Some music has urgency; it feels like the notes have to keep coming or you’re going to suffocate but the more of them that sound, the more buried you feel. Black metal is the genre which most often elicits this feeling, probably because it’s so fast and abrasive. Something about…
Greetings, heaviest of Heavy Bloggers! It’s that time of the month once again where we delve into the deepest of fuzzy riffs and slowest of bangers. I have to admit, I both love and hate this time of year when it comes to music. Everyone rushes to get their records…
Maybe it’s the change in the weather, or the average day falling into an early, seemingly perpetual night. Perhaps it’s the trees, left barren and naked against the pale sky. Or it could be my own sense of depleted, frustrated exhaustion as the end of the year draws nigh. Regardless…
Even a cursory glance of our biweekly playlist updates will reveal that there is a great deal of variety among our staff’s musical tastes. Due to this, we brainstormed the idea of Playlist Swap, where two of our contributors pick their favorite track from each of the nine albums in their grid…
When I tell you that Vouna are signed to Artemisia Records (a name which evokes both important, female, historic figures and America’s Pacific Northwest), the label founded by Wolves in the Throne Room, and that they play self described “Cascadian Funereal Doom”, you should already have a pretty strong mental image of what you’re about…
Part I – “Enter the Eternal Fire” – A “Brief” Intro to Consumerism and the Void Consumerism has become a byword of our times. As such, it is often misused or expanded to mean things which lie adjacent to its original, and more accurate, meaning. Consumerism, at its core, can…
It’s not entirely unusual to see a metal band with an established sound take a left turn into new sonic territory. Adding a new subgenre tag, incorporating a synthesizer, or mixing up the songwriting playbook are fairly common, and often welcome. It’s a bit unusual, however, to see a band…
Hello and welcome to Maps of Meaning, a monthly column written by Eden and Simon! If you’ve been following either of our writings, you’ll know that we tend to go for a verbose style and that we both care very deeply about literature, philosophy, music and the influences of those…
“World’s Blood is black metal of the American West.” Thus begins the description of this album by Profound Lore records, and I’ll be damned if it isn’t accurate. Another descriptor I’ve heard of this record from a friend is “Cormac McCarthy black metal.” I’ve been telling anybody who will listen that this…
Despite its origins, black metal continues to be a subgenre that pushes boundaries with the sound in new ways. It was originally intended to sound inherently evil to blaspheme against organized religion and spit on society writ large. The places its gone since then leave that far behind, exploring new…
