Year in Review - the Releases of January 2013

Howdy, folks, and welcome to this year's retrospective! Below you'll find summaries of January's album releases of note to me. The next few months should appear on the site in the next coming weeks. As usual, if you have a comment, a suggestion, or even if you want to tell me my taste is shit and I should quit blogging, leave a comment below.       

 ██████ - Demo

Genre: Post-Black

          When you're intensely bored and find yourself perusing the Metal Archives to find something new to listen to, you sometimes stumble upon some strange material – sometimes I find bands like Drowning the Light or Terra Tenebrosa, other times I alight upon horrible death metal. But one evening in August, as I was reeling from how good Sunbather was, I stumbled across this intensely obscure Czech band with a wholly internet-unfriendly name: if you can even figure out how to type ██████, give me a call.

         This band, or NIC as they sometimes call themselves out of respect for the sanity of the curious, are a completely new act, and released their first demo this past January for free – visit their Metal Archives page for a download link. NIC play an entrancing, dark form of post-black metal that bounces back and forth between intense old school passages and flighty Alcest-like clouds, always against the encroaching darkness of their rhythm.

          NIC aren't your average dull Lantlos ripoff that tries to come off as depressive and shoegaze-y at the same time; NIC are happy to provide the melody, but it's cast against the backdrop of dark, crushing percussion – see the intro to closer 'IV'. The riffs struggle and twinkle against a downtrodden, ghostly bass and rhythm guitar. Amidst a genre that tries too hard to pull of shoegaze elements, NIC have completely eschewed them, instead taking their cues from bands like Altar of Plagues or Weakling and opting for a darker, heavier soundscape.

          Most of the record, actually, is blast beats, tremolo'd chords, and howled vocals – if you told me this was a Weakling demo, I wouldn't have questioned it. But the truly defining moments of NIC's demo come in the gaps between, during the beautiful, melodic breaks of 'II', or the intro of 'I'. It's this duality that distinguishes the demo from the hordes of identical post-black bands that have clogged the scene recently. NIC refuse to play to the cliches, and instead break the genre down into its purest form – black metal musicians experimenting with the black metal formula.

          NIC's first demo takes the painfully short form of four songs, one of which is 70% instrumental, and much of it is spent in utter fascination. Anyone who goes into this demo expecting another uninteresting post-black band will be sorely mistaken. This demo is one of the best representations of the “missing link” between “old-school” and “post” black metal I have seen in a while.

Notable Tracks: II, III, IV.

Cult of Luna - Vertikal

Genre: Post-Metal

       Lots of people who don't totally understand metal claim it's all about breakneck speeds and intense musical complexity, citing 80s thrash as the perfect example of what metal's really about. Never mind the entire genre of doom, the first band I would use to put these rumors to rest would be post-metal legends Cult of Luna.

     Cult of Luna hail from the winter paradise of Sweden, a country singlehandedly responsible for melodic death metal as we know it, to say nothing of progressive giants like Opeth and Vildhjarta. However, Cult of Luna have always shied away from death metal leanings, busying themselves instead with constructing something gigantic out of almost nothing. With the exception of their sophomore slump the Beyond, the quartet have churned out four mystifying works of art since their 2000 self-titled debut.

      I listed the band's newest release Vertikal as one of the best releases of the year so far back in July (let's ignore the fact that I thought Baroness put out Yellow & Green this year, all right), and since then Vertikal has stood the test of time – this is a piece of music that stands on its own two feet, both as an utter departure from Cult of Luna's previous work, and as a contribution to the genre of post-metal as a whole.

      Minimalism is the name of the game, the way it has always been with this gang of Swedes. Cult of Luna play a methodical, patient music that is at times sharp and heavy, and at other times nebulous and distant. Inspired by the German silent film Metropolis, the band successfully conveys the sense of majesty and wonder that the movie's avant-garde imagery evokes even today. Take the mammoth, 19-minute long odyssey of a song 'Vicarious Redemption'. Through all of its ups and downs – beginning from a melodic debut to a crushing finish replete with unclean vocals – there's a handful of riffs and plenty of wide-open space between notes.

            Then, just two songs later, behold the massive, electronic-studded 'Mute Departure'. The simplicity remains, but it's been replaced by a smooth, clean taste. Or bask in awe at the magnificent efficiency of 'Passing Through'. So simple, yet absolutely massive in scope. Hypnotic isn't a word I like to throw around with regard to music – it implies borderline soporific repetitiveness – but with Cult of Luna I can't help but feel it applies.

           Vertikal's uniqueness and replayability comes from the introduction of electronic elements to the band's arsenal. As with almost everything else, it's used sparingly and smartly, and provides another layer to get lost in – a simple melody amongst the distorted metal twang of the guitars and drum.

The album's one downfall, and, admittedly, it is hardly a 'downfall' is that the first half drags its feet getting into the action. 'Vicarious Redemption' is a defining song, but it's not a very approachable song, if only because of its length, while 'Synchronicity''s bizarre stacatto instrumentals aren't very appealing and make it one of the less enjoyable parts of Vertikal. The second half of the record is a total, flawless victory, fronted by the nostalgically heavy 'In Awe Of' that grabs you with its first riff and runs its nine-minute course all to quickly.

          If slow, ponderous metal gets you excited, Vertikal will utterly shock you and leave you agape. Cult of Luna's art is not an easy one to understand, but for those who persevere, it is easily some of the most rewarding music in the genre.

Notable Tracks: 'Passing Through' 'In Awe Of', 'I: The Weapon'.

Hatebreed - The Divinity of Purpose

Genre: Metalcore

         What can I say about the new Hatebreed record. White trash and hardcore scumbag machismo jokes aside, the Hatebreed formula has been a winning success since Satisfaction is the Death of Desire put metalcore on the map as what it truly was supposed to be: a crossover genre between hardcore punk and heavy metal, before the frill and pomp of the emo wave ruined the genre.

         Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately if you were looking for any sort of evolution, nothing has changed on the band's 2013 effort the Divinity of Purpose. Frontman Jamey Jasta delivers another nine or so yelled motivational ballads about never giving up, and never backing down. Given my limited experience with Hatebreed before, hearing the gang vocals of “Who's got more heart than you!? No one!” at the start of 'Own Your World' was borderline funny, but then the song kicked in.

            I don't know why it took me by surprise but Hatebreed have always written surprisingly catchy, if

mindless, music. It's not music to put on and thoughtfully wax on the various intricacies and musical innovations – this is music so high in testosterone it almost screams “chug whiskey and/or go to the gym”. In a way, it's nice to have around because as far as I stray from metalcore, I can always thread my way back to the stupidity of 'Before the Fight Ends You', yelling along to the intensely feel-good lyrics, even if they are contrasted by thick, D-beat ridden hardcore instrumentals.

             It's beginning to get difficult to write anything else about this album, otherwise I risk BS'ing about qualities that this album lacks, but suffice it to say the Divinity of Purpose is a punishingly fun album – the kind of music to drunkenly headbang to surrounded by sweaty crusts in a tiny room.

Notable Tracks: 'Before the Fight Ends You', 'Honor Never Dies', 'Nothing Scars Me'.

Fen - Dustwalker

Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal

           Fen have always been one of those bands I really should enjoy more than I do. I love atmospheric black metal – especially this time of year! - and sitting on my balcony and watching the snow fall with some Gallowbraid or Woods of Desolation is one of the best parts about winter. But in any case, Fen released their third record Dustwalker this year, and, once again, I can't quite get into it.

           I've done all the requisite steps. I've listened to it while walking in the snow. I've listened to it in the quiet of my room with eyes closed. I've patiently sat through the band's entire discography – including their demo Ancient Sorrow, but it just doesn't resonate with me. And that's unfortunate, because I can tell this is

really good, lonely music for a cold winter's morning.

          But then the vocals kick in.

           I have nothing wrong with blackened vocals – hell, a ton of the bands on this retrospective are black metal – but Fen puts their vocals right up near the front of the mix, and ultimately it breaks the serene, atmospheric spell of the music – case in point, the whispered post-rock swells of 'The Black Sound'. The strongest point of the song is either the introduction, the quiet portion around three minutes in, or the clean break a little later.

            Maybe Dustwalker falls a little flat for me because I need to consciously tune out the vocals, or because I only enjoy scant portions of it, but this is a thoroughly middle-of-the-road album. Most Fen records, to my untrained ear, sound intensely similar, and the tradition continues with Dustwalker, unfortunately.

The album drags its feet plenty, and never really goes anywhere with any of its ideas – and as a whole Dustwalker just isn't a very interesting record. Fans of Fen will definitely enjoy this, but I for one remain unconvinced.