Earlier in June, a post-rock album delightfully surprised this middle-aged metalhead. I tend to approach post-anything with caution these days, but And the Dead Tree Gives No Shelter from Sweden’s Oh Hiroshima proved a cohesive, moving experience under scrutiny. Hence, I figured I’d try my luck with another post-rock album on the same label from a band named after a beleaguered city it doesn’t call home. Thus, I approach We’re All Going to Be Fine—on Pelagic Records—by Lost in Kyiv1—from Paris—with cautious enthusiasm. Unlike their labelmates, Lost in Kyiv specialize in a (mostly) instrumental version of post-rock, occasionally adding voices that narrate, soliloquize, live inside sound clips, and even sing. Hopefully, losing myself in this Parisian quartet’s fifth album won’t have me uttering wistful interjections.

Post-rock remains an apt descriptor for Lost in Kyiv, but the band shares heritage with its heavier cousin. As with any (mostly) instrumental post-rockers influenced by Mogwai, electronics play a crucial role in crafting a cinematic experience. On We’re All Going to Be Fine, synths supply melodic hooks (“Burst,” “Euphoria”), set pulsating tones (“Eclipse”), and create mid-song drama (“Mantra”). But when the baritone guitars of Dimitri Denat and Maxime Ingrand lock into a heavy groove with bassist Jean-Christophe Condette and drummer Jérémie Legrand,2 a band like Russian Circles comes to mind. Animals as Leaders also prowl (if they were less technical), on account of Denat and Ingrand’s djent-adjacent tones and playing. For much of its 41-minute runtime, We’re All Going to Be Fine reads like a post-metal album, and a particularly lush, well-produced one at that. While the heavy riffs do lean towards the generic, I can’t deny that they frequently slap.

As a (mostly) instrumental album, We’re All Going to Be Fine mostly slips due to its ‘non-instrumental’ feature: vocals.3 One recurring way Lost in Kyiv adds voices is by threading narrations/soliloquies throughout Fine. Sometimes, these voiceovers work; “Enlightened” segues into the propulsive groove of “Burst” by echoing its title, setting up the song’s rumination on ‘masks’ as a metaphor for social alienation/performativity. But other times, the voiceovers are frustratingly inaudible (“Mantra”), or awkwardly akin to guided meditations (“Euphoria”). As for singing, it makes one and only one appearance. “Becoming” is a perfectly lovely song, powered by the gorgeous melodies and harmonies of Rebecca Need-Menear, but its verse-chorus traditionalism strays far from home on this otherwise impressionistic album. Vocals seem central to the themes Lost in Kyiv claim to explore on We’re All Going to Be Fine: ‘the tension between hope and inner collapse,’ how ‘modern life can disconnect us from ourselves and each other,’ ‘the fragility of mental health and the human psyche.’ As a lecture by Carl Jung closes out the album (“Liminality”), however, I’m left feeling that Fine becomes less coherent when reading its voices closely.

Fortunately, these vocals don’t prohibitively hamper the overall experience. Whether listened to passively or semi-actively, We’re All Going to Be Fine (mostly) progresses as a seamless display of haunting beauty. The first half plays more like post-metal, containing the heaviest riffing on offer. “Eclipse” is a highlight, setting a somber mood that’s popped by an infectious single-string figure and a robust brass section: trumpet, trombone, tuba. From here, Fine mixes things up, exploring multi-layered electronica (“Euphoria”) and hammer-on heroism with d-beat sprinklings (“Liminality”). “Becoming” is always the curveball. Again, it’s not a bad song by any means, but it’s unclear why Lost in Kyiv dropped one singular radio-rock song in the middle of the album. It doesn’t feel like the work of a different band per se, but it definitely feels like a work on a different kind of album.

Oh, Lost in Kyiv, how I wanted to rate your fifth outing just a bit higher. We’re All Going to Be Fine allures with its cinematic soundscapes and hits with its bouncy riffs. Alas, your vocals of various sorts make me think I’m missing the point towards which you drive. But when I play down the voices, letting its luxuriousness wash over me, Fine becomes more than fine—it becomes a (mostly) absorbing arrangement of metallic post-rock.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Pelagic Records
Websites: Facebook | Instagram
Releases Worldwide: June 19th, 2026

I was initially surprised that Galvanist hailed from Bozeman, Montana, but I really have no right to feel that way. Based on its proximity to major outdoor destinations, I thought Bozeman would be like Jackson, Wyoming, where I briefly lived, but Google quickly disabused me of that notion. Suffice it to say, I have no idea what Bozeman’s music scene is like. But I’ll tell you what I do know. I know that Galvanist released debut Connection in 2022 and split Hollowtop with Ulm in 2024. I know they’re returning now with sophomore effort The Silence Between Stars. And after spinning this album every day for weeks, I know that all my expectations, like so much dust beneath the heel of an eldritch god, have been casually and utterly annihilated.

The promo material describes Galvanist as “blackened doom metal, progressive death metal, and experimental textures.” That may outline the canvas upon which Galvanist paints, but it does them little justice. Throughout The Silence Between Stars, I hear Animals as Leaders drowning in sludge (“Atrophy”) and Huntsmen channeling Thou (“Dreich,”1 “Spiorad”2). Woven into the fiber of their sound, I hear the swirling chaos of Ulcerate (“Hauntology”), creating a shifting maelstrom that denies me any safe or solid ground. Synths and keys, courtesy of lead guitarist Micah Tippit, lend Galvanist a threatening, extraterrestrial edge. Over it all, vocalist Tanner Erhart bellows with the raw intensity of acts like Ragana. Galvanist takes these ingredients and filters them through a clear and singular identity to create something entirely their own. Orders of magnitude greater than its descriptors, The Silence Between Stars is a journey by turns and at once deeply rooted in the homestead and violently flung to the darkest reaches of space.3

With every track but the 63-second intro4 clocking in at roughly 8–11 minutes, I worried The Silence Between Stars would suffer from bloat or overly aggressive proggery. My fears were unfounded. The Silence Between Stars demands my attention front to back, and at an easily digestible 40 minutes, I frequently find myself looping back for another spin. This isn’t so singular a work as Winter’s Gate or Mirror Reaper—there’s little need for gapless playback here—but each track flows so naturally into the next that I struggle to start anywhere but the beginning or stop anywhere but the end. I don’t know if this is a concept album, but it’s heady, interconnected subject matter5 demands more than just lyrical exposition. Galvanist is plenty capable, wielding mystifying time signature shifts (“Atrophy,” “Hauntology”), abrupt—but never jarring—compositional transitions, and mid-melody key changes (“Spiorad”) with aplomb. Galvanist adeptly handles such progressive elements to bake their storytelling directly into the music itself.

Even beyond its total disregard for my expectations, The Silence Between Stars continues to awe. Galvanist uses the soundstage to further cultivate that sense of being both grounded and in freefall. Bassist Kevin George’s mix leaves room for each instrument to breathe, but in a good way, only just. With a little added reverb, the result fosters that contradictory atmosphere even more, like suffocating in open air. Erhart’s rhythm guitars hang out on the wings, where microtonal variances between left and right ears create an incredible dissonance, a feeling of infinite liminality. Elements float in and out of the spotlight—like George’s bass at the midpoint of “Atrophy,” Chris Navarro’s drums at the end of “Hauntology,” or Tippit’s astounding leads on the back half of “Spiorad”—constantly redirecting my attention and driving me further into Galvanist’s labyrinth.

It is not often I have no complaints about an album, and rarer still, I have more praise than I can fit on the page. Had I time and space enough, I would still be raving about The Silence Between Stars long after the final keys of “Spiorad” fade to silence. From the cosmic violence of “Atrophy” to the striking bookends of “Dreich,” and from the spine-tingling keys of “Hauntology” to the magnificent, delirious climax of “Spiorad,” Galvanist has created something truly special. Like a will-o’-wisp or a foxfire trail coaxing you into the dark, The Silence Between Stars is disquieting yet tempting, unnerving yet comforting. I didn’t know what I was in for when I picked up Galvanist, but to shamelessly adapt my favorite line from the album,6 I crossed the threshold, and I found myself amidst worlds strange and wonderful.

Rating: 4.5/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Aeternitas Tenebrarum Musicae Fundamentum
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
Releases Worldwide: May 27th, 2026

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Animals As Leaders:
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Of all the discouraging and difficult elements contributing to people having appallingly bad taste not being into metal, the biggest sticking point has got to be the vocals. As inoffensive as we might find, for example, vintage Dave Vincent (Morbid Angel) or early Possessed, going all the way back to the genre roots, casual listeners find themselves appalled by what started out as gravely growls and has evolved into full retching and intestinal spew. While desensitization through repeated listens is the obvious solution, some bands solve the problem wholesale by eschewing vocals at all. I’ve been let down lately by some of my favorite genres, and while perusing the almost picked-clean promo pit, my eyes were caught by a bit of a rare tag around these parts: “Instrumental black metal.” Osmium Gate have arrived with a platter devoid of any vocals, a curious name, and some gorgeous artwork to emphasize the atmospheres within. Let’s strap in for a carnivorous adventure!

Cannibal Universe is a melodic release, heavy on atmosphere and beauty filtered through the requisite heavy sheen. Though ostensibly described as black metal, the overall production and tone sidesteps fuzzed-out tropes or crystalline polish with a sound more reminiscent of modern death metal but utilizing black metal composition techniques. This imparts a thicker flavor to the requite snare-and-bass trem heavy riffing (“Booming Dunes”, “Blood Rain”) while adding extra brass knuckles to some atypically chug-heavy movements (“Waters of Natron”). A heavy focus on sustained open chords for big mood and pathos is a major tool in Osmium Gate’s wheelhouse, with slower, emptier sections that feel tailor-made for amphitheater reverb rather than the blistering assault typically found in blackened wares.

Cannibal Galaxy by Osmium Gate

Instrumental music needs to have a dollop of “busyness” to justify the lack of vocals, and at their best Osmium Gate have the chops to get the job done. “Sailing Stone” features a fantastic spot of noodlage where a lead runs interlocked with a separate rhythm for a full and complex emotive experience. Cannibal Universe spots a decent amount of such highlights, where fun leads and overlapping time signatures summon the spirit of Scale the Summit or Plini. Fret not, the occasional thunderous blast or vintage Intervals chug is never far away to remind you that there’s nothing “post” about this album. Title track “Cannibal Universe” throws everything into the kitchen sink, sculpting doom-tempo’d plods into an avalanche of chord progressions which immediately scale back into a dollop of Odious Mortem melody with infinitely better production. But the real climax comes in mid-album cut “Nacreous.” This is the jewel of the album, running a wistful, melancholic lead under blast beats, which are worked in more atmospheric conjuncture with the slow-moving melodies. Such a highlight is an easy contender for song of the year, channeling genuine catharsis and summoning up enough feelings to bring some mist to even Tyme‘s crusty, battle-hardened eyes.

It may be a strange critique given the genre, but the only real stumbling block facing Osmium Gate is that not all the songs warrant an instrumental presentation. There’s no cut across this album that is bad, and much that is quite enjoyable, perfect for stargazing or late-night drives under the moon. But the band’s insistence on using large open chord structures across the album leaves a great deal of unbusy, open space where I found myself instinctively expecting vocal lines to fill the void. These particular cuts (“Waters of Natron”) aren’t definitively poor in any real sense as much as feeling incomplete, with the chord structures telling a partial story and lacking a sense of fullness elsewhere in the album. Bands like Animals As Leaders and their ilk nail the instrumental presentation by ushering the listener from one passage to the next without leaving any space for extra flair, where literally and metaphorically the music does all the talking. Here, Osmium Gate make real effort and grasp the goal more than once, but not consistently across the album. Tellingly, the tracks that throw off such restrictions are the least traditionally black metal sounding, as it’s when the songs sound the most typical that they sound the most unfinished.

Still, I’ve enjoyed my time with Cannibal Universe as a nice detour from my usual brutal and blackened fare. There’s genuine chops and promise here, and you owe it to yourself to at least listen to “Nacreous”. Osmium Gate have offered up a delicious platter of melodic black metal with limitations entirely surmountable. I’m not necessarily encouraging them to go out and get a vocalist (though I have no doubt they’d be capable of making a good album with one), but to push their songwriting to match the highlights here across an entire platter. Nevertheless, this album has moments worthy of note and any lover of instrumental metal should find something worthy of interest to be devoured…

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Self-Release
Websites: Album Bandcamp
Releases Worldwide: March 13th 2025

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ANIMALS AS LEADERS Announces European Festival & Club Dates

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🔥 Joe Satriani y Steve Vai estrenan ‘Dancing’: Lecciones de virtuosismo y buen rollo

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ANIMALS AS LEADERS Guitarist TOSIN ABASI On Joining SATCHVAI Surfing With The Hydra US Tour – “This Is A Bucket List Thing For Us” (Video)

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