Weekly Digest December 6 — 12
December is pretty poor with releases, but we have something interesting for you anyway. Electronic music by Shane Embury, a great combination of punk and new wave from Canadians Home Front, black metal, funeral doom for those who have to work up to holidays, death metal, and an unfairly missed album released last week – this all, as usual, is in our Weekly Digest.
Aeon Station — Observatory
The album on which Kevin Whelan (who is known via alternative rock band The Wrens) worked for over 10 years. "Observatory", released by the cult label Sub Pop, covers the spectrum of Whelan’s musical vision, wide open and free with possibilities — at once recalling the reflective wisdom of Bruce Springsteen, Broken Social Scene’s huge anthemic burn, and the Wrens’ own pulsing-with-life take on rock music. Above all, this music is not only for dreamers but for those who realize and appreciate the enormity of every moment.
spotify | apple music | youtube music
Auld Ridge — Consanguineous Hymns of Faith and Famine
British black metal, raw and powerful. The first-person album tells about difficult times in European history, from the internal conflict of an army soldier led by Sigurd the Crusader, the plight of a medieval British farmer in the midst of a great famine and to a shepherd during the Romans. It brings up the question of "why God allows suffering" to a logical continuation – "how much suffering one person can endure before rejecting God".
Dark Sky Burial — Omnis Cum in Tenebris Praesertim Vita Laboret
In April of 2020, I wrote in a digest about Shane Emburi's electronic project Dark Sky Burial. Since then he has released two more full-lengths, and the album "Omnis Cum in Tenebris Praesertim Vita Laboret" will be the final in his first tetralogy. "Composing these tracks has been for me very soul searching – at times the sounds seem to me reflections of my personality or rather different shades of myself, especially over the past 2 years, I would lock myself away like a hermit for weekends and at intervals record pieces of music and add layers", – Shane comments.
Elder and Kadavar — ELDOVAR: A Story of Darkness & Light
Last week's release I missed in a digest. I'm sorry, I will try getting better. The collaboration album, Voltron by Elder and Kadavar, "ELDOVAR", is the most progressive release of both bands in their respectful careers. A very interesting album, you can see that the bands didn't just contribute a little bit and mix it up, but really wanted to learn from each other, raise the level, help each other release something incredible. And they succeeded. Beauty, I've been listening for a week and could not let it go.
spotify | apple music | youtube music
Ethereal Shroud — Trisagion
Do you like long songs? Ones that go for more than 20 minutes? The British atmospheric black metal / funeral doom / dsbm project Ethereal Shroud has such for you! Four tracks, more than an hour in length, for the saddest fans of the heaviest metal.
spotify | apple music | youtube music
Funeral — Praesentialis in Aeternum
Gothic Funeral Doom from one of the founders of the genre, the Norwegians Funeral released an album that tears the soul, full of agony and pain, providing the appropriate soundtrack for difficult times. Crushing, mournful passages and soaring lead breaks amplify its sorrowful atmosphere, and are to rive the heart, mind, and soul of listeners.
spotify | apple music | youtube music
Home Front — Think Of The Lie
The Canadian Home Front’s album is full of analog synthesizer sounds, guitar loops, 808 drums and vocal melodies which cause that wonderful moment in the late 70's early 80's between the "death" of punk and the "birth" of a new wave, drawing fresh sounds into punk roots and pulling leather jacket with spikes on a silk robe. FFO: The Cure, Suicide, Echo & The Bunnyman, Blitz, New Order.
spotify | apple music | youtube music
Malignant Altar — Realms of Exquisite Morbidity
More old school death metal for the old school death metal god! Texans Malignant Altar finally present the first full-length album on Dark Descent Records after two sick demos, and these Texans have flavor in their death – they know when to add flare or just ride out some obliterating groove until the neck is granulated from headbanging.
spotify | apple music | youtube music
More Weekly Digest here.
