What sets Les Grandes Compagnies apart is its timbre. The sonic quality of the music, its overall texture, is so much more welcoming than the slicing distortion and overpowering drums (and sometimes terrible mixing) that are generally indicative of a traditional black metal album.
Advent Varic is the soundscape to catastrophe; gloom, an ever-present and sobering effect.
The murky and washy texture of the music, the clean interludes, and the dismal tropospheric layering of blast beats and vocals competing for the title of the least clear sound in the mix lend to this positive and generally empowering aura Strävan exudes.
When I first watched a video of Idle Hands that was recommended me on Youtube my first impressions were average. The video looked pretty cheesy
Tårn delivers on so many fronts: it’s groovy, it’s heavy, and it’s catchy, a winning combo. Though Ruff Majik has never been as heavy as to be labeled a doom metal act, with each album they grow darker and more brooding and their sound here is a far cry from the stoner rock sounds heard on their debut, The Bear.
Where some music reflects on loss, Part Island embodies it and causes nostalgia to well up in your throat
Death metal with thrash, slam, and hardcore influences, Samsara harbors an affinity for progressive writing that is both technical while also being engaging.
Crux is an undeniably unique album. Compositionally, it is exceptionally crafted and a breath of fresh air within modern rock music. However, I find myself simultaneously loving and hating parts of the album and generally that feeling happens at the same time.
We reach a lull as the abrasive yet alluring wall of sound is broken by swirling keyboards and reverb-drenched guitar. This respite is accompanied by visions of lush, green, cold forests that seems to pass by as if in some sort of fevered dream.
Brutal, crushing death metal, riffs that you can’t help nodding your head to… Though Frozen Soul might not be redefining the death metal genre, they definitely know how to do it right.
This sense of being pounded with a brick in your face does not end until you either put off the album or manage to make it to the final track.
