Metal Roundup Week of 8/4
The Land under the Black Wings: Blood by Dymna Lotva
Dymna Lotva’s Зямля Пад Чорнымі Крыламі: Кроў (The Land Under the Black Wings: Blood) has to be one of the most unique metal releases we’ve talked about yet here, but I’d say this one will still resonate with a wide metal audience. With a black metal ethos and death metal production and riffing, this record charts its own path through extreme metal. Since this band is from Belarus, it leaves me wondering whether there’s some anti war messaging somewhere in here, but, since I don’t speak a word of Belarusian, I guess I’ll never know. If you like your metal over the top and epic, this one’s a must for this week.
Oscillating Forest by Tangled Thoughts of Leaving
As we take a more experimental turn here, Tangled Thoughts of Leaving have delivered us Oscillating Forest, a brutally noisy, droney record with constantly improvised lead lines drizzled on top. The piano we hear here comes straight out of a jazz record, as the drum and bass hold down a more familiar post metal or sludge metal sound. Oftentimes we think of improvised music as being a bit challenging, but Oscillating Forest contains ample breathing room that make this record much more inviting. If you’re into low and slow metal, make sure to give this one a shot this week.
The Howling Gale by Ancient Torment & Haxen
Next up we have a split called The Howling Gale from Ancient Torment and Haxen. These Rhode Island groups both make a hardcore-punk-adjacent style of black metal that sounds like it would go absolutely wild in someone’s basement. The Howling Gale takes a step back from the shoegaze-heavy world of North American black metal and reimagines this continent as the sort of place where more traditional black metal can thrive. This one’s not hugely out of the box but it makes up for that by being absolutely masterful in its delivery; go check this one out.
Skopofoboexoskelett by Sleepwalker
Skopofoboexoskelett by 夢遊病者 (Sleepwalker) is an absolute trip from start to finish. It flips back and forth between ambient black metal and disjointed free tempo playing that makes you wonder whether they know the EP has started. The constant erratic changes in playing style not only keep this project endlessly interesting but also give it a playful quality as you’re happily roped into its weirdness. What you need to know is that this EP refuses to be categorized as one thing– it’s black metal, free jazz, experimental ambient, world music, hardcore punk, and then some all wrapped into one. Right when you think you’ve got the hang of their sound, the random chime of a glockenspiel or the squeal of a saxophone come into the forefront, keeping you on your toes the entire time.
Musica Universalis by Thumos
Thumos is back with more sludgey post-metal! Despite their Ancient Academia aesthetic, this release is anything but antiquated as Thumos pulls influence from all over. The fuzzy and lofi production style suits the sound really nicely and ties together its disparate influences. The term Musica Universalis refers to the philosophical concept stating the proportions of the movements of celestial bodies are in themselves a form of music. Whether this refers to audible music or imperceptible wavelengths that affect our subconscious is up for debate, but either way it’s a cool as fuck concept to incorporate into this EP.
Ouroboros by Haar
Up next is Ouroboros, the final release from Scottish black metal group Haar. This is a solid send-off from these guys, starting fast and energetic and featuring unique, jagged riffs serving as the throughline while the album descends into a dark intensity. The album cover and promotional art evoke a surrealism which supports the winding pace of the record.
