What a month for music! After a slow start to the year, February delivers an incredible amount of quality new material. There’s so much going on here that you’ll notice some of the reviews are much shorter than the others. This isn’t a reflection on the music, it’s more to do with how much less time I have to dedicate to this blog at the moment. So, rather than not mention them at all I’ll just give them a short write up.
Rolo Tomassi
Where Myth Becomes Memory (Post Hardcore)
RT have to be one of the most criminally underrated acts in heavy music at the moment. Back in 2015 they released Grievances, which saw them drop back from the more violent ADD mathcore of their earlier albums. While it was still heavy as hell, it embraced a more melodic sound, one that they’ve been honening ever since. Where Myth Becomes Memory shows the band slowing their sound down further.
On previous albums, Rolo felt like a kick in the face, but over time the slower parts would become more obvious and stand out once you get over the shock of the albums’ aggression. Here the slower sections are much more immediate. The band takes their time to build the mood and let the songs breathe, rather than just charging into the next fast section.
There are also more songs with only clean vocals and to be honest, at first it’s a bit jarring. I was a bit disappointed on my first few listens that Where Myth is a bit more restrained than their previous albums, but once I became more familiar with it, I’ve really enjoyed the space it gives the record. After all, it’s not like Rolo have gone soft on us, the run from Closer to Stumbling is jaw dropping.
So while this album may not feel as immediate or as groundbreaking as their last two albums, it has to be said, Where Myth is really, really good.
El Moono
Temple Corrupted (Alt Rock)
I’ve said it before on this blog and now I’m going to say it again. I don’t know what’s going on in Bristol but I’m constantly amazed by the quality of acts coming out of there and El Moono are the latest band to add to that list. They play alt rock and are very heavily influenced by Deftones, with the vocals swinging between Mike Patton and Trent Reznor.
Are you still reading or have you just gone straight to your streaming platform of choice?
At 24 minutes this is a short, sharp shock introduction to the band. The first song propper, Final Execution, is the best song on here. This is where the Deftones comparison is unavoidable, the riff reminds me of the Around the Fur era, but that’s fine by me, I have all the time in the world for riffs this big. Saying all that, there is a surprising amount of variation on here, Miseria is indebted to NIN and the closer, White Gold is an off kilter alt rock track.
I came across El Moono on Metal Hammer’s one to watch list for 2022. They were right, hopefully this band is destined for bigger things.
Zeal & Ardor
Zeal & Ardor (Gospel – Black Metal
This album is crucial to Z&A. The concept of blending Black American music and Black Metal could very easily run out of steam and tail off as a novelty act. The first ep and album worked well but I was kind of worried that the idea might have run its course.
I really should have had more faith. Manuel Gagneux has joked about Zeal & Ardor being cultural appropriation of American and Nordic cultures, (He’s Swiss) but he’s made a sound that is truly his own. This is a take no prisoners album, the opening line is “Run while you still can” and just goes for the throat, built on bedrock of aggressive metal and Gagneux’s incredibly strong blues voice.
Golden Liar is a clear highlight, sung clean, it puts Gagneux’s voice front and center and it soars. Church Burns is a face melter (no pun intended). I’m not sure we need songs about Burning Churches these days, it seems a bit 80’s try hard but the questionable lyrics don’t hold the song back much. Hold you head low is a soul song that somehow perfectly blends it’s metal sections with Soul and the blastbeats combining with those powerful vocals become something that has never been tried before, but somehow here, is perfected on the first attempt. It gives a new meaning to the Dark Side of the street.
This is such a powerful album and is easily going to be in my top ten at the end of the year.
Cult of Luna
The Long Road North (Post Metal)
CoL are an odd band for me, I’ll go see them every time they play but I’ve never really enjoyed their albums. They’ve always had amazing songs, but the albums themselves have been too long, too monochromatic for me to warm to them.
At first glance, nothing much has changed here, this is a 70 minute slab of post metal that will absolutely melt your face, but after a few listens The Long Road North opens up and the lighter, more beautiful side of the band’s style becomes clear.
The biggest change seems to be how Johannes, the vocalist, is used here. He’s without a doubt one of the greatest strengths of the band. When I think of a post metal vocalist, it’s his powerful roar I hear, but it’s also one dimensional and can make all the band’s songs sound the same. This time, CoL have added two guests. Mariam Wallentin (of Wildbirds & Peacedrums) guests on Beyond 1, and her gentle voice adds a whole new dimension to the band’s sound.
Colin Stetson turns up on Beyond 2, bringing his sax to add a discordance to the song, even if it’s buried a bit far down in the mix. Fredrik, CoL’s other vocalist, sings a clean vocal on Into The Night and it sounds like a different band, it’s almost unrecognizable from what’s come before. All this gives the massive crushing sound of the band enough time to breathe, to give you some relief from the towering riffs and the claustrophobic atmosphere, so when the band goes full on, it’s a joy, not a slog.
It’s amazing to see a band who’ve been going as long as CoL tweak their sound and release what is one of, if not their best record, this far into their career.
I try not to swear in reviews, but this album?
This album is fucking incredable.
Turpentine Valley
Alder (Post Metal)
This is the Belgians’ second album and like their debut is a fantastic bit of post metal. It’s got everything you need, great atmosphere, fantastic riffs and very little repetition in the songs.
If you’ve a fan of the genre and you manage to stop listening to that Cult of Luna album long enough to listen to something else, Alder is a must.
Brecon
Fore (Electronica)
There’s a similarity here to Rival Consoles but where RC has drifted off in a more ambient direction Brecon has a fantastic way with bass that lends a vibrancy to this album that makes it really stand out. Bright synth lines dance over powerful basslines to give a really warm feeling to the album.
King Hannah
I’m not sorry, I was just being me. (Indie – lounge – shoegaze)
This is an incredible debut album that sounds like a mix of Mazzy Star, the lounge parts of the Twin Peaks soundtrack with a dash of Portishead. It’s lush and beautiful with more than a little bite in the lyrics. There’s a lovely shoegaze guitar that gives the album an edge but never fully commits to a wall of noise because this album doesn’t need it. This is just beautiful.
Deathcrash
Return (Post Rock)
I missed this last month but it’s far too good not to write a quick review. Heavily indebted to Slint, the Young Team era of Mogwai and a little Red House Painters, this album is just perfect for me. Heavy on atmosphere rather than the noisier side of their influences, Deathcrash carefully navigates between copying their influences and building something new. It’s a fine line but they do it with style. This kind of music is catnip to me and I just can’t get enough of this album.
The ways of exile 