by Nikita Alekseyevich Khrenov Music is an amazing storytelling medium. So many bands from Gorguts to Coheed and Cambria use their talents to weave compelling narratives through their art, blending verse with music beautifully. This is no easy feat, but as the Connecticut music scene has been proving as of late, we have no shortage… Continue reading Album Review: Shagohod’s Tin, Gold, Lead, & Blood
Tag: progressive metal
Album Review: XENOSIS, Paralleled Existence
by Nikita Alekseyevich Khrenov Connecticut has been churning out banger after banger lately; old school heavy metal, melodic death metal, brutal death metal, power metal, doom — whatever sub-genre you can think of, the state has been producing fantastic records. Technical death metal is a daunting beast of a genre; some of the best players… Continue reading Album Review: XENOSIS, Paralleled Existence
Album Review: Utgard by Enslaved (Nuclear Blast, Oct. 2nd)
The term progressive is tossed around the metal world often, an adjective readily applied to bands across the myriad of sub-genres. Throw “progressive” in front of any standard description and it instantly adds a level of technicality and arrangement not found in the genre as a whole. Taking it a step further, bands that operate… Continue reading Album Review: Utgard by Enslaved (Nuclear Blast, Oct. 2nd)
Album Review: Leaves of Yesteryear by Green Carnation
Leaves of Yesteryear provides everything one could hope for in the first new release in 14 years from Norwegian prog-doom-psych-metal titans Green Carnation. Within the first minute of the opening title track we have spoken word samples about loneliness, all-encompassing doom riffs, mournfully longing melodies and necro-prog Floydisms replete with brooding synths. Did I mention… Continue reading Album Review: Leaves of Yesteryear by Green Carnation
An End of Year Reflection: Music Nikita Wishes He’d Heard Sooner
By Nikita Alekseyevich Khrenov Every year, we as consumers discover a bevy of new music. Some more often than others but certainly not all of the new tunes are from the current year; we discover artists and albums from previous years and always ask the same question: “Why haven’t I heard of this band sooner?” I’d… Continue reading An End of Year Reflection: Music Nikita Wishes He’d Heard Sooner
Wandering Oak on the “Advent” of Passage Elemental
By Nikita Alekseyevich Khrenov With the prevalence and of American folk metal becoming more established and recognized, Rochester-based band Wandering Oak seeks to make their mark with their debut full-length album Passage Elemental, released on November 1. In the four years since their first release, the Advent EP, the group has experienced an almost complete lineup… Continue reading Wandering Oak on the “Advent” of Passage Elemental
Wilderun’s Veil of Imagination: Barrel-Aged Barleywine or Sex on the Beach?
By Nikita Alekseyevich Khrenov How does one critique perfection? One can attempt to nitpick every last bit of a piece of artwork in order to discover fault, going mad in the quest to find the tiniest shred of a mistake or sloppiness. With 2019’s self-released Veil of Imagination, Wilderun has managed to achieve what very few… Continue reading Wilderun’s Veil of Imagination: Barrel-Aged Barleywine or Sex on the Beach?