Idre – Idre

September 15, 2014September 15, 2014 CherylLeave a comment

Forming in Oklahoma City, Idre are a melancholic, earthy and hypnotic entity. The former trio (now duo for the time being due to bassist Andon Whitehorn recently taking his leave of the band) are a delicious entry into the atmospheric sphere and their sound is quite difficult to pin down. Taking in elements of doom, sludge, drone and noise, even a martial beat (Nicholas Wojcik) during second track “Witch Trial”, Idre travel the path towards oblivion in many different ways yet their gloomy aura is coherent and each passage moves deftly into the next without losing track of the core of the band.

Vocals are sparse but delightfully gothic in tone with guitarist Ryan Davis adding a new sphere of darkness to proceedings with the recordings on this two track full length taking on a somewhat doomed country feeling at times – think True Widow or Earth’s latest for comparisons – and the sprawling, sculpted landscapes of sound the record conjures are truly mesmerising.

Yob + Pallbearer and Bast // The Underworld, London 08/09/14

September 14, 2014March 17, 2019 CherylLeave a comment

Occasionally a live show comes along which proves to be utterly compulsory to attend. For those that miss out on said event, the jealously is all-consuming, for those who were lucky enough to grab a ticket early on, the glow of happiness is hard to ignore. One such show was Yob’s appearance in London along with the phenomenal Pallbearer (for many, the main draw) and local doomsters Bast at The Underworld in Camden.

Sunwølf – Beholden To Nothing and No One

June 22, 2014June 22, 2014 Cheryl1 Comment

The duo behind Sunwølf haven’t been creating music as this project for all too long, with their first record Beyond The Sun coming out less than two years ago, yet these two gents are far from strangers and their musical lineage goes back much further than 2012s initial offering.

Beholden To Nothing and No One is an incredibly dense record and the double disc format serves to separate the harsher, heavier tones of the band from the more ambient structures that they are capable. Each side has its own feel, language and sound and it’s truly astonishing that so much work has fallen from the minds of only two people. The record begins with the gorgeous “In The Darkened River I Found The Silence Loom” with Sunwølf incorporating vocals on their music for the first time.

Panopticon – Roads To The North

May 19, 2014July 29, 2014 Cheryl1 Comment

Panopticon has long been a figure on the outer limits of American black metal, a one man band with his foot on both sides of the opposing styles of contemporary black metal – the visceral nature of the genre being incredibly forthcoming on 2011s Social Disservices while the folkier elements of the scene were more present on 2012s Kentucky – both though, held much in the way of personal emotion and it’s clear that for Austin Lunn, Panopticon is an outlet for many different feelings and as such his music is a way of working through life and the odd nature of being human. Roads To The North sublimely incorporates both aspects of Panopticon but make no mistake, this record is angry, heartfelt and deeply, deeply personal.

BEYOND THE REDSHIFT – REVIEW

May 12, 2014May 13, 2014 Cheryl1 Comment

Cult Of Luna’s curated Beyond The Redshift festival was an incredible experience. Each and every act I managed to see impressed and the organisation and atmosphere of the whole event was extremely on point. There’s something very special about being able to look out across a venue and see hundreds of people collectively lose their minds to what is happening in front of them.

Beyond The Redshift was fantastic and so I’ve collated some little write ups and a few pictures and videos (taken with instagram, naturally) in order to somehow express just how enjoyable the day was. As I’m a one person publication and a girl has to have a break to eat now and then, I wasn’t able to see everyone I wanted (God Is An Astronaut suffered due to a much needed coffee break) but I caught a good majority of the groups I was interested in.

Grey Widow – I

April 21, 2014April 21, 2014 CherylLeave a comment

Grey Widow have been around for barely a year (members have been/are in Dopefight, Parole and Evisorax) and their debut, I, is a record that belies that freshness – although the record itself is far from clean and pure. This monolithic beast of an album is slow, sludgy and disgustingly dark. It’s huge in tone and the UK quartet have created an album of complete misanthropic intensity and an experience that is harrowing, dirty and agonising.

Neige Morte – Bicephaale

April 13, 2014April 21, 2014 CherylLeave a comment

French obscurity masters Neige Morte are adept at creating soundscapes so abhorrent that just getting through to the end of their second record is a lesson in endurance. Bicephaale doesn’t trip on the more prevalent French rawness or prettiness, instead it resides in filth and dissonance and the very dirt of the earth. “500 Jours de Haine” strips back any semblance of melody to begin the album and punish with swirling vortexes of noise. All gnashing vocals and clashing guitars and sickening drum beats – it’s truly a cacophony and the discordance is dizzying and bewildering. The echoing martial drum beat that blurs into view around fuzzy guitars and XT’s vocals allow the band to step back ever so slightly yet they never lose that forceful rhythm and desolate tone that has been built up so far.

Beyond The Redshift

April 13, 2014 CherylLeave a comment

Bleak Metal is very excited about the inaugural Beyond The Redshift Festival which is taking place across three London venues on May 10th. The Cult of Luna curated event is primed to be a wonderful day of interesting music with each band carefully chosen due to the aesthetic and atmosphere they bring to the live arena. Having been lucky enough to witness a few of these bands on stage already, I’m very much looking forward to experiencing their full aural attitude along with some new names to my ears and eyes.

I wanted to bring attention to a few of the bands I am already eagerly anticipating – both acts that I know will enthrall as well as those which I am yet to encounter. The line-up is incredible and for the very first event is downright too good to be true. Let us take a closer look at Beyond The Redshift and the bands involved.

Cult of Luna’s Johannes Persson says:

“We will have Klas join us for a special two-hour set. We don’t like talking about set lists so we won’t discuss what songs we will play. We’re taking the audience through a show, a rollercoaster of dynamics; we don’t want to destroy the surprise element.

We’ll reveal exact stage times for all bands soon, but you should know that all the other bands in The Forum will play full one-hour sets, as will Amplifier in The Dome. The venues are a 7-8 minute walk apart, and The Forum and The Dome won’t clash, so hopefully you’ll be able to see everything you want to see.

The cosmological redshift is caused by the expansion of space. The wavelength of light increases as it traverses the expanding universe. Unable to assume that we have a special place within this universe, the redshift suggests to us that everything is moving away from everything else…

We may not be able to go beyond the redshift, but we can certainly think beyond it. We are bringing together artists who expand within their space – artists who create something special within this space.”

Bleak Metal Presents: Caïna X Church Of Fuck

February 24, 2014July 4, 2014 Cheryl4 Comments

Bleak Metal is extremely honoured to present Caïna live as a full band for the very first time in their ten year history. Usually a solo project, Caïna is doing something incredibly special for the ten year anniversary of the band which will be taking place at Camden’s Black Heart on Saturday July 5.

Supporting at this event will be the Manchester based groups Esoteric Youth and Old Skin, both label mates on cult imprint Church Of Fuck and both absolutely fantastic. In addition to playing these sets, members from both acts will be a part of the live Caïna experience giving Andy Curtis-Brignell’s back catalogue the kind of atmosphere that it hasn’t been able to suffer under as yet.

The latest addition to the line up is the wonderful chaps of Harrowed who have kindly agreed to lend their frenetic energy to the evening.

: Caïna X Church Of Fuck // designed by Ross D McKendrick

Woods of Desolation – As The Stars

February 18, 2014February 18, 2014 Cheryl3 Comments

Woods of Desolation’s incredible Torn Beyond Reason from 2011 was a definite highlight of that year and its cold, harsh soundscapes made for a record which evoked a journey into the depths of winter – quite the feat considering they’re an Australian band but one that was deftly handled and sorrow-laden in all the right places. The Woods of Desolation of 2014 is an altogether different animal, with sole member D. eschewing Tim Yatras’ (Germ, Autumn’s Dawn, ex-Austere) recognisable shriek for another voice and thus creating an atmosphere that feels considerably warmer in tone, but no less harrowing for the change.

Bleak Metal

None more bleak.

Author: Cheryl