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

  (A Note From The Author: Xiu Xiu often implore very intense, aurally distressing, and often uncomfortable sounds and subject matters into their music. This record is more accessible, which will be described below, and has distinctly less of these, but I feel it important to at least mention that some may find this content disturbing, uncomfortable, or even offensive at certain points. You may, additionally, come across them in deeper listening on your own time. They are, however, utilized in an artistic, stylized and supportive fashion towards womxn, non-white individuals, and individuals of varying sexuality and gender, and their stories, and the group has been more than vocal about this fact.) I'm ecstatic that I finally get to discuss Xiu Xiu . One of the most aurally intriguing, sonically versed and deeply entrancing groups out there, Jamie Stewart  and company have explored seemingly everything under the 'experimental rock' tag, be it their earlier excursions in ecle...

  "Black Metal is a sub-genre of metal typified by its usually raw or under-produced sound and Satanic/rebellious aesthetic, as well as simplistic guitar phrases and under-accentuated rhythmic dimensions which allow more power for the atmospheric, detached and wandering riffs. Vocals are often higher pitched than death metal (or, screams rather than death metal's grunts) and can sound detached or unnervingly direct." (RateYourMusic/Sonemic, Inc., 2021) Portland, Maine has a thriving black metal scene. Falls of Rauros , Eave , Feral  and Alghol  are all among great company, but stand as underground scene darlings that have reached their wretched eldritch tentacles beyond the walls of the Northeast. But it is still very enticing that a place so close to home has such a blossoming sound (We get it Massachusetts hardcore/noise/doom/deathcore scene, you've been around for a while). While still in their infantile phases, New Hampshire still does have some growing bastions o...

  The twenty fourth episode of the PMMetalGuide Podcast is out now! This week, the boys discuss the 63rd Grammy Awards; the winners of many categories, criticisms of the establishment, and performance reviews are among the subjects discussed.

  I don't trust anyone that can't listen to any form of instrumental music, or at the very least, won't even attempt to on the mere assumption that the lack of vocals will cause it to be "boring" or "uninteresting." I've met many people like this in my day, and unfortunately, it is extremely difficult to break down that wall established by contemporary popular music. People understand that music, for most of its existence in human hands, has been instrumental, or not vocally focused, right? And sure, metal and harsher forms of guitar driven music might not be for everyone, but the innumerable amount of instrumental hip-hop creators, ambient artists, drone doomers, classical composers, or anyone else, there is instrumental music for everyone out there; people just need to seek it out.  Sometimes, however, that music will seek you out. Drongo  is a brand new Norwegian group that decided to send along their debut for us to review. I'd like to first ...

The twenty-third episode of the PMMetalGuide Podcast is out now! This week, the boys make their fifth stop on The Opethyssy, a series where they contextualize Swedish progressive metal band Opeth and their discography, with their 2001 release, Blackwater Park.

  One thing I, and presumably most of the post-millennial populace, have always struggled with when digesting an exorbitant amount of music in the modern age is understanding the distinction between different types of releases. Primarily, the differences between LPs, EPs, demos, mixtapes, etc. Some will tell you that this is determined by number of songs per release, or perhaps the quality in which it was recorded, but in the 21st century this is such a blurry subject. One of my favorite records of all time, Bell Witch 's  Mirror Reaper  (2017), is one 83-minute track, but is considered a full-length rather than a single.  Cult of Luna  just released  The Raging River , a (fantastic) 5-song, 40-minute EP, while  Fange just dropped their most recent project, Pantocrator , which comprises of two 15-minute tracks, and the internet cannot decide what the release is classified as. From what I understand, originally, the distinction was made in accordance t...

  The twenty-second episode of the PMMetalGuide Podcast is out now! This week, the boys make their fourth stop on The Opethyssy, a series where they contextualize Swedish progressive metal band Opeth and their discography, with their 1999 release, Still Life.

The albums I least expected to talk about this year were, and still are, that of anyone famous on TikTok. While the app boasts a surprisingly impressive algorithm (one that has suckered me in for a number of hours I hope to never be repeated back to me), the popular creators of the platform often come off as overly vapid and increasingly forgettable. If you asked me what was bubbling in the E! News rip-off tabloids regarding members of the Hype House, the d'Amelio family, or any of the other millionaires cropping up on the platform I couldn't give you an informed answer (socialist TikTok, on the other hand, I would love to discuss).  Madison Beer  is certainly one of those above examples (in one way shape or form), but however one may feel about the creator and her actions (of which I have no frame of reference), it is undeniably exciting that any of them were able to produce a professional release like  Life Support .  While I won't besmirch anyone's particular mu...