I was just sat here thinking (probably with a bit too much nostalgia for my own good) about the first time I heard Australasia and realized that you didn't actually need a singer to make a record feel like it was weighing down the entire house.
Pelican have been the architects of that specific, heavy-yet-hopeful instrumental sound for over two decades now, and their latest EP, Ascending, is a sharp reminder that while everyone else is busy trying to reinvent the wheel, these Chicago lads are still just perfecting the roll. It’s post-rock, sure. But it’s got that muscular, mid-western grit that most of the "crescendocore" brigade wouldn't know what to do with if it hit them in the face.
Which it often does.
The title track, Ascending, kicks off with that familiar, interlocking guitar work that Trevor de Brauw and Bryan Herweg have turned into a bit of a science. It doesn't rush. It just builds, this slow, shimmering ascent (clue is in the name, I suppose) that eventually erupts into a massive, wall-of-sound climax that feels like the sun finally breaking through a particularly thick layer of smog over the M62. It’s majestic. It’s startlingly iridescent. And it reminds me why I still bother with instrumental music when the rest of the world is obsessed with three-minute pop songs.
Then you get Cascading Crescent.
I’ve always reckoned that Larry Herweg is one of the most underrated drummers in the game; he’s got this way of playing behind the beat that makes the heavy sections feel absolutely enormous. This track is a masterclass in that "slingshot" dynamic, pulling back, building the tension, and then releasing it in a flurry of tom-heavy percussion and distorted chords that rattle your actual teeth. Perhaps it’s a bit predictable if you’ve been following them since the beginning? Maybe. But when it’s this well-executed, who gives a toss?
It’s a peculiar alchemy, really, where the sheer, vibrating weight of the low-end starts to feel less like a riff and more like a change in the weather, a sudden drop in pressure that leaves your ears popping just before the silence begins to creep back in.
Adrift takes a slightly different path. It’s the "palate cleanser" of the EP, I believe, leaning more into the "post" part of post-rock with some cleaner textures and a sense of space that feels almost claustrophobic in its openness. It’s the sound of staring out of a train window on a rainy Tuesday and realizing you’ve missed your stop. It’s beautiful, in a quiet, slightly devastating way, a reminder that Pelican aren't just about the volume; they’re about the mood.
Finally, we hit Tending The Embers.
It’s a bit of a slow-burner, this one, a track that feels like it’s reflecting on everything that came before it. The way the guitars weave around each other is nothing short of masterful, creating this dense, emotional tapestry that eventually fades out into a hazy, feedback-laden silence. Is it a masterpiece? It’s an EP, so let’s not get ahead of ourselves. But as a four-track statement of intent from a band that has outlasted almost all of their peers? It’s a total ripper. It’s honest. It’s heavy. And it’s got enough soul to keep even the most jaded of us nodding along until our necks finally give out. 9/10
Ritual Arcana - Ritual Arcana (Heavy Psych Sounds) [Rich Piva]
The legend who is Wino is usually the main attraction, whether it is one of his killer solo records, like Create Or Die from last year, or in whatever band he is performing in, most recently being The Obsessed and the renaissance that they have seen over the past couple of years. and , of course, over a bunch of decades.
Which it often does.
The title track, Ascending, kicks off with that familiar, interlocking guitar work that Trevor de Brauw and Bryan Herweg have turned into a bit of a science. It doesn't rush. It just builds, this slow, shimmering ascent (clue is in the name, I suppose) that eventually erupts into a massive, wall-of-sound climax that feels like the sun finally breaking through a particularly thick layer of smog over the M62. It’s majestic. It’s startlingly iridescent. And it reminds me why I still bother with instrumental music when the rest of the world is obsessed with three-minute pop songs.
Then you get Cascading Crescent.
I’ve always reckoned that Larry Herweg is one of the most underrated drummers in the game; he’s got this way of playing behind the beat that makes the heavy sections feel absolutely enormous. This track is a masterclass in that "slingshot" dynamic, pulling back, building the tension, and then releasing it in a flurry of tom-heavy percussion and distorted chords that rattle your actual teeth. Perhaps it’s a bit predictable if you’ve been following them since the beginning? Maybe. But when it’s this well-executed, who gives a toss?
It’s a peculiar alchemy, really, where the sheer, vibrating weight of the low-end starts to feel less like a riff and more like a change in the weather, a sudden drop in pressure that leaves your ears popping just before the silence begins to creep back in.
Adrift takes a slightly different path. It’s the "palate cleanser" of the EP, I believe, leaning more into the "post" part of post-rock with some cleaner textures and a sense of space that feels almost claustrophobic in its openness. It’s the sound of staring out of a train window on a rainy Tuesday and realizing you’ve missed your stop. It’s beautiful, in a quiet, slightly devastating way, a reminder that Pelican aren't just about the volume; they’re about the mood.
Finally, we hit Tending The Embers.
It’s a bit of a slow-burner, this one, a track that feels like it’s reflecting on everything that came before it. The way the guitars weave around each other is nothing short of masterful, creating this dense, emotional tapestry that eventually fades out into a hazy, feedback-laden silence. Is it a masterpiece? It’s an EP, so let’s not get ahead of ourselves. But as a four-track statement of intent from a band that has outlasted almost all of their peers? It’s a total ripper. It’s honest. It’s heavy. And it’s got enough soul to keep even the most jaded of us nodding along until our necks finally give out. 9/10
Ritual Arcana - Ritual Arcana (Heavy Psych Sounds) [Rich Piva]
The legend who is Wino is usually the main attraction, whether it is one of his killer solo records, like Create Or Die from last year, or in whatever band he is performing in, most recently being The Obsessed and the renaissance that they have seen over the past couple of years. and , of course, over a bunch of decades.
With his new project, the power trio Ritual Arcana, Wino finds himself sharing the spotlight, or maybe even playing second fiddle just a bit, to the singer/bassist of the band, SharLee LuckyFree, who also happens to be his better half in life as well. The band plays some killer proto doom psych, leveraging the best of Wino’s amazing playing and tone with LuckyFree’s booming, siren song, witchy vocals to bring us a killer 38 minutes of dark, spooky, and heavy rock and roll.
The title track of the album of the same name of a band with the same name always rules, and the opener, Ritual Arcana, keeps this trend going. LuckyFree’s lower octave vocals are more like an incantation, combined with Wino’s shredding lets us all know what we are in for on this record. Wino just rips it up on this track and his tone is amazing. A coyote from the mountains in the Catskills opens up Occluded, the most Obsessed-like track on the record in all of the best ways, that also has another Wino signature killer riff.
The title track of the album of the same name of a band with the same name always rules, and the opener, Ritual Arcana, keeps this trend going. LuckyFree’s lower octave vocals are more like an incantation, combined with Wino’s shredding lets us all know what we are in for on this record. Wino just rips it up on this track and his tone is amazing. A coyote from the mountains in the Catskills opens up Occluded, the most Obsessed-like track on the record in all of the best ways, that also has another Wino signature killer riff.
You can tell the band is having fun with this project, with Free Like A Pirate being a great example. It sounds like Wino is just creating so much joy with his work on Ritual Arcana. Summon The Wheel is proto doom excellence, while Berkana has LuckyFree in her most alluring and spooky at the same time vocal performance. My favourite moment on a record filled with great ones is the psych-dripping guitar on the killer track, Subtle Fruits, right next to the chugging Wino creates on Judgement XX.
My favourite song on the record is the closer, Wake The Goddess, which is the perfect description of what is happening right before our eyes (ears?) with the arrival of SharLee LuckyFree. The secret weapon on the record is the drumming of Oakley Munson. More known for his punk work with The Black Lips, Munson brings the power and keeps all of this goodness together and flowing.
What an amazing debut and what a great way to hear Wino from a new point of view. Ritual Arcana has killer songs, amazing guitar work (duh), and a vibe that SharLee LuckyFree brings that is unique to her and to the trio. Great stuff. 9/10
Abissi - Paramagia (Octopus Rising/Argonauta Records) [Mark Young]
In your virtual or physical hands you hold one of the warmest releases of the year. Paramagia is an 8 track, 26-minute glorious hug from a loved one. Possessing one of the thickest guitar tones you will hear this year Funerale In Messico is their introduction and it’s a riff-fest. It just flows, offering up the best in stoner/doom with a suitable solo to boot. I have no idea what they are singing about but don’t let that get in the way of the riff!!
What an amazing debut and what a great way to hear Wino from a new point of view. Ritual Arcana has killer songs, amazing guitar work (duh), and a vibe that SharLee LuckyFree brings that is unique to her and to the trio. Great stuff. 9/10
Abissi - Paramagia (Octopus Rising/Argonauta Records) [Mark Young]
In your virtual or physical hands you hold one of the warmest releases of the year. Paramagia is an 8 track, 26-minute glorious hug from a loved one. Possessing one of the thickest guitar tones you will hear this year Funerale In Messico is their introduction and it’s a riff-fest. It just flows, offering up the best in stoner/doom with a suitable solo to boot. I have no idea what they are singing about but don’t let that get in the way of the riff!!
Pizzo rattles the enamel, channelling some early age QOTSA as it speeds through whilst Le Chiese slows down to a leaden crawl. I’m not suggesting that they have come out and reinvented any genre’s, rather they have looked to what makes for good music and have applied them with gusto. It closes on a Black Sabbath vibe, I mean to listen to it you will know exactly what I mean. Its quality, but it’s a question of how much of their material represents them or the music that inspires them.
I’m not being disrespectful to them, it’s just that Grabovoi, as an example with its little squeals here and there echo a lot from QOTSA as a primary source. I’m not massive on stoner music because there is a lot of repetition or extended arrangements which sometimes go nowhere. I’m probably being unfair on them, so let’s park that for a minute.
I’m not being disrespectful to them, it’s just that Grabovoi, as an example with its little squeals here and there echo a lot from QOTSA as a primary source. I’m not massive on stoner music because there is a lot of repetition or extended arrangements which sometimes go nowhere. I’m probably being unfair on them, so let’s park that for a minute.
Cement is heavy, properly heavy. Super dense it rocks along at a decent lick and sounds more like its from them than anyone else and its one of those songs that stands up to repeated listens (like the rest of the album if I’m being straight). Madama Cristina picks that baton up and sets off with it. It has more varied arrangement than Cement but is no less heavy because of it.
Their final act is 3424, a skittering 3-minute instrumental blast. I’m not always supportive of instrumentals, especially when they are placed in a way that kills any momentum an album has built to that point. 3424 is in the right place, it closes things out properly and on a strong note. With this and Grabovoi as instrumentals it at least shows they have confidence in their material so that if the lyrics are not coming, or simply not good enough, they will go with what they have.
Paramagia rips at a steady pace (ignoring Sequenze’s noise) and is such a warm and welcoming album, it is one of those things you will come back to months from now. It’s a worthy release, and although I think that the inclusion of Sequenze here lessens the flow of things, its still entertaining. 7/10
Course Of Fate - Behind The Eclipse (ROAR!) [Matt Bladen]
Course Of Fate are a Norwegian prog metal act and they are back with their third record Behind The Eclipse. As with the rest of the album they come from a philosophical angle mulling over light and dark. Those who walk in the light and those who dwell in the darkness, it allows them the switch between the melodic and metallic as they show off their virtuosity.
It's an album that takes several threads and links them, not in a full concept like their debut release but more loosely, all eight of these tracks blend the dark and the light through the frame of impressive progressive metal, that takes inspiration from bands such as Dream Theater, Fates Warning and Shadow Gallery. The riffs here a lot thicker as Course Of Fate have two guitarists so there's plenty of dynamism in the guitars, while the bottom end manipulates the changing rhythm section, Don't Close Your Eyes features some cello which adds more density.
On And So It Goes, they go into the dramatic realm of Queensryche, especially in the vocals, speaking of vocals Hiding From The Light has some harsh growls which shakes things up again. A more introspective, darker and heavier album from Course Of Fate but still stuffed with prog metal prominence. 8/10
Their final act is 3424, a skittering 3-minute instrumental blast. I’m not always supportive of instrumentals, especially when they are placed in a way that kills any momentum an album has built to that point. 3424 is in the right place, it closes things out properly and on a strong note. With this and Grabovoi as instrumentals it at least shows they have confidence in their material so that if the lyrics are not coming, or simply not good enough, they will go with what they have.
Paramagia rips at a steady pace (ignoring Sequenze’s noise) and is such a warm and welcoming album, it is one of those things you will come back to months from now. It’s a worthy release, and although I think that the inclusion of Sequenze here lessens the flow of things, its still entertaining. 7/10
Course Of Fate - Behind The Eclipse (ROAR!) [Matt Bladen]
Course Of Fate are a Norwegian prog metal act and they are back with their third record Behind The Eclipse. As with the rest of the album they come from a philosophical angle mulling over light and dark. Those who walk in the light and those who dwell in the darkness, it allows them the switch between the melodic and metallic as they show off their virtuosity.
It's an album that takes several threads and links them, not in a full concept like their debut release but more loosely, all eight of these tracks blend the dark and the light through the frame of impressive progressive metal, that takes inspiration from bands such as Dream Theater, Fates Warning and Shadow Gallery. The riffs here a lot thicker as Course Of Fate have two guitarists so there's plenty of dynamism in the guitars, while the bottom end manipulates the changing rhythm section, Don't Close Your Eyes features some cello which adds more density.
On And So It Goes, they go into the dramatic realm of Queensryche, especially in the vocals, speaking of vocals Hiding From The Light has some harsh growls which shakes things up again. A more introspective, darker and heavier album from Course Of Fate but still stuffed with prog metal prominence. 8/10
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