are just a bong-hitting obsessed stoner band with not much more to offer. This could be no further from the truth. The album is a complex, psych/stoner mind-bending journey that shows the band’s maturity and growth, and it delivers on all fronts. The band leans in heavy on the psych with this one, and the result may be one of the best albums of 2021. The record opens strong with No Heartbeat Collective which is a nice hint of what is to come throughout the album: heavy, driving rock with those psych overtones that take this record to the next level. It’s a ripper of an opening track and the perfect way to start the journey.
Weedpecker is back after multiple lineup changes with a huge step forward from their back catalog with IV: The Stream Of Forgotten Thoughts. A band named Weedpecker can sometimes do themselves an injustice with the assumption that they are just a bong-hitting obsessed stoner band with not much more to offer. This could be no further from the truth. The album is a complex, psych/stoner mind-bending journey that shows the band’s maturity and growth, and it delivers on all fronts. The band leans in heavy on the psych with this one, and the result may be one of the best albums of 2021. The record opens strong with No Heartbeat Collective which is a nice hint of what is to come throughout the album: heavy, driving rock with those psych overtones that take this record to the next level. It’s a ripper of an opening track and the perfect way to start the journey.
You get a bit of everything with IV: driving, heavy stoner rock with Fire Far Away. Some trippy psych (with a bit of soulful sax!) on The Trip Treatment. Some heavy stoner jamming on what may be my favorite track, Big Brain Monsters. The closer, Symbiotic Nova, wraps it all up nicely with all the best elements we heard through the 40 plus minutes prior. Overall, this record was a huge surprise for me. The level of growth from this band was unexpected and they may have found the formula to make the leap to the next level with this lineup. IV is a perfect blend heavy and psychedelic rock that never overdoes it on either side and never outstays its welcome with too long songs or needless psych noodling. Weedpecker will absolutely have a place towards the top of my album of the year list. This is a must listen. 9/10
Under The Church - Total Burial EP (Pulverised Records) [Matt Bladen]
The second EP from International death metal collective Under The Church, is their first new music since their 2017 album Supernatural Punishment. It's five tracks of raw, brutal, gore soaked death metal. The production on this record makes it sound as if it was featured on underground tape trade. Fuzzing bass, drums with too much treble and guitars that are distorted to the point of feeling a little muddy. Total Burial EP doesn't hang around to much, starting brutal and staying brutal, even the solos peeling off your flesh, songs like Just Another Death feeling like Slayer and Entombed, that influence coming through as well on grinding opener Day Of Reckoning. With members from Sweden and Iceland, it's no wonder there's a big whack of Swedeath on this EP. Grimy and goulish Total Burial EP keeps Under The Church in the death metal mix. 6/10
Under The Church - Total Burial EP (Pulverised Records) [Matt Bladen]
The second EP from International death metal collective Under The Church, is their first new music since their 2017 album Supernatural Punishment. It's five tracks of raw, brutal, gore soaked death metal. The production on this record makes it sound as if it was featured on underground tape trade. Fuzzing bass, drums with too much treble and guitars that are distorted to the point of feeling a little muddy. Total Burial EP doesn't hang around to much, starting brutal and staying brutal, even the solos peeling off your flesh, songs like Just Another Death feeling like Slayer and Entombed, that influence coming through as well on grinding opener Day Of Reckoning. With members from Sweden and Iceland, it's no wonder there's a big whack of Swedeath on this EP. Grimy and goulish Total Burial EP keeps Under The Church in the death metal mix. 6/10
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