Encircling sea - Écru

Genre : Post-black metal / Sludge
Release : June 26th 2010 on An Out Recordings.

You probably understood I'm especially loving Encircling sea from my review of A forgotten land, their last album, released late 2012. Well, let's go back in time once more to dig this 1-track album, Écru. Before anything else, quick reminder : you can play the track right here and even download it for free, like any other Encircling sea's album. Good guys you say? Awesome ones I say. Now back to my review. Usually, I'm quite reluctant to check out 1-track albums, you know. I'm often thinking they're slow to start, that they have mostly boring unending intros... Not that I dislike ambient music, or this blog wouldn't exist anyway, it's just that most of those long tracks are artificially built up with many wasted minutes just to make them long. Well, it depends on the state of mind you're on, I guess : full atmospheric tracks can also hit a certain spot if you're in the right mood.

However, Écru starts especially quickly for such a kind of track. The first 3 minutes are enough for you to get a full palette of the sounds it features : cold ambient guitars, post-rocking tremolos, sludgy atmospheres, raging black metal... Obviously, the track quickly grasps the listener, and it doesn't let go. Still, by that time, black metal was not a major part of Encircling sea's performance, and after a 3 minutes more blast, Écru returns with its main atmosphere : heavily delayed, sludgy, almost droning guitars, with slow, crushing drumming. Yeah, if you're here hoping for 37 minutes of straight black metal, you can already stop your listen and go back to something else or you'll quickly get disappointed. Less black metal than on A forgotten land for sure, and no acoustic folk parts either, but the ethereal female vocals by Ramanee, Rob's wife, are already striking with their beauty and perfectly fit the track. Not for long though, and the track gets more and more instrumental as time flies, the last third having no vocals at all. Few black metal, not a hint of folk and no vocals? Yes, but Écru is nonetheless a masterpiece when it comes to atmosphere. Instead of nature and wild, wide open spaces, there's a more claustrophobic tune in this track, something I'd call far darker and gloomier. Those vibrating guitars, echoing in the night, from around 12 minutes or 24 minutes,  are your atmospheric parts here. Such ones, although really minimalistic, are perfectly integrated and help making a 37 minutes long track a success if you ask me. Écru is wavering all the time, not only in its playing style with its strong guitars' delays, but also in its songwriting, with its perfect balance between aggressivity, darkness, melancholy and contemplation. Of course, you don't have to be in a hurry to get the whole thing and appreciate it, it's still one huge track with long parts close-minded people will call "boring".

I can easily see Écru split into three tracks at time marks 11:38 and 24:40. First one would be your most traditional part, with a good punch of black metal to knock you down. Second one would be your coma and the embracing darkness. As for the third, it'd be the slow return to consciousness. Maybe it would make Écru an easier listen, but seeing how Rob Allen tends to work, I'm not sure it was intended to be one, nor it will ever be. And that's probably even better this way, as Encircling sea's music is more about conceptual songwriting and thinkful atmospheres. As for Écru, it's still my favorite listen at sunset. Listening to it without switching any lights on and slowly going towards darkness is truly a moving experience. But anycase, listening to it as it is already is a moving experience.

Links : Facebook, Bandcamp, Bigcartel.

Other reviews from Encircling sea:

   - A forgotten land

The great old ones - Tekeli-li

Genre : Post-black metal
Release : April 16th 2014 on Les Acteurs de l'Ombre Productions.

Being both french and Lovecraft-lover, just like The great old ones, I couldn't miss their new boxset including new album Tekeli-li and novel Mountains of Madness, from which the new album takes its inspiration and essence. What could have been a better deal, as I never read this one before? I quickly started to dig it while listening to Tekeli-li only, for more immersion regarding that clever association. And I'm happy I did so. Now I can tell you more about the actual album, while you hit the play button of the embed stream above, as usual in the new reviews.

Needless to say there's far more to speak about that the mere music, be it artwork, concept, related items. The overall work, as such, is impressive way before you hit the play button. And when you do, it still is. Tekeli-li kicks in with ambient guitars and a french narrative part, dealing with the novel events. Later on and all along the tracks, there are others low-tempo breaks for some more narrations, always with the same deep male voice, perfectly fitting that role. Those parts surely builds a coherent atmosphere and helps keeping the album really close to the book, although they will probably make less sense for non-french speakers. Musically speaking, The great old ones uses most of the elements they used on their first album, Al Azif, with the same success : be it the anguished vocals, the shrieking guitars or the oppressing and clever mix, which makes everything sound clear despite the number of instruments and their aggressivity. Band's trademark surely is their huge and impressively strong walls of sound, but more than the actual music, the horror feeling perfectly fits the Lovecraftian influences, even though a wider use of dark ambient parts would surely have pleased me for that case. But it's a very personal opinion. Yet, tempo changes quite a lot throughout Tekeli-li, and not only for the narrative breaks : from the solid doom metal played at the beginning of 'Awakening' to the intense, fast-paced drumming on the instrumental track 'The ascend', least I can say is that this new album is as powerful as versatile.

Although obviously minimalistic in its essence, Tekeli-li is an impressive record, successfully creating a strong atmosphere while mostly sticking to the basic instrumentation. A couple piano and violin lines can be heard at some points, but they're not prominent, neither are any acoustic parts by the way, as this release is definitely more metal than anything else. However, those slow-tempo moments definitely add the needed layers to the record. Just as cold and despaired as Antarctica is, the six tracks surely fit Mountains of Madness with their special atmosphere, and they're also using songtitles easy to associate with the novel events. But even if you're not into books, this album will be amazing in itself. « Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li! ».

Personal highlights : Awakening, The ascend.
Links : Facebook, Bandcamp, Bigcartel.

Clad in darkness - Decathect

Genre : Post-black metal
Release : December 14th 2013.

First of all, I'd like to personally thank John, one of the guitarists, for giving me a physical copy of this release. That single fact was enough for me to give some of my spare time to review Decathect. However, his kindness is not the single reason which led me to this article, as the album in question is for sure among the ones you should check if you haven't already. Let's dig a bit more what is for sure a consistent and well-thought concept album.

Yeah, although not obvious, Decathect is a concept album, based upon novel Ethan Frome from american writer Edith Wharton. As usual in such cases, I try to dig the related works together. I'm not here to review the novel, but the album successfully reminds of Ethan Frome's melancholy, indeed. Playing black metal with strong post-rock influences, Clad in darkness adds a strong emotional charge to their music. Be it through their vocals, perfectly arranged throughout the seven tracks, even though they sometimes feel like they could have been more heart-breaking and passionate. Not to say they're bad, they're actually great, and not a major part of the record anyway, as most of it is instrumental in the end. To my ears, both the real strengths of Decathect are drums and non-metal parts. Drums? I'm not sure why, but they're really catchy and intense here. Probably thanks to a very clear production and to clever songwriting, they shine all along the album and bear no monotony, as heard when they kick-in on 'Unrest'. Non-metal parts? It'd be a bit wrong to call them "acoustic", as guitars draw many influences from other scenes, my personal favorite parts being the Dire Straits-like riffs from 1:30 on 'Revelries & silence' or the intense, aerial, poetic post-rockish guitars on 'Unrest', again. Those influences are surely not the only ones : obvious progressive, blues, jazzy parts help building a delicate and versatile record.

If Decathect needed a special tag outside of the usual ones, I'd definitely call this "poetic black metal', as the overall atmosphere, helped by the many slow-tempo interludes, is definitely what you can call poetic. And when black metal kicks in, the coherence created between melancholy and rage is stunning. Clad in darkness surely shines in their songwriting, and with clever chilling moments not using the usual folkish patterns still not using lots of black metal either, they created a rare and successful recipe with Decathect.

Personal highlights : Revelries & silence, Unrest.
Links : Facebook, Bandcamp, Bigcartel.

Súl ad astral - Súl ad astral

Genre : Post-black metal

Post-black metal, despite being a fresh and growing scene, takes along some really average and boring stuff. That's why it's always useful to mention who stands out in the genre. Súl ad astral does. On a side, it reminds of the bleakest references around, successfully depicting a real void of light, urban-related according to post-black metal's essence. Think to those usual walls of sound, huge tremolo picking parts, blast beats and shrieking vocals. Those ones are not a major element though, as there are big instrumental gaps. The one behind the mic uses a really wide range of vocals, sometimes deep and dark, sometimes emotional and high, sometimes... clean. Rest assured, they shine with quality, just like anything else here, thanks to an awesome crystal-clear production. Crystal-clear doesn't mean it makes things "beautiful" here, I mean... it's dark in any possible way, and perfectly arranged for that matter! Yeah, many approaches to the genre, and despite being quite a bleak monument, Súl ad astral also has some enlightened, soft parts, making it relaxing and chilling at times. Just like it should be, deep and intense, crushing, stunning, relaxing.

To cherish is an almost ten minutes-long instrumental opener, showing a wide part of Súl ad astral's skills. If that was a good experience, why not listening to Amaurosis too? And follow Súl ad astral on Facebook.

Hypomanie - Calm down, you weren't set on fire

Genre : Instrumental post-metal / Shoegaze

What's nice here is that Hypomanie sticked to its instrumental sound. And what a sound my friends! I guess most of you already listened to the previous album (maybe this one too, heh), and new one is just as good, yet in a different vein. Calm down, you weren't set on fire is actually quite calm, yes. It's definitely lighter post-metal. Walls of sound are still here, still as powerful, drumming lines are once again a huge strength, as they're totally catchy. That sound is light, dreamy, ethereal by any means. Melodies are built inside the wall of sound, giving a serious coherence to the songs. Well, by now this kind of sound is quite "popular" among that scene, just because many bands tried that thing called "blackgaze". However, Hypomanie are still masters of that recipe. A superb release, full of dreamy atmosphere.

Oh well, maybe you want some previews? Here you go, with opener 19 stars and the sweet smell of cinnamon and Lullabye for Ian. And follow Hypomanie on Facebook.

Other reviews from Hypomanie:

   - A city in mono

Infinitas - Journey to infinity

Genre : Depressive black metal

At first, I was quite reluctant to listen to this. Depressive black metal is moving toward directions I'm not enjoying recently. There are more and more poor one-man bands, with always the same pictures, same logos, same song structures with blend and boring walls of sound behind crying vocals. Well, this is completely un-imaginative for the most part. But we're not talking about Infinitas here. Even though it could visually let us think it's one more boring ripoff project (I've already seen that logo somewhere, huh), it's quite rich and well-executed. Well, it's not too depressive either, except the vocals maybe, which are at best for the genre, and not too redundant. Actually, there are not too much vocals, and they're kept as a background. Technically speaking, it's once again something we've already heard before, but to be honest, it's done the right way. Guitars have a nice melodic line, acoustic at times, and the background is perfectly set with really catchy, melodic walls of sound, setting a real urban atmosphere. And I think this is really the best part of the release. All in all, Journey to infinity is not something completely new, not at all to say the truth (I've already seen that logo on bands with the same sound, yay!). But it's a very good performance in the genre, definitely worth a check.

Not sure which songs to pick, so let's try Hinter grauen Wänden and Ein Hauch von Ewigkeit. And follow Infinitas on Facebook.

The foetal mind - The grand contraction

Genre : Instrumental post-metal / Black metal

To be completly honest with you, early works from The foetal mind left me totally unimpressed. I wasn't even able to listen to a full song. That being said, it's very important to say how quickly this band got way better. The grand contraction is a remarkable effort, with quite an unusual album structure. After a short pleasant intro track, the album switchs to an interesting post-black metal song. Clean vocals are not the best ever, but pleasant guitar melodies make up for it. Such songs would make this a good album, but all the other songs are instrumental only, meaning they're more post-metal than anything else, with some black metal elements. And they make this a stunning album instead. As instrumental post-metal is something tricky, it's fair to notice how good this one is. Melodies are superb, riffs are ethereal and rich. Drumming, if not really impressive by itself, perfectly fits the arrangements. This album, from third track, is pure bliss, melodic post-metal with crushing chords, played an unusual, but very pleasant way.

Check out The collapse and Silence for a hint of it. And follow The foetal mind on Facebook.

Woe - Quietly, undramatically

Genre : Post-black metal

Woe's effort is the kind of album where you want to headbang like crazy... at times. Even if most of the time uncredibly energic and dynamic, it sometimes suffers some letdowns, let's say it right now. Actually, it's easily forgiven, since when you aim at delivering such a blast, you can't physically keep it up for 40 minutes. But if you take the best from the album, sure it's a very pleasant listen, even refreshing, may it be black metal. Actually, their sound take some roots from old school hard rock and punk, with the same kind of hard riffing and huge rhytmics. Drums follow that influence too, with enough breakdowns and speed changes in order to stay catchy all the time. A clever choice, that's for sure. Vocalist makes a similar effort, switching from black vocals, to death ones, to clean ones at times. The clean ones are almost punkish at times too, but definitely enjoyable. Only wrong thing with that release, in fact, are those little letdowns, some songs don't keep this dynamic feeling up all the time, and those parts are sadly something that breaks the experience. But there's still a nice lot of intensity, which deserve a listen!

The road from recovery and Quietly, undramatically should give you a real blast, if you enjoy the genre. And follow Woe on Facebook.

Lantlôs - Agape

Genre : Post-black metal

Well, Lantlôs is quite praised in the genre, and even if there's some possible arguing about the actual genre of that recent release, I will once again keep things easy and simple, and tag this with post-black only, although there sure is some doom/sludge influences... Whatever. The fact is that this album features a deep and dark sound, still urban-influenced in some way, but definitely mature, almost disturbing at times. Vocals are extremely passionate, sincere, emotional, and well, fit perfectly as a matter of fact. Instrumentation is most of the time minimalistic, crushing and heavy, yet there are some amazing clean parts, moslty featuring jazzy effects because of deep, profound bass lines that creates a real identity. However, this isn't the only element or influence when it goes soft, as clean guitars create a somewhat cold post-rock sound, perfectly suiting the atmosphere. An album that is difficult to get into, but that also means its attempt at being bleak is a success.

Check out cold and harsh Intrauterin, and peaceful, jazzy You feel like memories. And follow Lantlôs on Facebook.

Altar of plagues - White tomb

Genre : Post-black metal

When it's about urban-influenced post-black, Altar of plagues are kind of gods. Gloominess, despair, frost, darkness, those are some atmospheres White tomb depicts very successfully, with a rich, highly melodic post-black metal, including a subtle touch of agressivity which is never too much for the theme. I will spare you the details, music is perfectly mastered, including awesome drumming, cold guitar melodies, powerful rhythms and bass lines, and godly-arranged, deep and bleak vocals. Also, atmosphere is made even stronger with the use of clean parts, using kind of acoustics played well enough not to give too much warmth to the genre, and some ambient sounds. A reference in the genre, a flawless record, which doesn't need more words than that.

Opener Earth: As a womb and follower Earth: As a furnace set the mood. And follow Altar of plagues on Facebook.

Other reviews from Altar of plagues:
   - Mammal

Gottesmorder - Gottesmorder [EP]

Genre : Post-black metal

Gottesmorder, with their self-titled EP, deliver an intense and skillful release. Actually, they can compete with the references in the genre, considering how good is their effort. If you're to listen to it, expect bleak and cold soundscapes, with that typical post-black urban and desolate feeling. Guitars are distorted all the way, resulting in huge walls of sound, drumming is intense, and atmosphere is perfectly set with ambient drones that shatter any possible remaining light. Vocals are perfectly arranged on top of this, resulting in powerful growls, never too loud, neither too weak. A solid, coherent and mature release.

Check out both the songs on the EP, Winternight and Abyss of throats. And follow Gottesmorder on Facebook.

Stielas storhett - Expulsè

Genre : Post-black metal

One word comes to mind, "rich". Yeah, this album is surprisingly rich, in term of influences, emotions, genres and sounds. Though supposed depressive, it isn't really the case. But if you're looking for melodic post-black, with riffs that get stuck in your head after listening to it, you should check Expulsè out. Major non-metal influence here is some really enjoyable jazzy parts that come as introductions of fillers, and if vocals are just fine without showing a real emotion, instrumentation is really interesting and perfectly executed. Worth a listen, for sure.

Give it a try with Expulse and Two lifeless months, both being very good songs. And follow Stielas storhett on Facebook.

Self-inflicted violence - A perception of matter and energy

Genre : Post-black metal

Many bands are trying to mix post-rock with depressive black metal and they often fail. Self-inflicted violence, however, makes a pretty good attempt with that release. A perception of matter and energy features quite a calming atmosphere, a catchy and dreamy post-rock sound with tortured vocals, which, if they're not the best ones ever, are kind enough not to be proeminent in the mix, and yet really passionate, which fits the album pretty well. All this makes the tracks go with a soft sound, unusual when we're talking about black metal, mixing interesting melodies with a fine amount of beautiful riffs and a warm melancholy. It's also worth mentioning the amazing piano outro, which definitely deserves a listen!

I would recommand Artificial phenomenon and the aforementioned outro, Realisation. And follow Self-inflicted violence on Facebook.

Woods of desolation - Torn beyond reason

Genre : Post-black metal

Torn beyond reason sets a depressive post-black metal in its purest form. All you need for such a sound is in the mix, including crushing distortion, shrieking and passionate black metal vocals, blastbeats, darkness and pain. Although songs structure isn't something completly new, the way it's done and the production make it an almost perfect record, filled with emotion, passion, agressivity and gloominess. If those things talk to you, stop reading and check it out!

If you're interested, a couple good listens would be Darker days and Somehow.... And follow Woods of desolation on Facebook.

Altar of plagues - Mammal

Genre : Post-black metal

If you enjoy urban-influenced black metal, Mammal should really be a pleasure for you. Through an hopeless atmosphere and machinery-sounding guitars, they've been able to kick any kind of light out of this record. All it evokes is a decayed society, shattered buildings, in a post-apocalyptic world. But this is well done, there are a good amount of clean parts and it's not a brutal black metal release, even though drums are really raw and upfront in the mix. If you want to venture through a destroyed, deprived of light universe, Mammal is the right album to listen to, as long as you setup the right mood to go with it... Not to be listened to on a sunny day at the beach!

Check out Neptune is dead and All life converges to some center if you feel ready to venture through this world. And follow Altar of plagues on Facebook.

Other reviews from Altar of plagues:
   - White tomb

Netra - Mélancolie urbaine

Genre : Post-black metal / Trip-hop

Mélancolie urbaine is a very unsual release, but there aren't many albums around that share such a urban and melancholic feel, hence its name. Not only it carries a good lot of emotions, but in terms of music, it's also very uncommon to hear black metal and trip-hop in a single song. And this is not a failed mix, as Netra put a really strong effort into making this coherent and interesting! The use of vocals is also to mention in a good way, as there are many kind of voices here, including well-fitting movie samples.

Through the fear and City lights are good samples for this emotional urban journey. And follow Netra on Facebook.

Todtgelichter - Angst

Genre : Post-black metal

With Angst, the guys from Todtgelichter have released a very personnal and unusual album. Taking its roots deep into black metal, Angst features many other elements to mix in, such as post-metal influences, dynamic rock-oriented female vocals, and strong riffs which at times remind some death metal structures. Drumming and guitar playing are worth a very good mention too, as they deliver a godly performance throughout the whole album. On top of this, male vocals are incredibly sincere and emotional. The result is a much richer sound than what we're habited to, with catchy melodies and an urban feel that should stick in your head a long moment. Such a clever, melodic and intense release is something rare, mostly considering the fact this album has virtually no letdown at all. Definitely an incredibly solid record you shouldn't wait to check out.

Neon and Phobos & Deimos should be the best ones to confirm if this album suits your taste. And follow Todtgelichter on Facebook.