Browsing Tag

Instrumental Metal

UK solo artist Matt Black has made his industrial-rock debut with his single, Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Posted on 20 August 2021

UK-based singer-songwriter Matt Black tapped into the collective sense of listlessness and despair with his scathing industrial rock debut single, Are You Afraid of the Dark.

The lyric-less soundscape uses samples of doom-mongering news broadcasts, featuring our seemingly dim, realistically catastrophic prime minister who seems determined to blather the country to ruin around heavy scuzzy metal guitars and percussion that could only be described as apocalyptic.

With a similar sonic palette to Machine Head’s Bloodstone and Diamonds and Disturbed’s Down with the Sickness, we’re sure plenty of the industrial rock and metal community will welcome his cathartically foreboding presence on the airwaves with open arms.

Are You Afraid of the Dark was officially released on August 20th; you can check it out via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Alt Metal instrumentalist Jorge Gomez has made his debut with the ‘Beyond Blackened’ EP

Posted on 27 December 2020

Madrid-residing Spanish musician, Jorge Gomez, has made their solo debut with the EP ‘Beyond Blackened’ which serves thrashy furore while fervently stamping down his signature sound on the Metal scene. There’s very little chance his imprint will go unnoticed for much longer.

The 4-track release, which was recorded at the legendary Alex Cappa’s Metal Factory, shows just how much nuance can be packed into a fast-paced offering of blackened instrumental Metal. In the absence of vocals, there’s definitely no absence of feeling as you wrap yourself up in the progressively transfixing soundscapes which are consistently leading you into another facet of Jorge Gomez’s dynamic elemental style.

The build-ups from the melodically tender Rock intro’s, especially with track 3, Hollow, is a journey you’re going to want to take time and time again.

There really is no overstating the level of skill exhibited in Beyond Blackened. It’s so much more than just technical ability. The artist’s talent when it comes to hooking you in from the intro and toying with your emotions and rhythmic pulses and psyche in equal measure right until the outro makes Beyond Blackened one of the most promising debuts we’ve heard in 2020.

You can check out Jorge Gomez’s EP for yourselves via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast