St Digue : "Secret Language"

 This album reminds us that, for better or worse, "darkwave" is changing. It's evident this Danish artist takes more inspiration from Drab Majesty and The Black Queen than from VNV Nation or Sisters of Mercy. Though there is a fair amount of industrial leaning, which helps justify this to some extent. The drum programming is the main hindrance I hear on the first couple of songs. You can also draw conclusions that he is influenced by the "Pretty Hate Machine" era of Nine Inch Nails. "Down Below" hints that he might be able to sing better than the first two songs suggested. 

The beats improve for " I Told You So," though the vocals take a step backwards from the previous song. Theuptempo shifft helps increase the overall dynamics of the album. Even though "Relapse" builds into something with high energy over all it'schaoticand not focused, and he sounds like ChuckMosely from Faith No More here. Pitchy, but making that work for what he is doing the best he can. 'Amen" is darker and more melodic, which is worth mentioning; as for a "darkwave" project, this album has not felt all that dark to me. This might be due to the fact that the newer "darkwave" that has come from indie electronica is more hazy and less dark. Angry does not always equate to dark, but he gets props for being willing to be angrier, which is what a great deal of the new industrial-tinged music does not get. 

The strongest song on the album might be 'If You Don't Get it Now, You Never Will" has all the elements I have been on the fence about, like the vocals and drum programming, hit their mark and show what this project needs to be tapped into to excel. They work off an angular groove for "Meltdown" that proves effective when they break down for the verse. Then bring a sax in for the 80s synthwave nostalgia. The title track that closes the album is not the most focused song. I will give this album an 8.5. With the right producer, this could be something, but more supervision is needed in this form; however, if you like the indie-"darkwave" sound mixed with 90s industrial rock liek God Lives UNderwater. this is for you.Drops October 8 

Brutalismus 3000 : "Harmony "

 I don't cover a great deal of electronic music; it seldom bangs like the sophomore album from this German duo who met on Tinder. In some ways, it is not far removed from the kind of hyperpop Slayyyter pumped out earlier this year, but Victoria'svocals are more rapped on songs like 'Garland", and their music is even more aggressive.  There is more of a darkness lurking in between the high hats. Even when they are bouncing with a more celebratory "A Milli," there is anger in the raw mix; her lyrics are ego-driven at times with a hip-hop bravado. 

The experimental nature of hyper -pop is in full effect with warped synths that sound like a b-bit video game bring" Mother Bug"  to life. It carries more of a techno pulse, though techno is a part of their musical DNA; Boyz Noize joins them for " I Bring My Gun to the Function". I am not sure I believe she is actually packing, but the theme brings ome fun to the occasion, much likea gun. "Kairo" is the most accessible song, though it works well in the contet of the other songs, and it carries a mainstream techno beat not out of place on the dance floor of your average club. 

Anya Taylor-Joy reads a poem about a hangover on "Morning is For the Happy," which is almost more like an interlude. There is a more Charli XCX feel to " You Were Never Here But I Miss Ya". It gains more techno mometum, though it switches up to a more trap beat."Friends at the Pigshed" features  Underworld, who does not normally collaborate with pop artists. Gore Louvre" pounds pretty hard. It finds a fist-pumping groove. Leonard Cohen" works off more of a trap thump; she also switches up her vocals phrashing on this one. There is also a darker, grittier mood to this

They end the album with "Testo" parts one and two, the first working with a more festive thump and interesting vocal production. Lingering vocal samples from the first part carry over into the second part along with a similar vocal refrain. To sell me on this sort of thing, you have to be really good at it, so I will give this album a 10 and see how it grows on me. 

POLYMOON : " Mariposa Magic!"

 

This band from Finland was not what I expected going into this. The album opens with more of a rock dynamic; sure, there are dreamy elements, but it is more along the lines of bands like Rezn and Superheaven, at times even some of Mastodon's more recent melodic moments, especially now that they have a keyboardist who is adding more proggy elements, which this band shares, and since I have been listening to the new Mastodon a great deal I had to check to see if it was still playing in iTunes. The drumming is pretty dynamic but not as bombastic as Brann. I don't think these guys have a metal past as much as a post-hardcore thing going on I can hear them being into bands like Failure.

There is uniformity to what they do despite a song like "Velvet Rain' standing out due to the more languid pace it opens with. This is more space-rock than shoe-gaze. "Lost in Sound, Found in Color" finds a Pink Floyd-like tag being set but is the first moment I would call psychedelic, and even then it's only the intro as there is more of a stoner rock verse. The vocals are a smooth croon that begin to coast with more melodic grace on this one. At times it makes me think of Bryan Ferry. Some prog tendencies begin to further surface. 

A thicker, more fuzzed-out 70s Orange Amp tone rumbles up going into "Welcome to Another Dimension" , but they float back out into the cosmos once it reaches the verse. The song does take an oddly interesting turn. They keep you guessing, though the last song kinda wanders around in zero gravity with little direction. There are also other moments where the ambiance takes over, but overall this is a good mood to dive into with your ears first; I will give this album a 9. It drops on Metal Blade.

Rapidly Aging : " You're Not Yourself Lately'

 

The brainchild of this post-rock project is Shalor Howell of the Atlanta sludge metal band Canopy that has been featured here. While it is an instrumental, the album samples from the 1974 film  "The Man Who Sleeps " provide the narrative. Some great moody guitar tones are captured here, allowing the guitar to make the emotional connection that fills the void where vocals would be. "Fleeting Moment" has some pedal steel layered around it that adds another dimension of texture, keeping the sonic journey flowing. I'll admit, as a singer, instrumental music is not normally my thing, though there have been exceptions to this. So it speaks volumes about this music's depth if I like it. I think this is due to the melancholy it casts over things. 

The one band whose instrumental pieces I am a big fan of is, of course, Swans, and there is some common ground here as it at times brings "Soundtracks For the Blind" to mind, though this is more inviting rather than using the combative element that Gira unsettles you with like a David Lynch movie, this is more David Croenberg. though very pastoral in the open landscapes summoned to the mind's eye with "the Negative Thought Loops" before the distorted chords crunch down like a threatening storm.At the end of the day, the haunting guitar melodies are what hook you in. There is a similar sense of longing as what Mogwai once invoked on the song "Awoken From a Bad Dream to an Even Worse Reality," the sludgey chord lays into this to create a more cascading dynamic. So if you are a fan of his other band, you are not going to be forgotten about on this album. 

I like how the sample bridges over into "How Quickly the Ground Falls Out Beneath You". This song gets heavier sonically than it does metal, though some crunch comes in to create tension. "Unsaved" has more of an RWAKE rock n roll feel while still coloring the edges with ambiance. The album closes with "To Keep From". Violin chimes in at the beginning, then the song sprawls out in many ways; it feels likea summary of the moods captured so far on this album. I will give this album a 9.5, as it captures a unqiue place in the landscape of this genre, while not turning his back on his previous work. 

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Funeral : "s/t"

This band from Peru makes a stab at making black metal. They thankfully throw more at the wall than Scandinavian riffs that would likely melt in the Peruvian heat. Punk is at the root of what they are doing here. They cite death rock as an influence, and the only touch is three songs in when the guitar tone gets creepy. It opens with a burly Motorhead-like bass line powering a more punk-driving song that works pretty well. Then they make more of a concerted attempt at black metal on "Averno". The drummer starts off more punk, and the guitar player is obviously the black metal fan, though the vocals have enough of a scowl to pass as well.  

"Almas En El Abismo" is where the guitar tone shifts to a mroe Halloween flavor, but they keep up the hard-driving backbone. Black N Roll Darkthrone is a better comparison than bringing up a band like Devil Master. Which might be what they are going for. Another Motorhead-like bass line cranks up for "Tumbas Vacias". The howl of the vocals is pretty one-dimensional.  There is a more deliberate breakdown-like riff that works well. 

The bass player helps set the tone on the last song. Though they speed up into a snarling temper tantrum with more punk-like blat beats than black metal, as there is little in the way of atmosphere to what they are doing as they bash it out. They tighten into the bass line, but not a huge dynamic shift. For all that they lack in melody that make up for an attitude that feels dead serious, so I will give this album an  8.5. When I am in the mood for this will likely listen to "Cvlt is Alive". It drops on September 25th on Caligari Records, 

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CONVULSIF : "Anatomy of Rage"

The Swiss progsters are on the more experimental side of things with a fetish for odd time signatures that form their own droning grooves. The opening track feels like a riff Sleepytime Gorilla Museum just had lying around and never developed into a song. I gave them the benefit of the doubt and wrote it off as an intro. Then on "Being Put Down," there is more of a John Zorn vibe, with chaotic horns coming in before the song slows into a whispered groove. I will say right now that if all the vocals are whispered like this, it will only take two songs before I get bored.

Jazz does seem to be firmly infused in this project's DNA. The thumping bass is the heaviest thing they have going so far, though it is dark in a weird way that has not quite come to me yet. The noir-ish shadows continue to be cast on "Sound Footing' when it hits me that this is going to be more of a jazz album than a metal album. "Facing the Fasces" does find the drumming punchier and getting the rumble of the bass to accent it. It feels more like an incomplete, though dynamic, album despite its building momentum. In some ways they are not unlike the post-2000s Swans. 

The whispering is back on "Development," which feels like the Central Scruntinizer from"Joe's Garage".  This song is where they forgot that to be progressive, your songs have got to go somewhere, and it is not about a quirky idea that goes nowhere. This is applied to " Grind Your Tusks " as a minute; it feels more like a grindcore ditty. More whispering as things simmer to life on "the Pitch, the Plight, the Polymer," which is over 19 minutes. I like the darker feeling explored here. Ten minutes in and not much changes aside from a swell of noise. Then the bass shifts the groove to give a more serpentine slither. I will give this one a 7.5 they have some good ideas, just need to flesh them out more into songs. 

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DISSIMULATOR :"Artifice Dissolves"

 It makes sense these guys are as weird as they do metal. I reviewedtheir2023 album and liked it so much it earned a 9, putting them at the top of the heap when it comes to deathly thrash. The opening track feels more like death metal, though a  few moshy riffs come in. They are taking influence from two genres known for being fast, so you better wear your seat belts. "Hungry Ghosts" is more rooted in the deliberate riff worship of thrash, and is written with more nuance than the first song. I like the robotic vocals thrown in as accents. The fast parts that do arrive are balanced by riffs with more hooks.

The title track gets caught up in speed. This might make you wonder why I listen to so many extreme metal bands if I don't like fast playing.It is all about balance and not rushing the song. The title track seems to be about vampires, which goes against the normal sci-fi themes. "Alloyed" finds a more sci-fi feel back in place and a rock vibe in the verse riff."Proprioceptor" finds things getting weird and technical with an angular curvature to the riffs. This feels more like death metal. 

"Neon Metropolis" feels like old Megadeth from a guitar perspective. The robo-vocals return for this song. The last two songs focus more on the technical side of speed metal, with the only grooves surfacing on the last song. When I left this album just playing as  I went about my day, it did grow on me, so for that reason I will give it a 9. If you liked the previous album, things have not changed, though this one might be faster. 

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