Stuck in the Filter: August 2025’s Angry Misses

By Kenstrosity

The heat persists, but now the humidity comes in full force as storm systems wreak havoc upon the coasts. I hide in my cramped closet of an office, lest I be washed out once again by an unsuspecting deluge. However, I still send my minions out into the facility, bound by duty to search for those metallic scraps on which we feast.

Fortuitously, most all of those imps I sent out came back alive, and with wares! BEHOLD!

Kenstrosity’s Galactic Gremlin

Silent Millenia // Celestial Twilight: Beyond the Crimson Veil [August 26th, 2025 – Self-Release]

Have you ever seen such a delightfully cheesy cover? Probably, but it’s been a while for me. I bought Celestial Twilight: Beyond the Crimson Veil, the second raw symphonic black metal opus from Finnish one-man act Silent Millenia, on the strength of the artwork alone. Little did I know that what lay beyond this crimson veil was some of the most fun melodic black metal this side of Moonlight Sorcery. The same low-fi roughness that personifies Old Nick’s work grounds Silent Millenia’s starbound songwriting as it traverses the universe with an energetic punch reminiscent of Emperor or Stormkeep (“Awaken the Celestial Spell,” “Daemonic Mastery”). To help differentiate Silent Millenia’s sound from that of their peers, a gothic atmosphere ensorcells much of this material to great effect, merging eerie Victorian melodies with galactic adventurism in an unlikely pair (“Enthrone the Spectral”). Swirling synths and sparkling twinkles abound as well, creating blissful moments of interest as frosty tremolos and piercing blasts take full advantage of the false sense of security those entrancing clouds of synthetic instrumentation create (“Benighted Path to Darkness Mysterium,” “Reign in Cosmic Majesty”). Simply put, Celestial Twilight is an unexpected gem of a symphonic black metal record, bursting with killer ideas and infinite levels of raw, unabashed fun. You should hear it!

Kronos’ Unexpected Unearthments

Street Sects // Dry Drunk [August 15th, 2025 – Self Release]

Dry Drunk sticks to your inner surfaces, draining down like cigarette tar along paralyzed cilia to pool in your lungs until the cells themselves foment rebellion. Once it’s in you, you feel paranoid, wretched, and alone. So it’s the proper follow-up to Street Sects’ visionary debut, End Position. Like that record, Dry Drunk plumbs the most mundane and unsavory gutters of America for a cast of protagonists that it dwells in or dispatches with a mixture of pity and disgust, with vocalist Leo Ashline narrating their violent crimes and self-hatred in a mixture of croons, shrieks, and snarls that cook the air before the speakers into the scent of booze and rotten teeth. And like that record, Shaun Ringsmuth (Glassing) dresses the sets with a fractal litter of snaps, squeals, crashes, gunshots, and grinding electronics, caked in tar and collapsing just as soon as it is swept into a structure. And like End Position, Dry Drunk is a masterpiece. The impeccable six-song stretch from “Love Makes You Fat” through “Riding the Clock” ties you to the bumper and drags you along some of the duo’s most creative side-roads, through the simmering, straightjacketed sludge of “Baker Act” to the chopped-up, smirking electronica of “Eject Button.” Swerving between addled, unintelligible agony and unforgettable anthems, Dry Drunk, like End Position before it is nothing less than the life of a junkie scraped together, heated on a spoon, and injected into your head. Once you’ve taken a hit, you will never be quite the same.

Thus Spoke’s Frightening Fragments

Defacement // Doomed [August 22nd, 2025 – Self Release]

There’s music for every vibe.1 The one Defacement fits is an exclusively extreme metal flavor of moody that is only appreciable by genre fans, made tangibly more eerie by their persistent idiosyncratic use of dark ambient interludes amidst the viciously distorted blackened death. Audiences—and reviewers—tend to disparage these electronic segments, but I’ve always felt their crackling presence increases the analog horror of it all, and rather than being a breather from the intensity, they prolong the nausea, the sense of emptiness, and the abject fearfulness of head-based trauma. This latter concept grows more metaphorical still on Doomed, where the violence is inside the mind, purpose-erasing, and emotionally-detaching. The ambience might be the most sadly beautiful so far (“Mournful,” and “Clouded” especially), and the transitions into nightmarish heaviness arguably the most fluid. And the metal is undoubtedly the most ambitious, dynamic, and magnificent of Defacement’s career, combining their most gruesome dissonance (“Portrait”) with their most bizarrely exuberant guitar melodies (“Unexplainable,” “Unrecognised”). Solos drip tangibly with (emotional) resonance (“Unexplainable,” “Absent”) and there’s not a breath or a moment of wasted space. Yes, the band’s heavier side can suffer from a nagging sense of homogeneous mass, but it remains transporting. While I can appreciate why others do not appreciate Defacement, this is the first of their outings I can truthfully say mesmerised me on first listen.

ClarkKent’s Heated Hymns

Phantom Fire // Phantom Fire [August 8th, 2025 – Edged Circle Productions]

While I waded through the murky depths of the August promo sump, Steel implored me to take the eponymous third album from Phantom Fire. “The AMG commentariat love blackened heavy metal,” he said. I disregarded his advice at my peril, and while I ended up enjoying what I grabbed, it turns out this would have been solid too. Featuring members from Enslaved, Kraków. Hellbutcher, and Aeternus, Phantom Fire play old school speed metal that harks back to the likes of Motörhead and Iron Maiden’s Killers. Thanks to healthy doses of bass and production values that allow the instruments to shine, each song is infused with energetic grooves. The music sounds fresh, crisp, and clear, from the booming drums to Eld’s “blackened” snarls. Early tracks “Eternal Void” and “All For None” show off the catchy blend of simple guitar riffs and a hoppin’ bass accompanied by energetic kit work. While placing a somewhat lengthy instrumental track in the middle of a record usually slows it down, “Fatal Attraction” turns out to be a highlight. It tells a tragic love story involving a motorcycle with nothing but instruments, an engine revving, and some police sirens. The second half of Phantom Fire gets a bit on the weirder side, turning to some stoner and psychedelia. There’s a push and pull between the stoner and Motörhead speed stuff on songs like “Malphas” and “Submersible Pt. 2,” and this blend actually works pretty well. It turns out that they aren’t phantom after all—these guys are truly fire.

Burning Witches // Inquisition [August 22nd, 2025 – Napalm Records]

With six albums in eight years, Swiss quintet Burning Witches has really been burning rubber. While such prolific output in such a short time frame generally spells trouble, Inquisition is a solid piece of heavy/power metal. Burning Witches dabbles in a mix of speedy power metal and mid-tempo heavy metal, often sounding like ’80s stalwarts Judas Priest and Def Leppard. With Laura Guldemond’s gruff voice, they produce a more weighty, less happy version of power metal than the likes of Fellowship or Frozen Crown. While the songs stick to formulaic structures, tempo shifts from song to song help keep things from growing stale. We see this variety right from the get-go, where “Soul Eater” takes a high-energy approach before moving into the more mellow “Shame.” There’s even a pretty solid ballad, “Release Me,” that grounds the back half of the record. Songs of the sort that Burning Witches write need catchy choruses, and fortunately, they deliver. “High Priestess of the Night” is a particular standout, delivering a knock-out punch in its delivery. It helps that the instrumental parts are well-executed, from crunchy riffs to subdued solos to booming blast beats. Anyone looking for a solid bit of power metal that’s not too heavy on the cheese will find this worth a listen.

Deathhammer // Crimson Dawn [August 29th, 2025 – Hells Headbangers Records]

Celebrating 20 years of blackened speed, Deathhammer drop LP number six with the kind of energy that exhausted parents dread to see in their children at bedtime. This is my first foray with the band, and I am in awe of the relentless level of manic energy they keep throughout Crimson Dawn’s 39 minutes. If science could learn how to harness their energy, we’d have an endless source of renewables. The two-piece out of Norway channels classic Slayer on crack and even has moments reminiscent of Painkiller-era Judas Priest. They play non-stop thrash cranked to 11, with persistent blast beats and some dual guitar parts that leave your head spinning from the rapid-fire directions the riffs fire off in. The heart of the mania is singer Sergeant Salsten. His crazed vocals are amazing—snarling, shouting, and shrieking in a way that took me back to the manic pitch Judge Doom could reach in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? He sings so fast that on the chorus of “Crimson Dawn,” it sounds like he says “Griffindor,” which had me searching confusedly for the Harry Potter tag. This was probably my favorite song, not just because of the Griffindor thing, but because that chorus is so catchy. Either way, it’s tough to pick a standout track because they all grip you by the throat and don’t let go. Crimson Dawn is a ton of fun and a must listen if you like your music fast.

Grin Reaper’s Bountiful Blight

Kallias // Digital Plague [August 14th, 2025 – Self Release]

Machine gun drumming, spacey synths, Morbid Angel-meets-Meshuggah riffing, Turian-esque barking and Voyager-reminiscent vocal melodies…what the fuck is going on here? The only thing more surprising than someone having the moxie to blend all these things together is how well they work in concert. Kallias doesn’t hold back on sophomore album Digital Plague, and the result is a rocket-fueled blast through forty-four minutes of eclectic, addictive prog. The mishmash of styles keeps the album fresh and unpredictable while never dipping its toes in inconsistent waters, and staccato rhythms propel listeners through eight tracks without losing steam. As with any prog metal worth its salt, Kallias brandishes technical prowess, and their cohesion belies the relatively short time they’ve been putting out music.2 The mix is well-suited to spotlight whoever needs it at a given time, whether the bass is purring (“Exogíini Kyriarchía”), the drums are being annihilated (“Pyrrhic Victory”), or a guitar solo nears Pettrucian wankery (“Phenomenal in Theory”). The end result is three-quarters of an hour filled with myriad influences that fuse into a sound all Kallias’s own, and it’s one I’ve returned to several times since discovering (also, credit to MontDoom for his stunning artwork, which helped initially draw my attention). Check it out—you’ll be sick if you avoid this one like the Plague.

Luke’s Kaleidoscopic Kicks

Giant Haze // Cosmic Mother [August 22nd, 2025 – Tonzonen Records]

Whereas many of my colleagues are bracing themselves for cooler conditions and harsh winters to come, in my neck of the woods, things are warming up. While my own wintry August filter proved scarce, there was one particular summery gem to lift moods with burly riffs and fat stoner grooves. Unheralded German act Giant Haze seemingly emerged out of nowhere during a random Bandcamp deep dive. Debut LP Cosmic Mother channels the good old days of ’90s-inspired desert rock, featuring grungy, doomy vibes via a groovy batch of riff-centric, hard-rocking and uplifting jams, evoking the nostalgic spirit of Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Clutch and perhaps even a dash of Danzig. Punching out raucous, groove-soaked hard rockers with skyscraping hooks (“Geographic Gardens Suck,” “King of Tomorrow,” “Panic to Ride”), summery, funk–psych jams (“Sunrise”), and bluesy, punk-infused fireballs (“Crank in Public,” “Shrink Age”) Giant Haze get a lot of things right on this assured debut. The songwriting is deceptively diverse and punchy, bolstered by solid production, tight musicianship, and the swaggering, ever so slightly goofy vocal charms and powerful hooks of frontman Christoph Wollmann. Inevitably, a few rough spots appear, but overall Cosmic Mother showcases oodles of budding potential, an impactful delivery, cheeky sense of humor, and infectious, feel-good songcraft.

Spicie Forrest’s Foraged Fruit

Bask // The Turning [August 22nd, 2025 – Season of Mist]

Last seen in 2019, Bask returns with fourth LP, The Turning, a concept album following The Rider as she and The Traveler traverse the stars. They still peddle the unique blend of stoner rock and Americana Kenstrosity reviewed favorably in 2019, but 2025 sees them looking up for inspiration. The Turning incorporates a distinct cosmic bent (“The Traveler,” “The Turning”) and post-rock structures (“Dig My Heels,” “Unwound”). These augmentations to Bask’s core sound are enhanced by the masterful pedal steel of new official member Jed Willis. Whether floating through the firmament or tilling earthly pastures, Willis creates textures both fresh and intensely nostalgic. The infinite shifting vistas of The Turning’s front half coalesce into singular timeless visions on the back half, supporting its conceptual nature in both content and form. Like a combination of Huntsmen and Somali Yacht Club, Bask weaves riffs and melodies heard across the plains and through the void above with an unguarded authenticity felt in your soul.

Dolphin Whisperer’s Disseminating Discharge

Plasmodulated // An Ocean ov Putrid, Stinky, Vile, Disgusting Hell [August 1st, 2025 – Personal Records]

Stinky, sticky, slimy—all adjectives that define the ideal death metal platter. Myk Colby has been trying to chase this perfect balance in a reverb-wonky package with projects like the d-beaten Hot Graves and extra hazy Wharflurch, but vile death metal balance is hard to achieve. However, An Ocean ov Putrid, Stinky, Vile, Disgusting Hell contains a recklessly pinched Demilichian riffage, classic piercing whammy bombs, and spook-minded synth ambience that places Plasmodulated with an odor more pungent than its peers. With an infected ear that festers equally with doom-loaded, Incantation-indebted drags (“Gelatinous Mutation ov Brewed Origin,” “Trapped in the Plasmovoid”) and Voivod-on-jenkem cutaways to foul-throated extravagence (“The Final Fuckening”). An air of intelligent tempo design keeps An Ocean from never feeling trapped in a maze of its own fumes, with Colby’s lush and bubbling synth design seguing tumbles into hammering deathly tremolo runs (“Such Rapid Sphacelation”) and Celtic Frosted riff tumbles (“Drowning in Sputum”) alike, all before swirling about his own tattered, trailing vocal sputters. Steady but slippery, elegant yet effluvial, An Ocean ov Putrid, Stinky, Vile, Disgusting Hell provides the necessary noxious pressure to corrode death metal-loving denizens into pure gloops of stained-denim pit worship. Delivered as labeled, Plasmodulated earns its hazardous declaration. We here at AMG are not liable for any OSHA violations that occur as a result of Plasmodulated consumption on the job, though.

#2025 #Aeternus #AmericanMetal #Americana #AnOceanOvPutridStinkyVileDisgustingHell #Aug25 #Bask #BlackMetal #BlackenedDeathMetal #BurningWitches #CelestialTwilightBeyondTheCrimsonVeil #CelticFrost #Clutch #CosmicMother #CrimsonDawn #Danzig #DarkAmbient #DeathMetal #Deathhammer #DefLeppard #Defacement #Demilich #DigitalPlague #Doomed #DryDrunk #DutchMetal #EdgedCircleProductions #Emperor #Enslaved #Fellship #FinnishMetal #FrozenCrown #FuManchu #GermanMetal #GiantHaze #Glassing #Hardcore #HeavyMetal #Hellbutcher #HellsHeadbangersRecords #HotGraves #Huntsmen #Incantation #Inquisition #IronMaiden #JudasPriest #Kallias #Kraków #Kyuss #MelodicBlackMetal #Meshuggah #MoonlightSorcery #MorbidAngel #Motörhead #NapalmRecords #NorwegianMetal #OldNick #PersonalRecords #PhantomFire #Plasmodulated #PowerMetal #ProgressiveDeathMetal #RawBlackMetal #Review #Reviews #SelfRelease #SilentMillenia #Slayer #Sludge #SludgeMetal #SomaliYachtClub #SpeedMetal #StonerRock #Stormkeep #StreetSects #StuckInTheFilter #StuckInTheFilter2025 #SwissMetal #SymphonicBlackMetal #TechnicalDeathMetal #TheTurning #TonzonenRecords #Turian #Voivod #Voyager #Wharflurch

Coroner – Dissonance Theory Review

By Dolphin Whisperer

Whether it’s the mystifying hourglass of parenthood or a sudden collision of earth to brain, time erodes both in steady, unnoticeable stutters and blink-speed slides.1 I’m sure Coroner never quite planned to sit this long on new material, with its inception a decade ago sliding to present today in maturity. But after thirty-plus years, there’s little rush in releasing anything for the sake of the release itself. In thoughtful construction, a composed comeback will warrant discussion upon emergence and later on down the road. And with Dissonance Theory, both a foot in a deep thrash history and desire to explore a progressive sound, Coroner seeks to prove that a vital record can still exist under their storied name.

While the aged gap between albums presents as a hurdle to momentum, Coroner hasn’t been dormant leading up to Dissonance Theory, a healthy festival and gig routine since 2010 stoking their creative flame. And cornerstone guitarist Tommy Baron has remained engaged in studio management while weaving through extra-Coroner band activities over the years, like his brief stint with fellow thrash legends Kreator in the late ’90s2 or his more modern chug-a-lug with the alternative/industrial-laced 69 Chambers. Along this timeline, then, it makes sense that Dissonance Theory presents not as a widening of the take-it-or-leave-it Grin but as an exploration of how history has shaped their own interpretation of their sound. Lower-tuned tap ‘n’ go strides follow the splinter that spiraled dark groove machines like Nevermore and Morgana Lefay (“Consequence,” “Symmetry,” “Renewal”). Heavier anthemic numbers mirror the booming stadium feel of modern Kreator (“Sacrificial Lamb”), even verging on Lamb of God thrash-thuggery at its most simple (“Crisium Bound”). Many faces have worn Coroner over the years, but Coroner wearing them back reveals new wrinkles.

Yet Dissonance Theory hits what makes modern Coroner a force when layered guitar textures and screaming solos have space to warp and twist about dips into classic thrash breaks and screaming solos. Baron has always been an expressive guitarist. But in the long road since the Celtic Frosted days of RIP, he’s found a way both to whip the frenetic scramble of a pit-ready bridge into heroic fretboard gymnastics (“Consequence,” “Symmetry”) and drop jaws with melodic, bluesy tone-wailing (“Transparent Eye”). Likewise, jangling chords find resonant space and careful modulation in pocketed drum rhythms and steady, growling bass, showcasing the careful ear for harmony that Coroner has always endorsed (“The Law,” “Transparent Eye”). And though a couple tracks may use their space less effectively than others, finding a slight meandering in their joy of sound, Dissonance Theory breezes by in a veteran flex of songwriting maturity.

However, I take some issue with the ways in which the Bogren production job bolsters Coroner into the modern day. Again, part of what makes Coroner, well, Coroner is a vibrant guitar identity that twangs and twirls and cuts with buttery precision. And while a nasally compression still helps to define the chatter of Dissonance Theory’s most thrashing moments (“Consequence,” “Symmetry”), more weight finds a home in a thick and pulverizing rhythm tone. Ron Royce’s thick-stringed assault, naturally, finds a happy home with the lean into low-end emboldening, and that partnering with the muddier rhythm tone finds a unison richness on certain brooding runs (“Sacrificial Lamb” through “Symmetry”). Furthermore, new drummer Diego Rapacchietti finds a powerful march and kick clamor that creates a playful propulsion against bright, palm-muted runs (“Sacrificial Lamb,” “The Law”). Against the flat rhythm guitar characterization, alas, all of these production accents don’t always add up to song sections that feel distinct over the whole of the album.

Coroner’s influence continues to ripple through thrashy and deathly forms alike despite the current day being far removed from their initial declarations. But more importantly, Dissonance Theory proves that in 2025, Coroner has been paying attention to their progeny in order to shape a new face for the flock of hopefuls to follow. I don’t think Dissonance Theory carves quite as deep a notch as the Swiss stalwarts had hoped, though in its collective wisdom, it can be hard to put down. As first steps in a new direction, Dissonance Theory fills me with hope that a Coroner second coming will bear fruit at least once more with a greater level of determination.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Century Media Records | Bandcamp
Websites: coronerofficial.com | coronerofficial.bandcamp.com
Releases Worldwide: October 17th, 2025

#2025 #35 #CenturyMediaRecords #Coroner #DissonanceTheory #Kreator #LambOfGod #MorganaLefay #Nevermore #Oct25 #ProgressiveMetal #ProgressiveThrashMetal #Review #Reviews #SwissMetal #TechnicalThrashMetal #ThrashMetal

🐄 Snuggle up in the hay – Clotilde takes it slow for POWERHILL’s new #PowerBallad straight from the heart!

🎬 Tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. CEST, POWERHILL will premiere the lyric video for their new single “My Mood” on YouTube: https://youtu.be/MPHR0wMHQf0?list=PLWEYZURqjsHzXCvUJW4fmp5h-diiGDnya

👉🏻 Want a taste before it drops? Watch this teaser now and catch a glimpse of this heartfelt blend of storytelling, vintage flair, and Hard Rock charm.

#SwissMetal #HardRock #RockMusic #MelodicRock #Metal #RockBallad #NewMusic #FemaleFrontedMetal

🐄 Snuggle up in the hay – Clotilde takes it slow for POWERHILL’s new #PowerBallad straight from the heart!

🎬 On June 12 at 1:00 p.m. CEST, POWERHILL will premiere the official lyric video for their new single “My Mood” on YouTube.

👉🏻 Want a taste before it drops? Watch the teaser now and catch a glimpse of this heartfelt blend of storytelling, vintage flair, and Hard Rock charm: https://youtu.be/_Uh5HCSf0xs?list=PLWEYZURqjsHzehfBdvlqCFQjLYDxPMgFT

#HardRock #MelodicRock #RockMusic #Metal #RockBallad #MetalBallad #SwissMetal #NewMusic

For this week's #GrindayFriday, a strange, cool new find-- MORBIER DANGER from
Chavornay, Switzerland. They're some very cheese-based deathgrind. Morbier Danger have a new EP that came out a few days ago, but this one is 'Briescard Destin', their LP from 2024. Really solid, tight, catchy riffy spots and dynamics on this one. Their new EP is great, and worth a listen, too. 🧀

https://morbierdanger.bandcamp.com/album/briescard-destin

#grind #deathgrind #Switzerland #SwissBands #SwissMetal #SwissGrind #grindcore #metal #Chavornay @vanessawynn @wendigo @HailsandAles

Eluveitie – Ànv Review

By Twelve

Unlike a certain Angry Metal Overlord, I really liked Origins. Up to 2014, I had only a dim awareness of Eluveitie, save that they were a Swiss group that did not believe in keyboards. Origins was my gateway into folk metal, an album I found exciting and refreshing, and Eluveitie’s live show in support of it is still one of my top concert experiences. For over twenty years, Eluveitie has been a force in folk metal. Armed with many instruments and a metal core, they are now on their ninth full-length album, Ànv. What have these giants of the genre cooked up for us this time?

The hallmarks of Eluveitie’s sound are all present on Ànv: melodeath riffs from ye ole aughts, the violins, Chrigel Glanzmann’s shouts, and Fabienne Erni’s cleans—it’s the Eluveitie you love or love to hate, continuing their trajectory from Helvetios through Origins and up to Antegnatos. As ever, the Swiss octet blends traditional Celtic folk, Gaulish themes, and modern metal into their music. “Aeon of the Crescent Moon” and “The Prodigal Ones” are instantly recognizable as Eluveitie, with fast-paced riffing, vocal duels, and Lea-Sophie Fischer’s violin, either keeping pace or layering in emotion. Another familiar hallmark is the use of folky interludes like “Memories of Innocence,” a jig with an eastern feel that gives Glazmann’s mandolin and whistles their moments to shine alongside Fischer’s lively fiddling.

It’s all familiar, and a touch predictable too—Ànv feels safe as Eluveitie albums go. It’s odd to remark that an album performed by an octet playing more than fifteen instruments between them is predictable, but if you’ve followed Eluveitie at all since Evocation, you know what to expect. “Premonition” is standard Eluveitie fare and could have easily fit on Origins. It features In Flames-esque riffs that are more texture than flavor, followed by a brief flute appearance and lively violin over the chorus. “The Harvest” follows a near-identical formula, but executes it more intensely, which makes it a stronger song; this time, one that would be at home on Helvetios. “Ànv” feels like an outtake from Evocation II—Erni’s singing is passionate, but the formless music makes it forgettable. In each case, you know what you’re in for before the song reaches the minute mark.

There are a few genuine surprises on Ànv, but I’m sad to say I dislike most of them. “Taranoías” is a hard-hitting beast of a song right up until the minute mark, when Erni takes over from Glazmann’s furious growls and performs what I keep thinking is the chorus to a different song. “All Is One” similarly sounds like it’s found its way to the wrong album. Here, Eluveitie perform their best Nightwish impression, reaching for emotional highs in a very clichéd fashion. In neither case is the decision bad in isolation, but both are tonally mismatched from the rest of Ànv. What’s particularly frustrating is that in both examples, Erni is the odd musician out, despite being a very strong singer, evidenced particularly by her terrific performance in “Awen.”

But the most surprising part of Ànv is that it doesn’t feel all that much like folk metal, especially when compared to past Eluveitie albums. Often, it feels like modern melodeath with a violin. The flutes and hurdy gurdy are produced so weakly as to slide under the radar in most songs. Much of the folk rests in the three metal-less interlude tracks, none of which feel essential. Instead, songs like “All Is One” suggest an interest in a poppier, more “modern” sound.1 In this sense, there is something akin to a division in Ànv, making for a disjointed listen of good songs (“The Harvest,” “Awen”), forgettable songs (“The Prodigal Ones,” “Aeon of the Crescent Moon”), folk tunes (“Anamcara,” “Memories of Innocence”), and “All Is One.”

I’ve been a fan of Eluveitie for some time—I know that authenticity is important to this band. And don’t get me wrong, Ànv is certainly folk metal and certainly Eluveitie. It is also inconsistent and signifies a direction that I hope Eluveitie are not set on. I’ve loved this band for the way it blends folk and metal music. Unfortunately, that makes it very difficult to feel much love for Ànv.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Websites: eluveitie.ch | facebook.com/eluveitie
Releases Worldwide: April 25th, 2025

#25 #2025 #Amaranthe #Amorphis #Ànv #Apr25 #ArchEnemy #Eluveitie #Epica #FolkMetal #InFlames #Nightwish #NuclearBlastRecords #Review #Reviews #SwissMetal

Last Leaf Down – Weight of Silence Review

By Killjoy

I imagine we all have our own personal keywords that snag our attention and interest. Marketers (and record labels) know this and try their best to capitalize on our weakness. The descriptor “dreamy shoegaze from the woods” doesn’t sound particularly like something one might look for on Angry Metal Guy, nevertheless, it was the deciding factor for me to fish Weight of Silence out of the promo bin. Last Leaf Down originally formed in Switzerland in 2003 as a “dark doom” metal band. Whatever that sounds like, we may never know because on their debut album Fake Lights in 2014 they had already veered into the shoegaze sphere. Now, coming off a long break since 2017’s Bright Wide Colder, Last Leaf Down offers a reinvigorated interpretation of this timeless genre.

Although I’m not so sure that the woodsy label fits, Weight of Silence is certainly dreamy. The serene, melancholic atmosphere strongly reminds of Slowdive. Last Leaf Down have been steadily adding more and more alt-rock to their original shoegaze formula, specifically the polished, moody alt-rock of Snow Patrol and The Fray. The pairing is a good one; the hazy allure of shoegaze and the reliable structure of alt-rock complement each other well. As might be expected, Weight of Silence is heavily reliant on the vocals, and Benjamin Schenk’s voice has a vulnerable timbre that gives the music a distinct character. He’s clearly been working to stretch his singing abilities further during the extended break, and, despite the occasional signs of strain, he sounds more confident compared to prior albums.

Weight of Silence seems designed to magnify rather than produce intense emotion. This is largely a function of the instrumentation’s stripped-back, minimalist nature. The guitar parts are usually simple and supportive (I was surprised that three guitarists are credited), with nary a keyboard or synthesizer to be heard. In some ways, this approach is refreshing, as it leaves plenty of room for Daniel Dorn’s bass lines to add subtle depth in “Cold Heart” and satisfying heft to the chorus of “Reach the Sun.” On the other hand, the guitars and drums seem relegated to primarily building atmosphere and supplementing Schenk’s vocals. I appreciate the instances when they can break free from the norm a bit, like the swirling post-rock guitar melodies in the ending of “The Ending”1 or the tom grooves in the second half of “Falling Sky.”

This probably explains why the closer I pay attention to Weight of Silence, the less invested I feel. It makes for a great companion while sitting at my desk late at night, catching up on work, but my focused listening time usually results in lukewarm enjoyment. The more upbeat songs with well-defined choruses are, understandably, more memorable (“Illusion,” “Mislead,” “Reach the Sun”), while others feel too repetitive, particularly in the lyric structure. Album opener “Silence” is the biggest offender of this, with some variation of the phrase “It feels like I’ve lost myself” comprising around half of its lyrics sheet. To Last Leaf Down’s credit, they have improved at self-editing. The shorter overall runtime helps the punchier moments retain their potency and ushers the less engaging parts along, making Weight of Silence far from the longest 42-minute record I’ve heard.

The best way I can sum up Weight of Silence is that it’s aggressively inoffensive. Like morning mist, it’s pretty, pleasant, and refreshing when the mood strikes, but also ultimately immaterial. It’s the strongest Last Leaf Down album to date, and I like the direction in which they are trending. Their blend of shoegaze, alt-rock, and post-rock makes for an agreeable musical palette. I wouldn’t mind hearing them revive the dark doom style that they purportedly used to play, as I think it could have real potential inside this framework. I encourage anyone who, like me, feels even slightly enticed by the phrase “dreamy shoegaze from the woods” to take a chance on Weight of Silence.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Lifeforce Records
Websites: lastleafdownlfr.bandcamp.com | lastleafdown.ch | facebook.com/lastleafdown
Releases Worldwide: April 11th, 2025

#2025 #30 #AltRock #Alternative #Apr25 #LastLeafDown #LifeforceRecords #NotMetal #PostRock #Review #Reviews #Shoegaze #Slowdive #SnowPatrol #SwissMetal #TheFray #WeightOfSilence

🐄 Hooves Up! “Powerhill” is OUT – Join the #FarmMetal party now on all major digital services! 🤘🏻

https://www.dr-music-promotion.de/?p=26579/#english

#Powerhill #DrMusicRecords #GenerationX #ClotildeRocks #SwissMetal #SwissRock #HardRock #HeavyRock #HardNHeavy #HeavyMusic #RockMusic #MelodicRock #Metal #HeavyMetal #RockAndMetal #NewAlbum #NewRelease #NewSingle #NewMusic #NewMusicAlert #ReleaseRadar #ReleaseDay #NewMusicFriday #FemaleFronted #FemaleFrontedMetal #MetalCommunity #SupportTheUnderground #LyricVideo #MetalVideo