Posts Tagged ‘black metal’

Album of the day: Cold Body Radiation – Deer Twillight

Posted on Wednesday, January 25th, 2012

Praise for Cold Body Radiation‘s Deer Twillight from San Francisco’s aQuarius Records: The 2010 full length from these Dutch avant shoegaze black metallers was one of our favorite records that year, but for whatever reason we were never able to get enough copies to review on the list. So when we discovered there was in fact a new record, we got in touch with the label directly and got a whole bunch.

That first record took super blown out black buzz, and transformed it into something washed out and blissy, dreamlike and majestic, lots of bands do the whole shoegaze black metal thing, but Cold Body Radiation were the first band who did it so perfectly, conjuring up a sound, both heavy and beautiful, in way that was equal measures of both, taking the dreamy dronedirge of groups like Nadja and Jesu and infusing it with some seriously blackened buzz, which instead of darkening the sound, somehow just made it more brilliant and prismatic.

If anything, this new record dials back all the black and buzz, revealing what is essentially a blissed out shoegaze dream pop record, one that sans BM pedigree would have indie rockers and pop kids losing their shit big time. That said, there is still some heaviness, and a blast beat or two, but really for the most part, Deer Twilight is some sort of blissy psychedelic heavy pop, with soaring super saturated guitars, big bombastic drumming, swirling synths, warm clean crooned vox, a super lush layered sound, slow builds and explosive crescendos, super catchy hooks, and dark, dreamy meditative interludes.

Think some killer mix of Mogwai, Sigur Ros, Godspeed and Nadja, released on 4AD, or Constellation, or Creation, or somehow all three, the sounds minor key and melodic, moody and melancholy. The bass thick and driving, low slung and rhythmic. The drums subtle but powerful. The guitars and the keyboards woven into lush undulating swells and prismatic bursts of melody.

The songs epic and intricate, slipping from darkly doleful, to hauntingly hushed, to explosive and psychedelic and back again, super cinematic and emotionally intense, some of the big loud parts, so dramatic and soundtracky, it’s easy to imagine them as the score for some super intense heartbreaking epic. And when the band does lock into something more rock and slightly more blackened, it sounds more like the doom pop of Katatonia, gloomy and melodic, and the sound soon shifts into something more laid back and stripped down, sun dappled and hazily dreamy, the tracks laced with swoonsome strings, that add even further to the cinematic vibe.

To be honest, we weren’t expecting this new record to be so NOT metal, but we’re loving it, A LOT. And while there may not be a whole lot here for metalheads, for folks into epic dramatic shoegazey dreampop and metalgaze and post rock and gloom pop, this is most definitely your new favorite record.

At 40 years old, Aquarius is the oldest independent record store in San Francisco. We try to only carry music we love, and we’re always searching for more new, cool, weird and wonderful music. All of which we then share with you, our loyal customers.

Tags: Album of the day, Aquarius Records, black metal, Cold Body Radiation, Deer Twillight, dreampop, dusktone, Metalgaze, Post Metal, shoegaze
Posted in 2012, Album of the Day, Roadburn Recommended | No Comments »

Album of the day: Dodecahedron – Dodecahedron

Posted on Saturday, January 21st, 2012

Lovingly pinched from Metal Review: The unfortunate reality about diving ass-over-ankles into the mystical forests and blood-stained steppes of extreme metal (or any other niche art-form, for that matter) is that the longer one spends banging the heads that will not bang and frowning the frowns that will not frown, ...read more

Album of the day: Alcest – Les Voyages De L’Ame

Posted on Thursday, January 5th, 2012

Lovingly pinched from Sputnikmusic: From all the so-called “post-black shoegaze” albums I’ve had to drudge my way through, it’s difficult to enter an album like this without an overwhelming sense of pessimism – mostly because just about none of these bands have any post-rock or shoegaze influences past the occasional ...read more

Yob’s Atma: Album of 2011 According To Roadburn Readers, Friends and Associates!

Posted on Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012

In the beginning of December 2011 we asked you, our beloved Roadburn readers, friends and associates, to list your top 10 Roadburn-worthy albums of 2011. By January 2nd we had received 160 lists. Thanks to everyone who took the time to send us their list! This is how we compiled ...read more

Album of the day: Negative Plane – Stained Glass Revelations

Posted on Sunday, December 18th, 2011

As we move towards the end of 2011, here’s a worthy record that we overlooked the first time around earlier this year. Lovingly pinched from Chronicles of Chaos: Somehow, Negative Plane have turned their moniker into sonic reality. With Stained Glass Revelations, the band has sculpted a sound that refracts ...read more

Album of the day: Oranssi Pazuzu – Kosmonument

Posted on Saturday, December 17th, 2011

Lovingly pinched from Sputnikmusic: So, another chapter in the book of space metal is written. Oranssi Pazuzu is a young Finnish psychedelic black metal band whose world of lyrics and musical inspiration revolve largely around the vastness of space. At least, thats what they want us to Now the thing ...read more

Album of the day: Cormorant – Dwellings

Posted on Tuesday, December 13th, 2011

Lovingly pinched from About.com: Heavy Metal: Cormorant have made claim to being one of the top independent metal bands in the world with a bold sophomore record, Dwellings. Not being backed by a major label has allowed Cormorant to stake their own unorthodox sound without interference. Metazoa was a remarkable ...read more

Blut Aus Nord: New Album Streaming In Its Entirety Via Pitchfork

Posted on Wednesday, November 9th, 2011

Beginning today, high traffic music portal Pitchfork is streaming, 777 – The Desanctification, the upcoming new full-length from eclectic black metal legion, Blut Aus Nord. Set for release in North America via Debemur Morti Productions on November 29, 2011, The Desanctification is the second chapter in Blut Aus Nord ’s ...read more

Album of the day: Blut Aus Nord – 777 The Desanctification

Posted on Tuesday, November 8th, 2011

Lovingly pinched from MTUK: There’s something uniquely rapturous about an act that hits a creative ‘second wind’ after such a lengthy spell in the game. It’s a rare feat in this industry – so many bands unleash their seminal opus, a career-defining statement of intent that all-too-quickly turns to a ...read more

Album of the day: Leviathan – True Traitor, True Whore

Posted on Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011

Lovingly pinched from The Inarguable: If there were to be a book written on black metal’s presence in the US, an entire volume would be dedicated to the works of one Jef Whitehead, better known as the enigmatic Wrest. Between his solo work in Leviathan and Lurker of Chalice as ...read more