Wow, that took some time again! But at last here are the latest four releases I've reviewed over at Veil of Sound:
EFFLUENCE - Anticholinergic Derangement (2026)
[MY REVIEW ON VEIL OF SOUND.COM ]
[MY REVIEW ON VEIL OF SOUND.COM ]
Let's start with what will easily be one of the most batshit crazy Extreme Metal albums of the year - the over seventy minutes long magnum opus of Matt Stevens' "Free Death" project Effluence.
Prepare yourself for a gloriously annoying snare drum sound being hammered into your brain forever - alongside an incomprenhesible overflow of completely over the top, but also just downright fantastically creative Dissonant and Technical Death Metal with ultra guttural growls!
At least on par with the brilliant chaos of bands like Qrixkuor or Esoctrilihum "Anticholigergenic Derangements" pairs its relentless highspeed Brutal Death assault with Free Jazz attitude, swirling pianos, shredding lead guitars, flutes, Folk choir chants and more in an outright unhinged attack on the listener's sanity.
[Don't remind me of the costs - I'd like to forget that part with US imports like this -, but I couldn't be content with only owning this ground- and mindbreaking release in digital form. I don't know if the CD has been shipped yet or whenever it will arrive, but when it does, I'll update this post with one or two pictures.]
Prepare yourself for a gloriously annoying snare drum sound being hammered into your brain forever - alongside an incomprenhesible overflow of completely over the top, but also just downright fantastically creative Dissonant and Technical Death Metal with ultra guttural growls!
At least on par with the brilliant chaos of bands like Qrixkuor or Esoctrilihum "Anticholigergenic Derangements" pairs its relentless highspeed Brutal Death assault with Free Jazz attitude, swirling pianos, shredding lead guitars, flutes, Folk choir chants and more in an outright unhinged attack on the listener's sanity.
[Don't remind me of the costs - I'd like to forget that part with US imports like this -, but I couldn't be content with only owning this ground- and mindbreaking release in digital form. I don't know if the CD has been shipped yet or whenever it will arrive, but when it does, I'll update this post with one or two pictures.]
SLEEPBOMB - Songs In The Key Of Conan (2026)
[MY REVIEW ON VEIL OF SOUND.COM ]
[MY REVIEW ON VEIL OF SOUND.COM ]
An American band with a comparably ambitious attitude, yet in a significantly less sick in the head - and musically completely different - way are Sleepbomb, who have specialized in creating alternative soundtracks to movie classics - in this case John Milius' famous fantasy flick "Conan The Barbarian" featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger in his legendary minimal-acting breakthrough role.
As bold as even the suggestion that you might need a replacement for Basil Poledouris' bombastic original score feels: Sleepbomb deliver an epic, totally independent take on the subject in the language of sludgy (Tulsa) Doom Metal and Post Rock with Classical and Arabic influences, seasoned with ethereal female vocalizations, atmospheric Ambient keyboards, Tribal percussions and jazzy parts featuring clarinet and saxophone.
It's an almost seventy-seven minutes long album, but its sixteen chapters don't even offer a single weak moment. Crom!
As bold as even the suggestion that you might need a replacement for Basil Poledouris' bombastic original score feels: Sleepbomb deliver an epic, totally independent take on the subject in the language of sludgy (Tulsa) Doom Metal and Post Rock with Classical and Arabic influences, seasoned with ethereal female vocalizations, atmospheric Ambient keyboards, Tribal percussions and jazzy parts featuring clarinet and saxophone.
It's an almost seventy-seven minutes long album, but its sixteen chapters don't even offer a single weak moment. Crom!
EDENA GARDENS - Quintessence (2LP) (2026)
[MY REVIEW ON VEIL OF SOUND.COM ]
[MY REVIEW ON VEIL OF SOUND.COM ]
After delivering four studio recordings and one live album since 2022 the Danish Stoner Psych Fusion Jam super group of Nicklas Sørensen, Martin Rude and Jakob Skøtt strikes again with their first double album and probably most ambituous work to date.
In six masterfully morphing longtracks the trio once again demonstrates musicianship, taste and the common cosmic wavelength of its members coming together in perfect alchemy. Edena Gardens' improvisations are captured so intimately that it feels as if you were right there in a room with the band.
It's an amazing album presented accordingly. The gatefold cover with Rude's drawings colourized by Skøtt is an eyecatcher even by the high standards of El Paraiso Records. And if you order your copy directly from the label, you even get a couple of stickers of the figure on the front cover. Very nice!
In six masterfully morphing longtracks the trio once again demonstrates musicianship, taste and the common cosmic wavelength of its members coming together in perfect alchemy. Edena Gardens' improvisations are captured so intimately that it feels as if you were right there in a room with the band.
It's an amazing album presented accordingly. The gatefold cover with Rude's drawings colourized by Skøtt is an eyecatcher even by the high standards of El Paraiso Records. And if you order your copy directly from the label, you even get a couple of stickers of the figure on the front cover. Very nice!
E.U.E.R.P.I. - Microworlds (2026)
[MY REVIEW ON VEIL OF SOUND.COM ]
[MY REVIEW ON VEIL OF SOUND.COM ]
The four albums in this bunch are all examples of very different concepts and their respective execution. This work of Bulgarian composer and Experimental musician Mirian Kolev might actually be the most unorthodox one, because it is based on contact microphone field recordings shrinking us down to the size of ants or (on the last of the three tracks) crickets, so we can experience their mystical world beyond our usual perception as a fascinating, strangely satisfying ASMR experience.
The combination with the sounds of obscure touch-based synthesizers ultimately turns these recordings into - still very minimal and Ambient - music. So don't expect catchy melodies and choruses, but enjoy this as the highly Experimental, but in its own special way very capticating project it is! Headphones strictly recommended.
The combination with the sounds of obscure touch-based synthesizers ultimately turns these recordings into - still very minimal and Ambient - music. So don't expect catchy melodies and choruses, but enjoy this as the highly Experimental, but in its own special way very capticating project it is! Headphones strictly recommended.
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