You might not recall this (because time works that way and the past is shrouded in forgetful fog) but we’ve already recommended Big Lich to you in the past. This Portland based duo has been making the kind of dark synthwave you know I love for a while now but…
Even in a genre built on intentionally difficult aesthetics, metal vocals hold a special place of distinction for their divisiveness. Cleans aside, the world of growls, screams, gutturals, shrieks, and pig squeals is no country for the faint of heart and even the most trve, blve, cvlt, dyed-in-the-wool metal devotees…
Some band names are just spot on and this a good example for that. The Great Cold invoke frigid spaces but also expansive ones, a toundra which stretches into the horizon, filling your vision with white. Fittingly enough, their music is an instrumental blend of black metal, post metal and progressive metal, creating swirls of snow in a blizzard of violence and music. Their music has the staple of all great instrumental works: while a single common thread runs through it all, in this case the interaction between guitars and drums that eludes specific genre definition, it utilizes enough variety to keep the listener hooked. Thus, we are lost in the great beauty of the ice-plains but we also have landmarks to help us navigate.
As you could probably guess, this week is all about discussing our favorite albums from 2015. However, we decided to have a few special guests also discuss their top 10 albums from the year, and why they placed where they did. Next up, we have Chris from So Hideous, who’s…
For those who missed our last installment, We post biweekly updates covering what the staff at Heavy Blog have been spinning. Given the amount of time we spend on the site telling you about music that does not fall neatly into the confines of conventional “metal,” it should come as…
Sometimes, you don’t want something complex. While a fancy, flavorful dish bursting with spice and variety is well and good, there are times when you just need a damn cheeseburger. And musically, nothing is closer to the equivalent of a cheeseburger than sludgy stoner doom; it’s a tried-and-true perfected formula…
For those who missed our last installment, we post biweekly updates covering what the staff at Heavy Blog have been spinning. Given the amount of time we spend on the site telling you about music that does not fall neatly into the confines of conventional “metal,” it should come as…
Each year, there’s one instrumental album that simply takes them all. Last year, it was the somber and enfolding Telepathy with 12 Areas.. It’s time to introduce you to this year’s paragon: The Moon Lit Our Path by Tempel. What many instrumental albums lack, and not just within metal, is poise: the ability to revolve perfectly…
Instrumental metal typically comes in a proggy flavor: the bands that rule the instrumental scene are groups like Pomegranate Tiger, Intervals (on both of their EPs), or Wide Eyes. Does this mean that instrumental stuff doesn’t exist in other subgenres? No, of course not. There are bands in every subgenre…
One of the records I’m looking forward to most in the next few months is the upcoming record from Tempel, an Arizona-based instrumental blackened doom duet. When they first popped up on my Bandcamp feed, the album cover intrigued me and I gave them a listen. I was blown away…
