Well, I just swiped through my inbox ,and even though I delete most promo mails due to lack of time I found that there were still enough great albums with a release date this month left to justify a quadruple review!
So here we go:
POTHAMUS - Abur (release: February 14th 2025)
Many thoughts arise while being flooded by the monumental sound of Pothamus. That the Belgian band actually is only a trio however certainly isn't the first one, given how huge their combination of Sludge Metal with mystic, spiritual, Psychedelic elements appears. Other Post Rock bands seem to recruite half an army of members to achieve a sonic scale like this.
Speaking of huge ensembles: Even though a lot of the monolithic bombast in Pothamus' sound can probably be attributed to groups like The Ocean or Cult of Luna, the tribal drumming and additional Drone (achieved by a Shruti box) bring their impact closer to the rituals of modern shamans Heilung. Overall however the meditative, hypnotic yet also crushing vibe of "Abur" reminds me a lot of another trio, Swiss Post Doom escapists E-L-R, without ever feeling like a copy.
And while the towering finale of the fifteen minute title track closes the album it's safe to say that this surely is among Pelagic Records finest releases in recent years.
Set the controls for the heart of... ehm... whatever flame is depicted in the center of the cover artwork!
DÉLIRANT - Thoughteater (release: February 14th 2025)
Sentient Ruin Laboratories unleashes an unhinged Dissonant Black Metal beast upon us. What else is new? - Well, despite Délirant's sophomore album not exactly being a deviation from their label's shtick at all, it still just took me seconds to decide that I love this sick shit.
Deliriously spiraling Blut Aus Nord non-chords and washed-out screams of anguish are mercilessly pushed forward by the raw ferocity of Mispyrming in an uninterrupted nightmare in seven hellish chapters, all simply titled "Thoughteater" with the respective Roman numeral.
So here we go:
POTHAMUS - Abur (release: February 14th 2025)
Many thoughts arise while being flooded by the monumental sound of Pothamus. That the Belgian band actually is only a trio however certainly isn't the first one, given how huge their combination of Sludge Metal with mystic, spiritual, Psychedelic elements appears. Other Post Rock bands seem to recruite half an army of members to achieve a sonic scale like this.
Speaking of huge ensembles: Even though a lot of the monolithic bombast in Pothamus' sound can probably be attributed to groups like The Ocean or Cult of Luna, the tribal drumming and additional Drone (achieved by a Shruti box) bring their impact closer to the rituals of modern shamans Heilung. Overall however the meditative, hypnotic yet also crushing vibe of "Abur" reminds me a lot of another trio, Swiss Post Doom escapists E-L-R, without ever feeling like a copy.
And while the towering finale of the fifteen minute title track closes the album it's safe to say that this surely is among Pelagic Records finest releases in recent years.
Set the controls for the heart of... ehm... whatever flame is depicted in the center of the cover artwork!
DÉLIRANT - Thoughteater (release: February 14th 2025)
Sentient Ruin Laboratories unleashes an unhinged Dissonant Black Metal beast upon us. What else is new? - Well, despite Délirant's sophomore album not exactly being a deviation from their label's shtick at all, it still just took me seconds to decide that I love this sick shit.
Deliriously spiraling Blut Aus Nord non-chords and washed-out screams of anguish are mercilessly pushed forward by the raw ferocity of Mispyrming in an uninterrupted nightmare in seven hellish chapters, all simply titled "Thoughteater" with the respective Roman numeral.
Even though the assault sometimes halts or moves into a marching stomp - the delightfully harrowing atmosphere constantly persists.
"Thoughteater" feels like the horrific freeze frame of the moment Saturn's son realizes that Francisco Goya is making his father fucking eat him alive.
What a dickhead! And what a brain-levelling blast!
RITUAL ASCENSION - Profanation of the Adamic Covenant (release: February 28th 2025)
That wasn't yet enough Sentient Ruin filth for you yet?
Ok, then let's switch from Black to Death Metal and add a good portion of miasmic Doom! Maybe get a little bit more conventional with the riffs - stay inside the realm of torturous dissonance though -, and then drown in the ghoulish reverb of a mouldy mausoleum!
Where other disharmonic Extreme Metal bands often utilize means of staggering sensory overstimulation to melt the listeners' brains and burn their souls, Ritual Ascension rather keep their ideas more minimalist. Seeping with old-school Death Doom atmosphere akin to Autopsy's "Mental Funeral" their debut is crawling, crushing and maiming in all the good primitive ways.
"Profanation of the Adamic Covenant" locks you inside a rotting coffin, pushes the thing down mountain slopes and drags it through swamps in a full moon night. Suffer the bruises, breathe in the scent and enjoy the ride!
"Thoughteater" feels like the horrific freeze frame of the moment Saturn's son realizes that Francisco Goya is making his father fucking eat him alive.
What a dickhead! And what a brain-levelling blast!
RITUAL ASCENSION - Profanation of the Adamic Covenant (release: February 28th 2025)
That wasn't yet enough Sentient Ruin filth for you yet?
Ok, then let's switch from Black to Death Metal and add a good portion of miasmic Doom! Maybe get a little bit more conventional with the riffs - stay inside the realm of torturous dissonance though -, and then drown in the ghoulish reverb of a mouldy mausoleum!
Where other disharmonic Extreme Metal bands often utilize means of staggering sensory overstimulation to melt the listeners' brains and burn their souls, Ritual Ascension rather keep their ideas more minimalist. Seeping with old-school Death Doom atmosphere akin to Autopsy's "Mental Funeral" their debut is crawling, crushing and maiming in all the good primitive ways.
"Profanation of the Adamic Covenant" locks you inside a rotting coffin, pushes the thing down mountain slopes and drags it through swamps in a full moon night. Suffer the bruises, breathe in the scent and enjoy the ride!
THE ORPHANED BEE - Thinking Without Language (release: February 28th 2025)
On the last release of this bunch we're changing gears complety as we turn towards something more light and shiny - in neon and chrome -, entering the world of Synth Rock!
However the Australian project Orphaned Bee doesn't fully rely on Electronic sounds, but establishes rhythmic dynamics with acoustic drumming and also juxtaposes its Eighties' keyboards with surprisingly heavy guitars and the vocoder vocals with harsh screams. And there are several more unexpected little digressions from what the opener "Rain" would make you expect..
I might have lied above, at the beginning of this post when I spoke of albums, since "Thinking Without Language" only consists of five tracks with a total playing time of under twenty-five minutes. So this is just an EP, but one which - despite the synth work always being boldly at the forefront - goes through a lot of different moods and sounds.
Through "Rain", "Water" and "Fire", between the achingly yearning melodies in cinematic bombast, the Prog side of Krautrock and the straightforward energetic uptempo of Carpenter Brut producer / multi-instrumentalist Brett Tollis and his collaborators are taking us on quite a colourful short-distance passenger bee flight. Best board with headphones!
