Well, with quite a bit of free time on my hands, the activity of giving impressions to each release could move along fairly quickly—especially with the help of notes from some time ago.
So, what did I listen to this time? Let’s take a look…
Scale of Attrition – Broken Bonds (2024)
Scale of Attrition come from London, England, consisting of Richie (vocals), Chrissy (guitar), and Martin (guitar), who are also part of Meridian Sun alongside David (bass), with Spyridon from Decades in the Shadows on drums.
Despite describing themselves as modern melodic death metal, their two debut tracks, “Broken Bonds” and “Panacea,” lean more toward metalcore, with post-hardcore–style melodic touches in the interlude sections of both songs. There’s nothing I’d call truly special here, but their playing and overall quality are still commendable. Hopefully, they’ll deliver a more straightforward melodeath approach on future releases.
Ta-BẞВ – Gemuruh Rendah (2025)
Imagine being a fan of field recordings—or, more popularly known, ASMR—someone who enjoys various natural sounds outside of music. At some point, you find yourself in a place with sounds that feel unique or pleasant, even if to most people they’re just ordinary noises. You don’t really care about that, though, and decide to capture those sounds in a recording so you can replay them later.
That’s essentially what Gemuruh Rendah is like. I caught this 22-minute single when entering a chiller room and hearing the sound of a blower fan that felt like the kind of ambient texture I was looking for. After trying a bit of simple editing, the result was… boom! I admit it’s enjoyable, even if it isn’t very smooth and is certainly monotonous since nothing else was added. Still, as an ambient product, it’s already quite good—and that’s perfectly fine.
Sure, ambient might not be everyone’s cup of tea around here, but if you’re looking for ASMR-like music as a sleep aid, Gemuruh Rendah is worth trying.
Unit̩ Douleur РBelow Zero (2025)
Unité Douleur’s music is influenced by Neurosis, Baroness, to Triptykon, but what I hear here feels fairly light—still within alternative/progressive/post-rock territory, with touches of post-metal in the guitars and vocals. I initially thought they were heading toward stoner rock, but they’re not. Unfortunately, I feel there’s something lacking in what’s presented. The weight feels halfway there, and I’m hoping they’ll fully commit to post-metal on their next release.
So for Below Zero, this might suit fans of Baroness and Earth, while I’ll be setting this band aside for now. For the moment, I’d point to “Crystal” as the strongest candidate.
Veln – Veln (2024)
Finally, the heaviness I mentioned earlier is delivered by Irish progressive death/black metal unit Veln—a genre that’s still unfamiliar to me, to the point where even Opeth doesn’t come to mind.
Despite operating in death/black metal territory, Veln’s tempo doesn’t feel aggressive, even though the drumming is fairly tight in the first three tracks. There are also plenty of instrumental sections, especially concentrated in the last two songs, reinforcing the progressive metal label. The most striking moments appear in the final minutes of “Remnant.”
I can’t help but imagine how interesting it would be if this band also poured in some doom metal elements, since they don’t really focus on the fast and ferocious style usually associated with death/black metal. Fans of Ihsahn and similar artists might also enjoy Veln.
Whale Nado – Whale Nado EP5 (2016)
From the metal realm, I move on to post-rock with Spanish band Whale Nado. Yes, whales are quite iconic in this area.
Alright, the feel of this EP really came out when I started writing about it. “Moon Diver” works well as a crescendo-style hook, “Mlou Was Here” carries shades of Da Voile and Moonlit Sailor, and “Knowledge Brings Fear” feels relevant as a kind of future “Yann Tiersen” track. The last two songs, for me, sink in a bit less, as they feel more static and slightly louder.
Even so, I’ve ultimately decided to take those three tracks into my favorites playlist.
Xaric – Endless Days (2023)
Whenever I come across electronic music, I often find myself going blank when trying to describe it. The same thing happened while listening to French house project Xaric on the Endless Days EP.
At a glance, yeah—it’s all pretty good. Especially the drum beats, which stand out thanks to earphones that really shine in the bass department. The melodic lines in the two tracks presented are quite influenced by psychedelic/acid synths and fit well under the atmospheric/melodic house label.
Fortunately, there was no sense of boredom or drowsiness while listening to this EP—but that doesn’t necessarily mean I like it either. So, anyone here into this kind of music? If so, give Xaric a try too.
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