Helen Money – “Arriving Angels” (2013)
Label : Profound Lore Records
Review by Matteo Bussotti
“What the Hell is this?” Is probably going to be your first thought listening to this album. Unless you’re familiar with the genre. Even though I can’t find a proper genre for this “Arriving Angels”. Basically, the album consists of 8 tracks played entirely by Helen herself on her cello…no, sorry, on her highly distorted cello, along with occasional drums.
These are not “songs” in their classic definition, there’s no precise verse-chorus-verse-bridge-chorus scheme. You won’t find “musicality” in any of these songs. This doesn’t mean you can’t like them, absolutely. Continue reading »
Serpent Omega – “Serpent Omega” (2013)
Label : Mordgrimm Records
Review by Matteo Bussotti
The first release of Serpent Omega is an extremely powerful album, which combines doom, sludge and stoner metal with a taste of…grunge. Before insulting me, I just want to say that Pia‘s way of singing reminds me of those rusty, angry vocals typical of grunge music. Serpent Omega is a solid release, extremely powerful and very consistent. All the songs provide some devastating rhythms…and what could you expect from an album which has tracks called “Warmachine” and “Hammer” among the others?
“Serpent Omega” is great for some headbanging, alone or with some friends. Unfortunately, its solidity hinders its variety. The songs tend to be too similar one to each other; the resulting experience is a very exalting one, but you won’t feel many differences between one song and the other. Continue reading »
The Reasoning – “And Another Thing…” EP (2012)
Label : Comet Music
Review by Matteo Bussotti
What can we say about Cardiff’s band, The Reasoning? How can we define their genre? We can say it’s “Dream-Metal”. In fact, listening to their EP will surely bring you in a lot of fantastic, dreamy places in your mind. Their style is soft, kind, but very powerful when it’s needed. This EP comes with a lot of expectations on its shoulders. In fact, it gives us a preview of what their upcoming sixth (including “Acoustically Speaking” and their live album) album.
Well, they’re clearly a prog-oriented band (among the members’ favorite bands there are Beatles, Genesis and Marillion for example), and they’re capable of creating an atmosphere in their songs you’ve probably never experienced before, but, right when you think you’re used to the rhythm…here it comes some powerful solo, guitar riff, or a crescendo, which completely blows your mind focusing again all your attention to the song! I find this EP to be really, really amazing. Continue reading »
Belladonna – “Shooting Dice With God” (2013)
Independent Release
Review by Matteo Bussotti
Italian band Belladonna formed in 2005, and since then they gained a constantly growing attention from media, bringing them also to Grammys, which is extraordinary for an independent band. They also claimed (and were recognized ) to have created a new genre: “rock noir”. Listening to their latest album, “Shooting Dice With God”, it immediately appears the sensuous side of their music, the soft roughness of their sound, and the beauty of their lyrics.
All the songs are capable of creating a very melodic carpet, before pushing you into a distorted, tight, heavy wall of guitars and drums. Continue reading »
Cough/Windhand – “Reflection of the Negative” SPLIT (2013)
Label : Relapse Records
Review by Matteo Bussotti
This split album divides into two 18-minute-long parts. Cough deliver a single, long song, which is more of an immersive experience rather than a simple song. Windhand give us two songs, for a most fast-paced experience, even if the second one, “Shepherd’s Crook”, is more slow-paced and “doomy”. If you’re looking for a proper doom album, you found it. This one is made by two excellent bands, too! I don’t think, if you’re into the genre, you’ll be disappointed for one second by “Reflection of the Negative”. Its slow, heavy rhythms, gloomy lyrics, heavily distorted guitars deliver sensations only well-made doom metal can.
In particular, Cough‘s song, “Athame”, is a lot more atmospheric than Windhand‘s ones; you’ll get trapped into it for its slow beat which makes you almost feel uncomfortable, but in a beautiful way. The guitars, with their heavy chords, deliver such power you’ll feel overwhelmed by them…and I couldn’t ask for more from a song like this. Continue reading »
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