Neurosis

Conjurer – Unself Review

By Dear Hollow on October 30, 2025 in Reviews, Black Metal, Death Metal, Post-Metal, Sludge Metal, 17 comments

“I’m beginning to think Mire was a fluke. I’m not saying that as a bad thing, but I remember listening to Conjurer’s debut and thinking that it was a top post-metal album steeped in atmosphere and enigma, tied together with vicious vocals and vindictive weight. So then, I was immensely let down by follow-up Páthos because it seemed to shed substance for novelty: if I’m being honest, its stark dichotomy of heartwrenching melodies and kickass riffs felt inauthentic and shoehorned. Thus, I approached Unself carefully, hoping for something like Mire but tentatively expecting Páthos.” Tricks and treats.

Author & Punisher – Nocturnal Birding Review

By Dear Hollow on October 7, 2025 in Reviews, Doom Metal, Drone, Electronic Metal, Industrial Metal, Noise, 37 comments

“Contrary to the plethora of one-man metal projects out there, Author & Punisher’s mastermind Tristan Shone, has always stayed on this side of innovative, consistently riding the line between apocalyptic/dystopian atmospheres and the heaviest electronics since Godflesh. Much like Igorrr’s Gautiere Serre, Shone’s genius has been just as much in song construction as instrument construction, having put his experience as a mechanical engineer to the configuration of his “drone machines” and “dub machines.” This skill has allowed Shone a flexibility in his compositions, with albums like Ursus Americanus and Beastland boasting formidable anthemic brutality, while the more subdued Melk en Honig and Krüller rely on sprawling atmospheres that feel as fiery as they are dense. Nocturnal Birding takes a unique concept and spins it for a trip down Riff Lane.” Punishment diaries.

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.

Blue Heron – Everything Fades Review

By Carcharodon on September 27, 2024 in Reviews, Blues, Stoner Metal, Stoner Rock, 23 comments

“Albuquerque, New Mexico’s Blue Heron dropped their debut record, Ephemeral, in 2022. I remember briefly listening to it at the time, but it didn’t leave much of an impression. Dipping in again now, I think that was very much a Me Problem because Ephemeral was a solid slab of desert stoner rock, tinged with both blues and grunge. And I slept on it. Now back with their sophomore record, Everything Fades, whatever sort of journey Blue Heron wants to take me on, it’s one I’m determined not to sleep on!” Jacked up on Monster and ready to review some metal!

Generation of Vipers – Guilt Shrine Review

By Dear Hollow on September 25, 2024 in Reviews, Post-Metal, Sludge Metal, 20 comments

“I’ve heard Generation of Vipers described as a Neurosis-meets-Amenra plus a substantial shot of aggression. With four full-lengths and a split with fellow Tennessee post-or-sludge-adjacent metallers under their belt, the act’s sound remains stalwart—or stagnant, depending on the listener. Thick and bottom-heavy riffs dominate, from staggered Isis-esque rhythms, and rolling punk-sludge beatdowns à la Black Tusk, to ominous plucking straight outta Abraham.” So, are you #teamstalwart or #teamstagnant?

Mountaineer – Dawn and All That Follows Review

By Carcharodon on July 17, 2024 in Reviews, Post-Metal, 16 comments

“The legendary Huck n Roll having sadly departed these pages, it falls to me to pick up the Mountaineer reviewing baton, as the Oakland, California sextet stick to their two-yearly release cycle, returning with Dawn and All That Follows. Across his three reviews (3.5-3.0-3.5), Mountaineer clearly struck a chord with olde man Huck, their brand of reflective, shoegaze-y post-metal / -doom conjuring atmospheres and moods that tickled his fancies.” Ascend or fall?

Tzompantli – Beating the Drums of Ancestral Force Review

By Dolphin Whisperer on May 24, 2024 in Reviews, Death Metal, Doom Metal, 65 comments

“Art is culture. Culture needs representation. These two things often align with metal in ways we don’t realize, whether it’s the new death metal band that wants to play old-school death metal to continue to push for the representation of simpler times in death metal, or the cinephile who longs to see their niche amongst the swarms of various niche interest metal bands out there. Everyone wants to be seen and accepted for who they are, and the majesty of this metal realm we inhabit is such that artists can do just that. In the case of Tzompantli and their sophomore release Beating the Drums of Ancestral Force, this collective of California-based musicians—a pool of eleven performers from bands of all extremities, including Xibalba, Teeth, Civerous—wishes to express their reverence for the brutal nature worship of the Aztec/Mexica people and history.” Don’t worry until the drums stop…

Subterraen – In the Aftermath of Blight Review

By Thus Spoke on April 11, 2024 in Reviews, Doom Metal, Post-Metal, Sludge, 14 comments

“Sludge is a genre naturally able to bridge and wholly fill the gap between a rage that stretches towards hardcore, and a more pensive and somber emotionality more at home in doom, or post-metal. Therefore, when faced with Subterraen’s label of “Atmospheric Post-Sludge,” I knew this shapeshifting propensity would be amplified, particularly in the latter direction.” Thunder from down under.

Sun of Nothing – Maze Review

By Dear Hollow on February 16, 2024 in Reviews, Black Metal, Noise Rock, Post-Metal, post-punk, Sludge Metal, 23 comments

“Few albums reveled in existential despair like Sun of Nothing’s The Guilt of Feeling Alive. While punishing in ways that recall Neurosis or Blindead, it settled heavily into tension and despondence beneath the devastation. It always hinted at something without fully grasping it, fluid and powerful heft contrasting with an overwhelming bleakness. Despite its black metal influence, Sun of Nothing did not offer a bleakness like DSBM’s passing glance at a winter landscape, but represented the grey of its troubling cover art: the day-in and day-out of a cold, tired, and worn city, shrouded in smog. For its first album in fourteen years, the Greek quartet has offered something that stands shoulder to shoulder.” Maze of tormets.