“Jim Matheos is not the kind of artist to sit still in one place for long. Best known for his splendid guitar work in amorphous US progressive metal band Fates Warning, he also wields a vast assortment of offshoots and side projects, some closer to his usual style than others. Instrumental solo effort Tuesday the Sky is one of Matheos’ more distant adventures with its ambient post-rock soundscapes and touches of electronica.” Tuesday is a proggy day.
“It can be healthy for artists to periodically take time to reset and remember what first compelled them to start creating music. Aaron Carey originally founded Nechochwen in West Virginia as an unostentatious acoustic guitar project paying homage to his Native American lineage. It didn’t take long for black metal influence to emerge and with the addition of Andrew D’Cagna as the rhythm section, the two styles proved a potent pairing to explore the cultural history sewn into every note. 2015’s Heart of Akamon was well-received in the metal community and by our Vice Overlord Steel Druhm, who later went on to underrate their very good follow-up Kanawha Black. During all this time, Nechochwen had been quietly working on Spelewithiipi, a fully instrumental acoustic folk album akin to their debut full-length Algonkian Mythos.” Return to the source.
“Dutch one-man project Thurnin were unknown to me before I snagged Harmr for review. Having now investigated, I see that I’m in for a subdued time. Following a similar, winding path to that walked by Wardruna’s Einar Selvik, Thurnin main minstrel Jurre Timmer wandered away from his black metal roots, corpse paint washing off in a Dutch downpour, to arrive in instrumental neofolk land. He has now taken up permanent residence there, with two albums under his belt as Thurnin, 2021’s Menhir, followed two years later by Útiseta. I am informed (whether reliably or not) by the promo blurb for this latest platter that the Icelandic word Harmr is now understood to mean ‘sorrow.'” Sorrow of the folk hammer.
“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.
“Pathei Mathos means “learn a lesson,” but more literally it refers to “learning through suffering.” Valerio Marras, through his project S A R R A M, takes this phraseology explicitly from Aeschylus’ tragedy Agamemnon, where, in an exposition full of powerful dramatic irony and foreshadowing, the chorus describes this essential component of wisdom to which humans are subjected. The concept of knowledge resulting from and culminating in suffering is arguably a core concept of Greek tragedy. And it’s also a part of life, which Marras aims to convey by channeling his experiences and emotions through Pathei Mathos’ ambient soundscapes.” Life is pain, pain is growth.
“Having spun Ultrasound a couple of times before hitting Colours, I have to say my interest was not piqued. There was nothing wrong with Pixie Ninja’s debut outing but, as a commenter remarked on a previous instrumental record I reviewed, “yeah, this is nice, I could work to this.” On pressing play on Colours, however, I was immediately struck by the shift in mood and intensity on the band’s latest offering.” Pixie Colour Space Attack.
“Sometimes, vocals — however good they may be — detract, or at least distract, from really listening to the moods the music is conjuring. This is how I feel about, for example, the instrumental records that accompany releases from The Ocean — while I typically listen to the full version, every now and again I will put on the instrumental version and float away. While West Virginia’s Seven Planets are a very different beast from that Berlin-based collective, their brand of instrumental rock, rooted in blues and groove, also aims to carry you away.” Seven paths to Uranus.
“Although there’s been the odd exception over the years, generally speaking, instrumental metal is not really my bag. Not that I’m incapable of appreciating the often experimental aspects, self-indulgent jams, and technically proficient textures and moods conveyed from purely instrumental forms of metal. But even when vocals can be an afterthought or weak link on certain albums and genres of metal, I still generally prefer the vocal counterpoint. Yet I possess an open mind and variety is the spice of life, so when Telepath’s Mental Mutations remained unclaimed in the promo portal, I jumped into the unknown with optimism of what may lie ahead.” Tasting the mind of music theory.
“Gauging by the comments section on a recent post-metal review that I penned, it would seem that a lot of people are over anything post-y. What better way to win new fans and friends than to write up an experimental, instrumental, post-rock collective? Hmm, on reflection, this could be a hard sell.” Coffee is for closers.
“Talons’ newest effort ending up here might seem like a mistake, or at least a con by a reviewer with a well-documented soft spot for math rock. The band don’t quite fit the cavities made for them; with idiosyncratic instrumentation and twice as many members as the usual English math-/post-rock outfit, they probably can’t even cram onto the stages used by their peers. At the same time, despite obvious heaviness and impressive technicality, the group seems to be largely ignored by metal lovers that might be better poised to appreciate a six-piece with two full-time fiddlers. We All Know might be the album to finally win us over.” Math rock is hard.
