Post-Millennial's Guide To Metal (And Some Other Stuff)

I would like to think, as an avid music listener and an overall decent person, that I am open to a lot of things. Be it that new Ethiopian restaurant down the street, or perhaps an upcoming poetry lecture at my school. Whether or not I would do those things again, is not the point. The point is that people should be open to experimentation, and should embrace those oddities when they arise. I did this when I first listened to one-man black metal project Panopticon's seventh studio album, The Scars of Man on the Once Nameless Wilderness (I and II).  I heard about Panopticon before I approached this massive project; I had heard of how innovative of a concoction atmospheric black metal and Americana folk/country was. It must be something special, as those two genres are not often seen near one another. I am also not afraid to tackle long albums, albums such as Bell Witch's Mirror Reaper and Xanthochroid's Of Erthe and Axen Acts I and II  both hovered around the 90-mi...

Straight from the mouth of the tangentially related, but slightly more authoritative contributor of this blog is the first of (hopefully) many non-metal reviews and content in general.  Death Grips have always held a special place in the hearts of many a metalhead, as their blend of experimental hip-hop, noise rock, pop sensibilities and overall avant-garde-ness strike a chord with many of the things metal fans value in music. Their popularity too is striking for a group that musically treads so far off the beaten path and in the span of just 7 years the trio of Zach Hill, MC Ride and Flatlander have become the normie scapegoat for "weird music." This is most certainly a testament to the trios ableness to market themselves through a variety of uncanny internet methods, but also a result of their songcraft and ability to make "sheer bops" out of unique beats. On Year of the Snitch, the group's sixth studio full length, Death Grips finds a way to make the...

Well after 10 months, we are back. But what lack of content was produced in this previous time has been made up for in an abundance of music listening. And for the following reviews, the majority of them will be of albums this year which came out much earlier, as I have quite a few albums I would like to talk about, and hopefully will get done. I am very glad to be starting this resurgence with one of my personal most anticipated albums of the year, Sumac's Love In Shadow .  The supergroup of Baptists' Nick Yacyshyn, Russian Circles' Brian Cook and ex-Isis and Old Man Gloom's Aaron Turner captivated me two years ago with their sophomore album,  What One Becomes . This was my first experience with this band, and in fact with the might of Aaron Turner in general, but I was blown away. What One Becomes  is a masterwork in post-metal, as its use of wretched tones and disturbing melodies creates a soul-shattering experience that I still love to re-listen to today....