If Between the Buried and Me‘s Alaska (2005) was a great example of “great art through adversity”, then Hypersleep Dialogues achieves the same ends with vastly opposite means. Hypersleep enjoys a more flexible length in the EP (relative to the hour-plus BTBAM LP phenomenon) format, extensive production palette, and a presumably supportive new-label (Metal Blade) …
I wrote that Coyote was a “battle”. In that, Coyote is about “mortality and the imagination that escapes it”. I should have instead noted that it is the imagination that deviates and recombines with grief. There is nothing parallel about Polyimage of Known Exits; there is no dual purpose to it, or paranoiac misdirection – …
As We Draw – Lines Breaking Circles I think what strikes me most are numbers like “Shield”; Ontarian post hardcore riffs right into a sludgy groove metal variation… A rolling snare and doom riff complement the transition and I can’t help but feel like I’m jamming to a slightly more confused Mare – or a …
As an art metal staple, TesseracT’s vast precedent in light of One is yet another triumph of the information age; is it interesting that, after a half decade of strong e-demonstrations, their first LP on big time indie Century Media has produced an impressively banal culmination? Perhaps, as One furthers exposes the uneasy median between …
Dwelling (or swelling) in the sweet spot between Gaza‘s loftier goals and… what, We Butter the Bread with Butter‘s contemporary abortions, Owen Hart resemble neither but eke out a comfortable niche in that still-underground nu grind movement. Most faithfully, OH intuitively strike a modern death metal balance with an ear for b-metal grooves. Much what …
After The Burial – In Dreams As if scoffing at all the hubbub surrounding their nu(prog)metal scene, After The Burial takes a decisive step back from their overwrought-but-encouraging sophomore Rareform. The result is unadulterated silliness across the board, complete with awkward balladeering and glam-tera flirtation. Though still owning a knack for writing solid grooves, the …
If Anthony of The Carrier was waiting for his destiny to manifest in “One Year Later”, only to see its plans for him ruined in “Epilogue: Forgiveness”, then is Blind To What Is Right‘s overarching mythology the fallout? Is it all that’s left? To be sure, this sophomore full-length is as desolate as it gets, …
Stained Glass is given to us, graciously, as 2010 high watermark Coyote only reached ears last April. Whether it is extended play or a mid-cycle effort to keep attentions focused is inconsequential – This is Kayo Dot. It was hard not to ‘top-down’ some emotional expectation on Coyote given the album’s proposed content, especially after …
It’s best to approach Lucky Me as an experiment rather than experimental. The compelling aspect of the disc, as well as being its most glaring detractor, is that it finds the band seeking their most essential and immediate expression; it’s hardly finished, but should it be? This question is all the more pertinent when dealing …
In 2008, Valley Of Smoke is more along the lines of what I was asking of Intronaut in their post-Void fallout. Some semblance of naivety has parted in 2010, but the DNA of the band is still producing as per original instructions – Intronaut crafts and exploits layers of heavy music history, and using layers …