Terminus is the new album from Italian progressive death metal band While Sun Ends. Joining the ethereal female vocals of new singer Stefania Torino with her equally unearthly death growls, the group recalls elements of Katatonia, Opeth, Isis and Ihsahn. This is their second full-length album; one with the concept that somehow departure and arrival match one another, thus "Terminus." Compositions are intriguing in their union of complex, ever-shifting riff structures with alluring melodies. There is a palpable melancholy drifting through their atmosphere somewhere between Björk and Enslaved. Now there's a collaboration I'm dying to hear. In the meantime, this gets quite close. Favorite tracks: "Measure," "Sides," "Synthesis." Full album drops this Friday.
A cacophony of funky bass guitar, kinetic drums, brass, and electronics. An explosion of psychodelic visuals brought to light by a series of seemingly improvised expressions of progressive, avant-garde, and jazz fusion. 16 minutes of Primus sans vocals on a serious acid trip. These are the phrases I would use to describe the latest EP from NYC instrumental act, Bangladeafy. The duo's moniker combines the Bangladeshi descent of drummer Atif Haq with the physical hearing impairment of bassist/pianist/vocalist Jon Ehlers. This may be one of the most interesting short releases of the year, and had I more time I would have been glad to dedicate a full review to it. That being said, this EP is above a 9 in all three of our ratings categories. Excellent stuff. Like above, this one comes out this Friday. Full stream HERE.
Some hardcore here from Alberta's The 21st Agenda. This EP is noisy, aggressive, and sports plenty of raw passion. Post-hardcore wails range from primal screams to nearly spoken word. These are joined with technically-tinged guitar riffs that once more conjure images of rusty gears grinding and scraping against one another. The drumming is highly energetic and helps to balance the dissonance with a slam-dancing good time. The sonic equivalent of skinned knees and elbows on hard pavement, this one leaves a bit of a sting; but not so much that you won't get right back up and do it all over again. Recommended song: "A Streetcar Named Disaster." Name your own price.
Chepang are an "immigrindcore" band from Nepal based off NYC. Their lyrics revolve around "the sociopolitical state of third world country like Nepal, the class war within it, the India blockade which has been ignored by everyone raising the price of everything to triple, the earthquake and the corruption within to eat up all the aid money and relief sent by the world." Heavy stuff, And the music? Just as heavy. Misanthropic dissonance of mangled guitars, brutal growls, demented shrieks, and schizophrenic drumming. Just try keeping up with this one. It's like tying to catch a tornado in a mason jar.