76 / 100 A contemplative and well-produced instrumental post-black EP with subtle emotional depth. Although not as transcendent or memorable as genre standouts like Trna or Skyforest. When exploring the German post-black metal scene , I think people will mention Heretoir or Bonjour Tristesse . But while listening to Eigen.welt , I was instead reminded of Aag , particularly for its dry atmosphere, despite it's oddly enough that my ears only truly paid attention once I began writing this review. How strange! F32. by eigen.welt At first, I only noticed the pounding double-pedal drums and the emotional weight of the guitar melodies in the third or fourth track. But I was completely mistaken. This EP, titled F32. , is actually Eigen.welt ’s one and only release, its name directly referencing the medical code for depression. Even without vocals, sole member Daniel Beiberstein switches the theme through a German poem on depression which was writ...

79 / 100 Vision Divine’s debut stands as a solid, if uneven, introduction to their prog-power identity. A respectable start that shows promise and personality despite its flaws. So, when we talk about prog power, especially from the late '90s, Angra and Symphony X always come up. But since I mostly listen on Bandcamp and stuff, I can't say I really know them that well. Then, in the edge of the 20th century, Vision Divine released their self-titled album. It's established by Olaf Thörsen ( Labyrinth ), and Fabio Lione whom power metal fans will recognize him as Rhapsody 's former singer. The band's name is kind of in the lyrics of the first song, something about divine eyes, even though there's a self-titled song "Vision Divine" but is probably the weakest one. The beginning of the first song reminds me of their guitar solos in the later work, "Colours of My World," but with a slight classical thi...

  72 / 100 Anomander’s debut shows clear intent and strong influences, channeling the weight of sludge/post-metal while tying it to modern struggles. Promising, but not yet fully realized. After listening to Amerta ’s debut album in Indonesia, we now come across their fresh neighbor from Malaysia: Anomander that were previously known as Prodigium with a different lineup. At first glance, the name feels tied to their relative, Dionysian , and that turns out to be true because of Trishay who also active in bands like Runtuh , Mumuksu , etc. Cracks in Arcadia by Anomander Although they explore a similar theme of exhaustion in modern life, Anomander ’s approach stands out. Their music is divided into two parts, connected like a single strain. The transition is executed perfectly: at 03:45 of the second song, the mood shifts from barren into a more emotional realm, as if leaving the opener behind in the aftermath of a desolate utopia. Harees...

60 / 100 Atmospheric horror soundtrack with some intriguing references but limited impact outside of its niche. Darkzone , aka d a r k z o n e, emerged from Milwaukee, Wisconsin with a two-track soundtrack EP titled Music to Murder People to , released in April 2020. The cover, featuring an eclipse , reflects the human “dark zone” often portrayed in horror. The project also draws on two fictional criminals: Leland Palmer ( Twin Peaks , 1990) and Jack Torrance from the film adaptation of Stephen King’s The Shining (1980)—the latter’s axe-wielding rampage later becoming a famous meme. Music To Murder People To by d a r k z o n e As a horror-inspired soundtrack, Darkzone crafts tension through string scratches across both tracks, though the drum hits in “Leland Palmer” fail to truly unsettle me. Either with the second piece and it feels more suited to a Halloween backdrop , but perhaps my lack of familiarity with the films kept me from connec...

47 / 100 An experimental release with intriguing concepts and a couple of highlights, but overall it left little lasting impact.  From the name and the music alone, it’s clear what the collective project A Quiet Place to Die  set out to do. Blending experimental, avant-garde, and noise elements, AQPTD has released dozens of recordings since October 2020. Failed Animals marks their 24th entry, credited to Zach Kramer , consisting of 16 tracks in just 16 minutes. failed animals by a quiet place to die.. One of AQPTD’s trademarks is their artwork, often using cropped manga imagery . For this release, they pull from Tokyo Ghoul , featuring Touka Kirishima in a near-death state with the words “There’s nothing here that belongs to you.” Despite the gore-soaked, depressive cover, the music itself isn’t quite as bleak. Failed Animals opens with reversed drums, breakbeat-style percussion with heavy bass effects, then layers in experimental synth...

76 / 100 Constant Light twists punk into something cosmic and noisy, a demo worth watching. What is d-beat ? At a glance, it’s punk played at high speed with its signature drumming patterns, which is often raw and unpolished. However, Constant Light ’s demo doesn’t quite fit the typical d-beat mold. This is because their sound carries a heavy atmosphere that obscures the vocals—or perhaps intentionally buries them, much like in atmospheric black metal. This might explain why Constant Light  tags themselves as kosmische punk . Demo 2020 by Constant Light The Austin, Texas -based band’s demo consists of three tracks, packaged in a cover that mirrors the traditional d-beat aesthetic that dominated by stark black-and-white artwork, with hints of raw black metal imagery. Musically, though, it’s a hybrid: d-beat drumming in the vein of Discharge , layered with thick, reverb-heavy guitars reminiscent of psychedelic rock and shoegaze, in example is ...

76 / 100 A strong debut demo; Could Care Less are worth watching for future releases. There isn’t much information available about this shoegaze-tinged post-rock band from Cologne, Germany. Their bio only mentions that Could Care Less began as a dream, with members Nici (guitar), Jo (guitar & vocals), Abhilash (drums), and Melli (vocals & bass). Still a young band, they only released a two-song demo at the start of 2024—but their sound already shows promise.  Demo by could care less As mentioned above, the band delivers post-rock with female spoken-word vocals shaded by emo/screamo influences, especially in the first track. The second track also contains spoken word around 01:47, but then shifts into a shared vocal passage between two members, though it’s unclear who takes the backing role. Gradually, the piece builds toward a single shouted chorus-like section that reminds me of Gggolddd (formerly Gold), Adzes 's "Revelator...

67 / 100 A solid, retrospective indie rock effort; worth checking out for those into classic jangle-pop/indie traditions. Casual Technicians deepen my lack of familiarity with classic indie rock styles. At first glance, this small band from Chittenango, New York channels the spirit of R.E.M. , Pavement , and The Smiths , while adding jazzy saxophone and harmonica touches reminiscent of Bob Dylan . Saxophone has been a hallmark of the band since their debut EP in 2023. Deeply Unworthy is their second release, arriving in October 2024 after their self-titled debut album from February the same year. Deeply Unworthy by Casual Technicians With 17 tracks running just 41 minutes, this record is shorter in playtime than their debut. As I mentioned, I’ve never really consumed much old-school indie before, so my first listen felt rather plain—like a breeze passing by. But with closer attention, it turns out to be quite enjoyable. The highlights for me ...

75 / 100 Dark Water Ponds by Circle of Pines is a compelling debut that successfully blends dark ambient soundscapes with the eerie atmosphere of the wilderness. Circle of Pines is a dark ambient project from Finland with a limited number of releases, all within the Neotantra catalog. Dark Water Ponds is their debut album, released in 2019, followed by only two more albums. This album consists of eight tracks, later archived into a single 66-minute bonus track. Dark Water Pond by Circle Of Pines   Unlike the Black-Sided Sun  album I've listened to before, Circle of Pines feels more like a wilderness offering than a space exploration, although " Down to the Dreamy Sky " seems the most modern with its analog sounds creating a strange psychological atmosphere, like encountering aliens. Additional synthesizers and/or field recordings are also found on " Cove Point ," " Cloak of Fog ," " Zerfrorenes Glas...

74 / 100 Here is a futuristic-and-spacey-leaning ambient/dark ambient record, at times noisy but with moments of emotional brilliance. The cubist-style face on the cover, with its odd expression and abstract vibe, sets the stage for Chris Weeks ’ ambient/dark ambient album. It subtly reflects the artist himself, whose presence feels low-profile and almost elusive—though a few of his projects do mention the UK. Beyond that, his Bandcamp page offers little detail. con·sol·i·data by Chris Weeks Con·sol·i·data was first released independently in 2021, later added to Chris’s own collective label Odd John Records , and eventually joined Neotantra ’s catalog in July 2024. The album contains ten tracks with no written description, but its foundations are clear: ambient/dark ambient with a futuristic, atmospheric, spacey, and emotional soundtrack-like character. That futuristic feel emerges through layers of synths, keyboards, and ambient textures, often ble...

67 / 100 Clausura works as an experimental soundscape, closer to environmental art than music. It succeeds in creating atmosphere of furniture music alike. After ten years of silence, Abbé Brémond Ensemble returned with Without Words in early 2017, followed by Clausura on August 30. This release is filled with field recordings that are not easy to describe from the start. Clausura by Abbé Brémond Ensemble Behind this project, Ká uses silence to create the still atmosphere of a monastic  cell that may appear monotonous, but to him, it becomes the echo of the world. The result is minimalist sounds, modified and layered, resembling rain mixed with repetitive wind gusts, also forming a dark ambient wave with touches of noise and field recordings. For some listeners, it may indeed feel monotonous or dull, but that is precisely where its appeal lies. This work exists more as atmosphere than as conventional music. Listening to it is cl...

79 / 100 A strong, overlooked hardcore act from Chile, delivering passion and grit worthy of attention, especially for fans of emotionally charged hardcore. Carmín has existed for about a decade and is still active, but unfortunately there isn’t enough information on this hardcore band from Santiago, Chile, not even on their own Facebook. Carmín can be interpreted as crimson, representing passion, darkness, and the theme of blood in the music they play. Carmín by Carmín There are two main EPs released, the self-titled (2015) and Migrar (2017), but they only went up on major streaming platforms in 2022. Even though they’re a rather small band, Carmín has good recording quality since it was recorded and mixed at Gitano Records , even mastered by Josema Muñoz in August 2015 in Seville, Spain, then also released and produced by Attitude Discos . From the cover art alone, the atmosphere is obvious. Two palms looking rough and worn in dark tones an...

78 / 100 A cold yet immersive drone journey, rewarding for fans of the genre and those familiar with Brian Grainger’s meticulous craft. Brian Grainger ’s name surfaced for me back in the early days of discovering drone/ambient during the pandemic, though his earlier work Sembre [Side One] (2016) has long faded from memory. What drew me back recently was his practice of offering some releases for free, and the fact that he manages several ambient-related accounts on Bandcamp such as Milieu . This time, we arrive at episode 48 of the Workingman’s Drone series, titled Benthic Ice Barrows , running 71 minutes and released on December 3, 2021. It was recorded at White Pillar in November 2021 using a Yamaha KM-802 analog mixer (1986), a Moog MF-101 low-pass filter , a Tascam DP-008EX digital recorder , and a Peavey FX2 mixing console . Benthic Ice Barrows by Brian Grainger Grainger explains that this twelfth and final volume was built from a no-in...

  74 / 100 .357 Homicide’s second album delivers exactly what brutal death metal promises—fast, relentless, and punishing, despite noisy a bit. Extreme metal like brutal death metal isn’t really my cup of tea, and that’s why I haven’t explored the Indonesian scene much. Still, “name your price” releases or freebies on Bandcamp always catch my attention. That’s also how I found the British band .357 Homicide by their second album released in 2022. Homicidal Amusement Through Supreme Exsanguination by .357 Homicide As I mentioned Indonesia earlier, the band surprisingly features Indonesian brutal vocalist Jossi Bima ( Invigorate ), alongside Jon Burr from a local act, and Larry Wang from Taiwan ( Coprocephalic ). Their vocals focus on deep gutturals, though they’re not always easy to recognize. The artwork is also tied to Indonesia, handled by Sidjimbe Art —proof that Indonesian metallers are deeply devoted to death metal and real...

78 / 100 A compelling dark ambient soundtrack , best enjoyed by fans of atmospheric and cosmic soundscapes rather than traditional game OST seekers. Ava is a mobile puzzle game inspired by tarot cards , developed by Stardust LLC . It was released in four chapters, rolled out periodically between February 2020 and the first quarter of 2021. While there’s a claim that the game won an award, it was never explained exactly where or what it won. For the soundtrack of Chapter 1, Stardust LLC collaborated with local, Zurich-based artist Dragica Kahlina . Ava Chapter 1 OST by Dragica Kahlina Although the game came out in 2020, Kahlina only uploaded the OST two years later on Bandcamp , using cover art from Level 11: The Crown that features Ava herself. The atmosphere of darkness and cosmic vastness is strongly felt throughout the eleven tracks, built primarily on dark ambient foundations and layered with various sounds: echoing stick-like noises...

85 / 100 The album marks a surprising shift for Oliviaway, usually known for soft ambient, into an autumnal atmosphere through classical-style piano. It can be said that Oliviaway is one of the prolific ambient artists who rarely fails to capture the heart since first knowing their work in the 2020s. Autumn Landscape itself shows a contrasting side by collaborating with Atm9lab , who seems to be the same artist behind Atm9 , who had also played together with Blank Embrace and Nonpandoras . Unfortunately, the Bandcamp pages of Atm9 and Atm9lab are now gone. autumn landscape by atm9lab x oliviaway The figure of Oliviaway , usually full of soft ambient, is now replaced with melancholic and slightly dark piano tones typical of autumn through the presence of Atm9lab, instead of just maintaining ambient as in several previous collaborations under the Atm9 name. The piano played here is classical, with minimal ambient following the echoes of sound r...