Amia Venera Landscape - The Long Procession

For critics, placing music into genres is often seen as a necessary evil. Everything has to sound like something before it so that they can all fit neatly into the same labelled folder together. For the most part this system works and any kind of music can be fairly accurately described with just one genre tag. But every now and again a band or musician comes along and just messes with the whole system. Amia Venera Landscape is one of those bands.

While they may not be able to claim complete originality, Amia Venera Landscape draw from so many different influences that it’s nigh impossible to pin them down to just one style. Perhaps the most immediate sound that comes to mind is that of post-hardcore, and there are certainly enough Define the Great Line-era Underoath-sounding riffs and vocal stylings for them to be classified as such. But what about that speed and technicality in “Empire” that sounds like it could have been taken straight from a Dillinger Escape Plan record? Or the atmospheric post-metal sections akin to bands such as Isis and Rosetta? There is even a lengthy ambient passage that constitutes much of the album’s midsection.

Music as diverse as this always has the potential to sound over-the-top but Amia Venera Landscape generally avoid falling into this trap. The songs are lengthy and progressive but rarely does anything sound out of place. When the band delve head-first into ambience with “Ascending,” it comes at just the right time; the previous three tracks all revolve around the post-hardcore sound mentioned earlier and “Ascending” is the perfect breather. Elsewhere, “Marasm” is perhaps the best track on The Long Procession (tied with “Empire”). A sprawling, near 15-minute instrumental based around epic post-metal soundscapes, “Marasm” sees the band exploring a slightly longer route to kicking your face in and the result is simply stunning. The song is allowed to expand and build slowly and it reaps massive benefits from this. “Nicholas” is the final piece of the puzzle and it really should have been the closer. Instead, the album continues for another 10 minutes with a couple of somewhat less impressive tracks. While they may not be bad songs per say, they aren’t quite able to match up to the intensity of the previous eight compositions and the added length just drags the album a little too far over a comfortable running time. This is ultimately a minor complaint, however, for an otherwise brilliant record.

I really couldn’t tell you which genre Amia Venera Landscape falls under, but what I can tell you is that this is one hell of an album that, if approached with an open-mind, you certainly won’t regret listening to. 

Rating: 8/10

(Originally posted on Sputnikmusic.com: http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/56414/Amia-Venera-Landscape-The-Long-Procession/)

Esoteric - Subconscious Dissolution into the Continuum

While this album proves they may not be perfect, there’s one thing Esoteric do undeniably better than anyone else and that’s describing their own music. Everything is so perfectly encapsulated in the one word that comprises their band name, there’s almost no need for a further explanation of their sound. And yet somehow they managed to do it, branding themselves as “hateful, drug-influenced tortured doom.”

With that said, this is music that you will either love or find utterly hilarious. Like all bands that operate within this excessively dark, depressing genre, there are only so many ways self-loathing can be expressed without sounding completely ridiculous. Therefore, it’s a prerequisite to be in touch with the darkest parts of your psyche when attempting to listen to this. These tunes are slow and heavy, and I mean really slow and really heavy. This is Esoteric’s most traditionally funeral doom metal release so expect nothing less than to be battered with the same riff again and again for close to 20 minutes in some songs. The ‘drug-influenced’ aspect of their sound may be far less prominent in this release, but still makes an appearance courtesy of some fairly impressive psychedelic guitar-work by frontman Greg Chandler and guitarists Gordon Bicknell and Steve Peters. The use of three guitars on top of the bass and drums creates a dense sound that envelops you in a nightmarish atmosphere.

As if all this wasn’t enough, Chandler’s hateful growls are beaten into your skull synchronously with the plodding riffs. While they’ve certainly changed a lot from their effect-laden ‘bad acid trip’ vibe on previous releases, the use of a more traditional death-doom growl works well within the context of the album.

So the question remains: what is it that makes Subconscious Dissolution... weaker than any of the group’s other releases? Well for starters there’s the aforementioned lack of psychedelic influences that made Esoteric so unique to begin with. Whereas The Pernicious Enigma utilised voice samples, effects, and straight-up bursts of death metal to keep the ride interesting, Subconscious Dissolution... sees the band happy to simply keep things moving at a snail’s pace. While some may view this as a positive aspect, Esoteric have always been at their best when they vary the tempo a bit and unfortunately on this album it just never comes. And so even though this is one of the shortest releases by the band, it gets boring very quickly. The only mildly interesting change comes in the form of the opening lead of “The Blood of the Eyes,” but even that quickly descends right back into a barrage of slow, monotonous riffs. The production is also a little too clear for my liking, detracting from the atmosphere that is such an integral part of their sound.

Regardless, if you’re a fan of bands such as Thergothon and Evoken and haven’t checked these guys out yet, this would probably be a good starting point because of its more digestible length and similarities to the traditional funeral doom sound. Overall, this is an unconvincing but not altogether bad release from a band capable of so much more.  

Rating: 6/10

(Originally posted on sputnikmusic.com: http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/56263/Esoteric-Subconscious-Dissolution-into-the-Contin/)

The Angels of Light - New Mother

There is no light in this world of darkness. The cities, once a surplus of activity and motion, now lie still in the wake of the all-consuming emptiness. Here there is no god, there is no government, and there are no survivors. The wasteland is littered with the bloodied trophies of mankind’s arrogance; ashes of towering skyscrapers and twisted remnants of the most advanced vehicles are all that remain of man’s former glory. Desolation. There is silence... nothing moves.    

Years pass. Black waves wash over the wreckage; their steady rhythm is the only timekeeper. The cold has engulfed the landscape and Mother Nature is long dead. Life is a lost memory, a forgotten dream. Time stops. The earth becomes formless, a void in space... a black hole. Everything is sucked back into the cosmic abyss from whence it came...  

Then there is nothing.    

A new day has begun; today the soil gives back to its mother. The glare of a dying sun illuminates the earth and darkness is forced to lurk underground once more. The winter has ended. Vegetation sprouts up from the ground until foliage covers every square inch. Rivers tear through the terrain, feeding the soil around them. Everywhere there is life - the death of man.

And then She speaks. “I am your new mother,” she says, “beginning.”

The New Mother has awakened.        

 

Rating: 7/10

(Originally posted on sputnikmusic.com: http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/56203/The-Angels-of-Light-New-Mother/)

        

Sigur Rós - Brennisteinn

Ever since Sigur Rós took their breathtakingly beautiful, otherworldly-sounding compositions to an international stage in 1999, they have been heading towards a sound governed less by their Icelandic roots and more by their innate ability to create songs that resonate on an emotional level. Whereas Ágætis Byrjun and (  ) made strong use of the band’s foreign sensibilities, subsequent albums began to rely less on this aspect, with the songwriting taking precedence. Yet Sigur Rós have not often dared to venture too far out of their comfort zone, with last year’s ambient-leaning Valtari honing in on the more minimalist elements of their signature sound.

If Brennisteinn is any indication, all that is about to change. With the upcoming release of their seventh studio album Kveikur later this year, Brennisteinn points towards an overall darker and sludgier sound that the band has not channelled since the second half of 2002’s untitled masterpiece. The title track, which is also due to appear as the opener on the new album, sees Sigur Rós experimenting with harsher, more abrasive electronic elements grating over the top of Jónsi’s trademark vocals. Conflicting aspects such as these have only been used sparingly in the past but here Jónsi’s falsetto shines through the haze like a ray of light and it works brilliantly. The same can be said of “Hryggjarsúla” which sounds more like the kind of droning nightmare Michael Gira would conjure up rather than anything from the band’s back catalogue. Finally, instrumental track “Ofbirta” hearkens back to the dark ambient style of Von, perhaps the most ominous Sigur Rós had sounded prior to this.

Although no two albums of theirs sound exactly alike, this is the first time we are really hearing something of a reinvention from the group. As just a small taste of what’s to come, Brennisteinn certainly achieves its goal of whetting the appetite and fans will have to wait another few months before getting to hear the final product.       

Rating: 7/10

(Originally posted on sputnikmusic.com: http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/55952/Sigur-Ros-Brennisteinn/)

The Angels of Light - How I Loved You

Michael Gira is a man who revels in misery. After his uncompromisingly brutal work with Swans in the 1980s (which remains some of the heaviest music ever recorded), Gira turned to more subdued forms of anguish and depression in the following decade. Proving that he didn’t necessarily have to be loud to get his point across, Swans became rooted in dark, psychedelic folk rock for a few albums before exploring the worlds of drone, post-rock and ambient music on their 1996 opus Soundtracks for the Blind. That album would signal the end of Swans until their surprising reunion in 2010, and it was during this period that Michael Gira began a new project known as The Angels of Light.

The Angels of Light took a far more song-based approach than Swans, focusing on melody and harmony rather than cacophonous noise and jarring rhythms. Dabbling in folk and country music, their 1999 debut album New Mother only hinted at what was to come a couple of years later. Whereas New Mother featured a massive 17 songs, How I Loved You almost equals its colossal 70-odd minute runtime in only 10 tracks. The reason for this lies in the latter’s ability to allow the songs to grow and sprawl over Gira’s barren soundscapes. Opener “Evangeline” almost effortlessly combines country with post-rock, a weird combination to say the least, but it works perfectly. The song builds slowly, subtly going from a simple acoustic guitar riff into an emotional climax with the full band, and the line “I can feel it now” being repeated as the music dies down. It’s a wonderful start to the album and this continues into “Untitled Love Song,” replete with female vocals and beautiful melodies.

“My True Body,” however, bears more in common with Swans due to the dark subject matter and occasionally shouted vocals. “New City in the Future” is another sinister-sounding track that erupts towards the end of its 12 minutes with Gira screaming “You were mine” like a madman. This forms the centrepiece of the album and unfortunately sets in motion the few mediocre numbers that follow, with “New York Girls” being the chief culprit. It’s not a bad song by any means, but it doesn’t really go anywhere to justify its length. Thankfully the best is saved for last with “Two Women,” perhaps the most brilliant song in the whole Angels of Light discography. Like the opener, it’s a sprawling epic that builds towards a magnificent climax. This time around, though, the real beauty is contained within the final minute as the music begins to fade away and Gira mutters the words “I can’t live without you... goodbye Jane.” That moment alone makes the whole album worth getting through, even though there are some typically oppressive and even frightening moments to withstand.

How I Loved You marked the end of an era for The Angels of Light, as the next few releases slowly began to realise the sound that would lead to the eventual reformation of Swans. Nevertheless, this album remains the pinnacle of the band’s work and it would take Michael Gira another 11 years before his potential was this fully realised again.       

Rating: 8/10

(Originally posted on sputnikmusic.com: http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/55927/The-Angels-of-Light-How-I-Loved-You/)