The purpose of this feature has always been to highlight the synthwave scene and, up until now, it’s mostly been in the service of highlighting one particular act per installment. This has created quite a backlog as a result, due to the fact that there are just so many acts…
Wave // Breaker is a new series Nikolai will be running on Heavy Blog. The idea is to present a deeper look into the synthwave community, a community often dominated by the solo project and the one man band. As such, it provides a unique and fascinating psychological palette, which…
There’s an ingrained balance that’s inherent in certain type of heavy music; grunge was one of the first genres to tap into it but it can be seen in countless of examples even after grunge had passed from the public’s eye. This balance is created by a dominant bass guitar, a fuzzy yet solid guitar and a vocalist with emotional delivery. The drums play certain role but mainly with the kick drum, providing a certain deep, pulsing heartbeat to the concoction. You can find this sound in Soundgarden’s early works for example or some of the darker Porcupine Tree tracks. But what if a band were to utilize that vibe but instead of swinging upwards from it, to more brighter places as bands usually do, they would use it as a launching point for something even darker? Some tracks would be contemplative and emotional rock but others would delve into the realms of dark electronic, noise and drone. Lo and behold, we have created Obsidian Kingdom.
