I am executing the third installment of my ambient series to clear Bålsam from my playlist while finalizing a set of conclusions that came to me relatively quickly. Here are the six releases: Ambidextrous - Vision by Zero (2019) 75% I’m still pondering the correlation between the album title and its content, but the synths presented—combined with my mood as I write this—steer toward a sense of alienation. Foreign, empty, exhausted, and alone. Is it like a silent amusement park that no longer holds any joy because it has been abandoned? I’m not sure, but that was the impression I got.   Highlights: Except Salvador Ali Amulets - Streaking Light/The Lowest Tide (2019) 70% Two murmuring singles from Amulets . "Streaking Light" sounds like light slowly piercing through fog, with a somewhat coarse clearing process audible from 01:20-02:26. Then, the wind-driven waves in "The Lowest Tide" might make one stare blankly at the ocean from the shore or a...

Black metal holds the throne as the demon king of music, with millions of followers and an ability to adapt to various genres across every layer. No matter how small the band, there’s always an audience. At times, I even find myself weary of just how famous this genre has become. So, there’s no need for a long-winded introduction. Here are six black metal releases, dominated by atmospheric and post-black metal styles . Abigail Williams - Walk Beyond the Dark (2019) 75% The name Abigail Williams crossed my path 11 years ago, but I didn't care for it then. If I hadn’t snagged this album as a "name your price" release, I doubt I would have tried it now. The late Mariusz Lewandowski appears once again as the creator of the iconic artwork: a giant cloaked figure with light emanating from within its center. And then what? Is the music bombastic? Not exactly. It sounds more melodic as it enters "Ever So Bold," and the sound of the violin finally brings t...

Post-metal isn't as famous as post-black metal or post-hardcore. I’m not sure exactly why. Is it not emotional enough? Not fast enough? Is it because no "giant" bands have managed to reach millions of ears, even with names like Neurosis and Isis out there? Or is it because the combination of doom/sludge metal and post-rock just feels tedious? It’s hard to say. It feels like post-metal is reserved only for a "chosen" few. Unfortunately, my fate lies there too, making me feel like an outsider amidst the tastes of other music fans. Here are six releases, as usual. 100 Years of Solitude - A Blackened Earth (2013) 75% 100 Years of Solitude delivers an 18-minute single that stays true to its title: blackened. A three-minute guitar intro moves slowly before exploding into high speed from the 05:30 to 08:30 mark. It then pauses briefly before shifting into a more common post-metal style. However, the moment I truly connected with this EP was between 13:...

Progressive metal spans a vast territory, from Queensrÿche , Dream Theater , and Opeth to Oceans Ate Alaska or even Vildhjarta —the latter being djent in nature. However, for me, there are distinguishing factors between "pure" or classic prog and its derivatives. These include vocal dominance (clean or otherwise) and the underlying musical foundation. Opeth and Edge of Sanity are rooted in death metal, while Symphony X and Angra lean toward power metal. Regarding clean vocals, I think almost everyone points to the singular greatness of Dream Theater , even if Fates Warning and Queensrÿche are part of that conversation. Over time, these vocal boundaries have become dynamic—as seen with Gojira —but one still shouldn't label things haphazardly. For the average listener, it might not matter where a band sits, but for someone like me who prefers clean vocals, finding prog metal that meets expectations often requires adding "clean vocals" to the search to a...

Short, concise, and I don't care. That is all I can pour out in response to these six terrifying death metal entities. Abated Mass of Flesh - The Dead Will Never Forgive Us (2021) 65% Abated Mass of Flesh here feels less like brutal death metal and more like brutal death/doom metal , as it sounds slower rather than simply slamming down doors with sadism. The modern chugging and breakdowns are almost non-existent, except in " Dragged Through the Mud ." Highlight: - Cancer Whore - Born Into Depravity (2013) 80% I actually think Cancer Whore is more deserving of the brutal death metal label than the band above, lol. Merciless battering accompanies buzzsaw guitars and "cookie monster" vocals, perfectly fitting for the gore theme. Despite being just a debut EP, the composition and production are excellent. This is a solid menace, enough to make me hesitate even giving it a 75 ... Highlights: All tracks Conjureth - Foul Formations (2020) ...

This time, I return to the world of doom with a focus specifically on death/doom metal , alongside one funeral doom release. Originally, I wanted to make this session more varied—perhaps by including Trouble or something from the epic sector to represent the main branches of doom metal itself—but this is where the path led. Aeonian Sorrow - A Life Without (2020) 70% This gothic/doom/death metal band isn't always purely melancholic, but I find Aeonian Sorrow still quite relevant to the likes of Draconian or My Dying Bride . The clumped growled vocals create a death/doom line that feels hollow, while Gogo Melone’s female vocals provide the necessary sense of mourning and sorrow, as heard on "The Endless Fall of Grief" and "One Love." Meanwhile, grand sounds with an epic or cold gothic flair can be found in "My Solitude" and "Hopeless Suicide." The slow tempo and piano accents certainly meet the genre's requirements, but over...

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When it comes to electronic music, I feel a bit hesitant and almost feel it's better to give up on describing it. Therefore, these notes appear quite brief because of the difficulty in finding more words for each release. Ba5il - Lovelab (2024) 70% Basil Chapman ( Ba5il ) presents a kind of eurobeat with elements of acid techno , gabber , and rave that reminds me of the Initial D soundtrack—the kind often used for memes on " Rave in 1995 "—and the rest is quite energetic in a 90s sort of way. Highlight: Rave in 1995 Ex Uus - Hentai (2008) 70% While the psytrance I know sounds hypnotic or psychedelic, Ex Uus 's Hentai feels more game-friendly with additional rave elements. Well, it's basically ecstasy. Same thing. No tracks truly stand out; I'm mostly just wary of the rather long durations. Highlight: - Ghosting Season - Fade Out (Lost Tracks) (2016) 75% Manchester electronic group Ghosting Season ended their career with ...

75 / 100 I have listened to Sadness on the album Alluring the Distant Eye and didn’t feel so interested. Then my friend posted a Whatsapp status that played Sadness – "Eye of Prima" chorus/choirs part and I’m so amazed. And when I checked their page, I became more surprised by the total discography. I still wonder how some artists/bands could be so productive like this one. Maybe because it’s one man band/project, so they have much time without any obstacle to take practice with the other members. Come from the United States, Sadness is, yeah, a one-man band by Damián Antón Ojeda , active since 2014 and released many albums. I think this is one of the most famous post-black metal projects today. Album Circle of Veins itself out on March 24th, 2019. I just listened to this album overall this year. The opening song is ‘Eye of Prima’, an ace song from this album, in my opinion. Shoegaze atmospheres, clean vocals, and soothing children's cho...

Death metal stands as the pinnacle of extreme genres and a perennial favorite for metalheads, boasting as many subgenres as black metal . I began my own journey into it about 10 years ago through the melodic/progressive side—bands like Arch Enemy , Scar Symmetry , Children of Bodom , all the way to Fleshgod Apocalypse and Mechina . However, I eventually shifted toward the edge that borders doom metal. Meanwhile, the power metal influences within some death metal can make the melodies and symphonies feel somewhat daunting—which is why I don't listen to Wintersun —even though I've grown accustomed to passing through those sounds without much effect; the same goes for most major metal subgenres. So, here are six "terrifying" death metal releases, though perhaps they aren't so scary to my ears. Blastocystia - The Harmonic Melody of Slut Bursting Hammer Strikes (2023) 70% Germany's Blastocystia opens the show with a brutality reminiscent of .357 Hom...