Post Rock

Blessings – Blodsträngen Review

By Owlswald on August 4, 2025 in Reviews, Experimental Metal, Noise, Noise Rock, post-punk, 8 comments

“Originating from the same vibrant scene that has spawned acts ranging from At the Gates to Ace of Base, Gothenburg experimental noise quartet Blessings have been forging their own path within the borders of Sweden’s olde harbor city for thirteen years. Comprised of long-standing veterans of the Swedish scene, Blessings have been worshipping at the altar of turmoil since its 2012 debut, Bittervaten came out waving a Black Flag of loud, Unsanely harsh, in-your-face noise rock.” Blessed are the slick.

We Lost the Sea – A Single Flower Review

By Dear Hollow on July 14, 2025 in Reviews, Post-Metal, 43 comments

“How do you follow up an album born from tragedy? While the Sydney collective We Lost the Sea began as a mammoth post-metal band with standout releases like Crimea and The Quietest Place on Earth, renowned for uncompromising weight and tantalizing patience, the tragic death of vocalist Chris Torpey silenced them, taking its teeth in the process. Grief embodied its 2015 album, not devastating for the notes and tempos that commanded it, but rather what it symbolized.” Moving on, looking back.

Hiroe – Wield Review

By Killjoy on June 21, 2025 in Reviews, Instrumental Metal, Post-Metal, Progressive Metal, 18 comments

“Despite the importance that many metal and rock subgenres place on instrumentation, music without vocals often proves a tough nut to crack. Without the inherent structure that generally comes from writing vocal lines or the unique individuality of a human voice, it’s difficult to grab—much less keep—a listener’s attention. Still, that doesn’t stop a multitude of artists from reaching for a slice of the wordless glory. The latest of these is Hiroe, a newcomer post-rock group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, releasing their debut full-length Wield.” Consult with us…in silence.

Stuck in the Filter: March 2025’s Angry Misses

By Kenstrosity on June 5, 2025 in Stuck in the Filter, Black Metal, Death Metal, Doom Metal, Hardcore, Mathcore, Melodic Metal, Metalcore, Post-Metal, Progressive Metal, Sludge Metal, Stoner Metal, Technical Death Metal, Thrash Metal, 73 comments

March Filters bring summer bewilders when missed, so come see what we found in the iron scrapings.

Swans – Birthing Review

By Dear Hollow on May 27, 2025 in Reviews, Ambient, Noise, Noise Rock, post-punk, Sludge Metal, 40 comments

“It’s hard to keep up with Swans. Since 1982, Michael Gira and company have cranked out sixteen studio albums, eight EPs, and ten live albums (not to mention all the compilations and side projects), influencing underground stalwarts like Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Neurosis, Godflesh, and Napalm Death, as well as more mainstream acts like Nirvana and Tool. No genre was safe, as noise rock, no-wave, industrial, sludge, post-punk, and post-rock were impacted in the process – yet Swans have always had their own inimitable and uncategorizable sound.” Still on the pond.

Ash Twin Project – Tales of a Dying Sun Review

By sentynel on May 26, 2025 in Reviews, Post-Metal, 20 comments

“Metal has a long history of writing songs inspired by science fiction and fantasy, probably because we’re all a bunch of great big nerds. Outer Wilds is a singular piece of storytelling, a work that couldn’t be told in any medium other than a video game: a story and a series of revelations pieced together from found fragments, with no enforced order or progression beyond what the player finds and assembles. Imagine my excitement when I saw the obviously Outer Wilds-inspired Ash Twin Project appear in the promo queue. Imagine how quickly I mashed the “assign to self” button before any of the other fans on the staff could pinch it.” Winds and ash.

The Infinity Ring – Ataraxia Review

By Dolphin Whisperer on May 11, 2025 in Reviews, 27 comments

“The heart of heavy metal music lives in attitude, one of extreme emotions—sadness, anger, exuberance, catharsis. And in increasing trend, modern practitioners often conjure that spirit through atmosphere, which allows metal-adjacent spaces like goth rock and darkwave to strike a chord with those who typically fall for weepy music of crying guitars and mournful vocals. New England-based The Infinity Ring harbors some of these dark sounds that attract lovers of the downtrodden—twangy and folky guitar refrains, post-rock-like swells in intensity and volume—all wrapped up in a smoky and gravel-filled vocal delivery.” Sparkling flecks of metal in the air.

Last Leaf Down – Weight of Silence Review

By Killjoy on April 21, 2025 in Reviews, Alternative, Not Metal, Shoegaze, 33 comments

“I imagine we all have our own personal keywords that snag our attention and interest. Marketers (and record labels) know this and try their best to capitalize on our weakness. The descriptor “dreamy shoegaze from the woods” doesn’t sound particularly like something one might look for on Angry Metal Guy, nevertheless, it was the deciding factor for me to fish Weight of Silence out of the promo bin. Last Leaf Down originally formed in Switzerland in 2003 as a “dark doom” metal band. Whatever that sounds like, we may never know because on their debut album Fake Lights in 2014 they had already veered into the shoegaze sphere. Now, coming off a long break since 2017’s Bright Wide Colder, Last Leaf Down offers a reinvigorated interpretation of this timeless genre.” Watch the shoes…

Maud the Moth – The Distaff Review

By Dolphin Whisperer on February 24, 2025 in Reviews, Progressive Rock, 161 comments

“We all take shape in the form that others prescribe—an embodiment that may run counter to how we see ourselves. Yet, in this world of heavy artistry whose inception rests in the bravery and drama and drive against the on-the-tracks trajectory of rock music—often too in sneer at traditional thought patterns—we search for freedom in amplified wisdom, reckless rhythms, and voices that soar above it all. Maud the Moth, in piano and vocal-based lamentations, appears to us not in the rev and leather that symbolize the traditional call of heavy metal.” Leave the lights on.

Black Narcissus – There Lingers One Who’s Long Forgotten Review

By Killjoy on February 17, 2025 in Reviews, Instrumental Metal, Post-Metal, 65 comments

“It’s often impossible to convey feelings with words, so it’s sometimes better not to try. This certainly appears to be the philosophy of Black Narcissus, an instrumental post-rock duo from Belgium comprised of bassist Jesse Massant and drummer Thomas Wuyts. While instrumental groups are hardly uncommon, especially in this genre, Black Narcissus is unique in that bass and drums are the only tools they use to construct their interpretation of the relationship between man and nature.” Into the wilderness.