Browsing Tag

Post Metal

Days got dark, Nostra got darker with the brutalist aesthetics in their latest post-metal single, Delta

Posted on 9 October 2023

The Latvian-French trio Nostra, which has been harbingering doom in the aesthetics of their post-Soviet brutalist tracks since 2016, rode a cataclysmically cold wave in the standout single, Delta, prised from their forthcoming album, Sea of Fertility.

Buzzsaw riffs and cuttingly angular syncopated guitars tear their way through the glacial climate of the instrumental piece as the postmodernist production plays devil’s advocate with doomy elements of post-rock and post-metal.

The causticness of the artful industrialist rancour feeds off the expressively melodic time signatures to deliver a sonic landscape which holds no prisoners while leaving your rhythmic pulses attuned to the visceral virtuosity of the power trio, which has everything it takes to stand at the vanguard of the new wave post-rock movement. As days get dark, Nostra is only going to get darker to signify the desolation of our times.

Head over to Bandcamp to stream Delta and pre-order the upcoming LP, Sea of Fertility.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Homebody went all in on the retrospective introspection in their post-hardcore hook-filled hit, Hindsight

Posted on 11 February 2023

Following the success of their 2022 LP, Stranger to Yourself, the Alabama duo, Homebody, comprising of Austin McQueen and Jonathan Lollar, have added even more weight to their monolithic breakdowns in their latest single, Hindsight.

Don’t let the grungy melodicism in the intro fool you; this stellar slice of post-hardcore hits hard enough to leave speakers black and blue. Keeping the raw and visceral emotion in the lyrics at its core, Hindsight is an evocatively charged hook-rife hit that doesn’t need your permission before submerging you into high-octane catharsis.

As the lyrics and vocals fiercely lament the people that leave destruction in their path, the cuttingly contemporary production will provide the ultimate escapism as you lose yourself in the interstellar world of Homebody’s ingenuity

Stream Hindsight on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Stop cringing at your own consciousness and tune into the anthemic alt-rock debut single, Overthink, from MANIA

Posted on 25 November 2022

With airy harmonic vocals as smooth as you will hear on Mr Bungle’s California album around the post-hardcore outpours of impassion, Overthink is a funk-slammed progressive rock hit that is set to see MANIA go far after their hair-raising debut which will leave you with the compulsion to drive up the volume to drown out the reprising thoughts that make you cringe at your own consciousness.

The freshly-formed British rock band that rivals Frank Carter and the Rattle Snakes in terms of dynamic energy and Enter Shikari for their future-defining production that comes with hints of pop to drive up the infectious appeal may be new to this outfit, but they’ve converged from other chart-topping acts, including Bollo Bollo, Blushes and Rêve.

We officially can’t wait to hear the sophomore follow up to this cataclysmically hit that sets the bar for polished yet raw rock anthems in 2022.

Stream Overthink for yourselves on Spotify. Follow the band via Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Thurtythree found the parables between internal war and external destruction in his post-rock hit, Raid ft. Christina Rotondo

Posted on 27 October 2022

Inspired by the atrocities of Russia and the sense of powerlessness it has instilled in every sane mind, the alt-rock artist, Thurtythree released his latest single, Raid, featuring vocalist Christina Rotondo.

With ethereal vocal whispers in the same chilly vein as Celldweller around the raw alt-metal vocals, and the addition of Christina Rotondo’s empathy-eking glassy vocal timbre, Raid efficaciously hits hard. Especially through its lyrical wrestling with themes of war – external and internal. If any track captures the collective 2022 mood of helplessness and futility, it is Raid, which offers just as much progressive alchemy through the way the post-rock innovation meets punk-pierced alt-rock textures. Any fans of Eighteen Visions and All That Remains will want to take a cathartic hit on Raid.

Raid was officially released on October 14th. It is now available to stream on all major platforms. Check out the single via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Life in Discord buried tranquillity in trepidation in their latest post-hardcore single, Fading into Obscurity

Posted on 28 August 2022

If you can’t relate to Fading into Obscurity, the latest single to come from the post-hardcore powerhouse, Life in Discord, I don’t know whether I envy you or pity you.

The San Diego-based outfit brought some much-needed gravitas to the emo genre with their bleeding-heart lyricism, cataclysmically sharp riffs that are reminiscent of the likes of Rise Against, A Day to Remember and At the Drive In, and the marred with disillusion vocals that pull you right into the centre of this unfiltered confession of lost sanity.

If there was ever a time we needed a band in the same vein as Life in Discord, it is now. Naturally, we’re not the only ones hyped by their catchy burial of tranquillity.

Fading into Obscurity officially released on August 5th; check it out via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

UK solo artist, Unwanted Guest, shed light on our shackles in his retro-modernist metal single, Constructive Ambiguity

Posted on 17 August 2022

After the 2020 pandemic put the brakes on the UK metal band Seventh Son, the guitarist Dave Fox animated his retro-modernist metal brainchild, Unwanted Guest.

His latest single, Constructive Ambiguity, is one that every disenchanted metal or grunge fanatic should hear. With a cheeky nod to John Carpenter’s, They Live in the visuals with some stunning scenes of UK brutalist architecture to compliment the lyrics that don’t evade the reality of every working-class millennial, it’s a vindicating timely single which invites you to vent into the blend of the 90s Seattle sound with the signatures of UK metal. When the lyrical context is as sublime as the talent, you know you’re on to a winner – stay tuned with this one.

Watch the official music video for Constructive Ambiguity, which premiered on July 26th here.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Prague rockers Nantokanaru show us inside the realness of seclusion with, ‘Emotional Damage Wreckage’

Posted on 13 June 2022

Returning with a new lineup and with a sensational sound that shall echo gleefully through your ringing ears, Nantokanaru brings us a stirring story that was inspired by the intercultural struggles of guitarist Igor Prusa during his 10 years spent in Japan with, ‘Emotional Damage Wreckage‘.

Nantokanaru is a Prague, Czech Republic-based indie-rock/post-metal quintet who has re-started after a long break and sound in highly motivated form.

”Entitled Emotional Damage Wreckage, it reflects upon the despondency of an emotionally torn individual facing solitude within the urban jungle of Tokyo.” ~ Nantokanaru

With the title track from their new EP, Nantokanaru slices the airwaves open with a weighty track that shall send vibrations pumping from your enthralled soul, as they show us what that real loneliness feels like when you sense you are in the wrong place and need to get out.

‘Emotional Damage Wreckage‘ from Prague, Czech Republic-based indie-rock/post-metal quintet Nantokanaru is a forceful new single that has you imagining an empty feeling that strikes you hard when you know you don’t belong. The vocals are strongly delivered and the lyrics open the door to that feeling that can have you hiding inside when you actually need to be meeting new friendly faces.

Finding your tribe in this phone-filled world of distraction is the most important mission you might ever make.

Hear this new heavy song on Spotify and see more via their IG page.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Birdeatsbaby – Ribbons: A Silver Screen Post-Rock Lullaby

Posted on 18 May 2022

The coven, Birdeatsbaby, has reconvened to conjure the witchy alchemy found in the first single released from their occultist album, HEX. While I probably haven’t heard them all, it is still safe to say that ‘Ribbons’ is one of the most cinematic dark progressive lullabies ever scored.

By the time the outro hits, it’s hard not to feel desperation to hear what else is in store from the forthcoming LP. Whatever they’ve poured into their unique transfusions of baroque rock and metal is sure to beguile just as much as anything that In This Moment has produced. Notably, they’ve got a talent for balancing gravitas with catharsis.

Ribbons is due for official release; you can check it out for yourselves via Birdeatsbaby’s website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Tribe of Ghosts wake the subjugated in their industrial post-metal debut single, COLD

Posted on 25 March 2022

https://soundcloud.com/user-453658138/cold/s-TphZFuLSAjN?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

With its frostbitten teeth, the industrial post-metal debut single, COLD, from the Brighton-based powerhouse, Tribe of Ghosts, drags you in with its razor-sharp hooks, tension-fraught build-ups, and the cataclysmic cascades of caustic progressive metal.

The contrast between the ethereal female vocals that phantasmally float in and out of the mix to leave a little arcane magic in their wake and the gnarled black metal growls is nothing less than alchemic.

The sweet spot lingers just before the outro, where Tribe of Ghosts throw cinematically symphonic flair into the gutturally raw track that stands as a testament to their commitment to shake the listener from the complacency that they’ve been subdued into to appease the elite. Debuts don’t come much more promising than this. It is only a matter of time before Tribe of Ghosts is one of the biggest names in the UK metal circuit. Watch this space.

Cold officially released on March 25th, 2022; you can check it out for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Southeast powerhouse, Weller, captured the collective sense of futility and isolation in their post-rock hit, Irritated.

Posted on 8 March 2022

The Southeast UK-based post-rock pioneers, Weller, have released their most bruising single to date with the release of Irritated which opens on the instantly disarming, relatably numb lyric, “it has been so long since I felt some connection, feels like a wasted life waiting for the resurrection”. Impressively, they found a way to capture the contemporary collective sense of ennui, futility and isolation while delivering the ultimate angst-riled comfort for it.

They followed in the footsteps of Bring Me the Horizon and Enter Shikari before stridently taking a step in their own atmospherically enrapturing direction. Usually, there is somewhat of an incongruous relationship between fame and talent; with Weller, there’s a synergy in the ingenuity they deliver and the hype that has amassed around their post-hardcore edge. Since making their first official release in 2021, they have garnered international airplay from TotalRock Radio, BBC Introducing and Kerrang Radio. They have also gone down a storm on Spotify with over 100k streams on their seven singles, two of which have hit number 1 in the iTunes rock chart.

I don’t know what I’m more excited about, their forthcoming EP or the chance to see them live. They have everything it takes to be bigger than Paul Weller, which I very much doubted before I hit play.

Irritated is now available to stream on Spotify with the rest of Weller’s indulgently infectious takes on alt-rock.

Review by Amelia Vandergast