AUN - Black Pyramid

> NOT-CORE ALBUM OF THE WEEK, 09/12/11

I figured after basically a month of solid metal, it was probably time to move into something else... but that doesn't mean the tone is any less sombre or sinister. Drone is an area of music where if you've heard one artist, you've heard many. There's not much room for innovation in a genre that revolves around minimalism and repetition, so it's not often I test the waters and try something new from it.

As far as drone goes, AUN are really quite good. Multi-layered and relatively complex; the songs hum, fuzz, grind and twinkle in unnerving, dissonant waves. They're one of the more entrancing drone acts I've heard and do an incredible job of immersing you in a dark, dreamy state - aided by some of the most fitting, effective and ominous cover art I've seen in a long time, it makes for an impressively rich atmosphere.

Black Pyramid
Released: 2010
Country: Canada
Genre: Drone/Dark Ambient
"Phoenix"
"Taurus Ten"

Fallujah - The Harvest Wombs

> NOT-CORE ALBUM OF THE WEEK, 30/11/11

Sticking with the recent "prog albums with purple-ish covers" theme, this week's non-core spotlight shines on Fallujah's latest album that dropped quite recently. And thank god it did, because I believe I've finally struck death metal gold and found the perfect platform to expand my taste from.

Being supported live to release the album by a previously-featured band on this blog, Son of Aurelius, and being constantly compared to The Faceless, it was only a matter of time until I got around to hearing The Harvest Wombs. And I have to say, these guys may be the band that seals the deal with me trying to enter the world of death-oriented metal. They just do nearly EVERYTHING right. The shred & technicality you'd expect from bands of the genre, with an extra dose of epic guitar solos, and with somewhat more of a progressive approach than I'm used to hearing.

Songs follow barely cohesive structures, and are frequently divided with atmospheric interludes... that sometimes make their way into the rest of the music. Somehow, the band manage to successfully implement post-rock-esque atmospheric guitarwork and melody into the relentless assault of aggression and brutality. They certainly have the right to call themselves an "atmospheric death metal" band, because the album is more than just 40 minutes of the mindless, speedy tech instrumentation that so commonly dominates the genre; there's real soul, and real emotion here.

Fallujah deliver The Harvest Wombs with the power and passion you'd expect from a melodic death or post-metal band, without sacrificing any of the speed, precision and technicality the foundation of their music is based on. Really, my only complaint is the album isn't entirely solid, some songs or moments overshadowing others. Small wonder why people are considering this their album of year... despite all the worthy contenders.

The Harvest Wombs
Released: 2011
Country: USA
Genre: Progressive/Technical Death Metal
"Alpha Incipient"
"Cerebral Hybridization"

TesseracT - One

> NOT-CORE ALBUM OF THE WEEK, 27/11/11

An album that's taken an incredibly long time to grow on me, but I think I've reached the peak of my appreciation for it. I've listened to these guys on and off for some months now, having dived into the area of math-ish metal after getting into Periphery a couple years back, but although TesseracT are often compared to Periphery, there was something obscenely different about the music I couldn't quite put my finger on that led me to not enjoy it as much as I should have been.

I recently realised that TesseracT's One is as much a head-banging metal epic as it's a serene, entrancing, ambient onslaught of surreal and dreamy soundscapes. It's not an album that really grabs your attention, more it subtly lures you into a lethargic state of complete immersion.

It almost sounds like your average "djent" band's take on a more progressive style of post-rock/metal, and whilst it's not the most exciting metal release (it's the sort of metal you can sleep to), it's an incredibly well-crafted atmospheric masterpiece, the soaring vocals and electronics/effects mixed louder than the chuggy & syncopated instrumentation to push them into a sort of rhythmic backdrop that grounds the music halfway between metal and ambient.

One
Released: 2011
Country: UK
Genre: Progressive/Math Metal
"Concealing Fate Part Two - Deception" music video
"Lament"

Battlecross - Pursuit of Honor

> NOT-CORE ALBUM OF THE WEEK, 20/11/11

At last, another death metal band I can really get into. Shred so insanely epic and melodic it sends shivers down your spine. They have a similar style of guitar-driven melody to another favorite of mine, In Dread Response, even if clearly more geared towards thrash.

As epic as the album can get, it still isn't perfect. Many songs overshadow others, particularly the opener "Push Pull Destroy", which as the most adrenalin-pumping track on the album sets a standard the following tracks struggle to reach. These guys are still fairly new however, so it'll be interesting to see what they're capable of creating with releases to come.

Pursuit of Honor
Released: 2011
Country: USA
Genre: Melodic Death/Thrash Metal
"Push Pull Destroy" music video
"Misery"

The Good Natured - Skeleton EP

> NOT-CORE ALBUM OF THE WEEK, 13/11/11

One of the most insanely catchy releases I've heard from this area of music in a while, I do have one bone to pick with it... it's far too short. What's with this three-songs-long business? Seems like the band have only ever put out EP/single-like releases, and desperately need to bring us something more along the lines of an LP... we need it!

Intensely melodic, akin to those like La Roux or Ellie Goulding, with a similar level of heart & emotion. I look forward to future releases from these guys and hope they manage to get the popularity they deserve.

Skeleton
Released: 2011
Country: UK
Genre: Electro/Indie Pop
"Skeleton" music video
"Wolves"

Fleshgod Apocalypse - Agony

> NOT-CORE ALBUM OF THE WEEK, 06/11/11

It's not often that music of any degree of decency makes New Zealand airwaves (or TV waves), so when shows like MTV's Headbangers Ball come on I leap into action and gawp at the screen for an hour as vaguely-respectable music goes in one ear and out the other. And on the odd occasion they play something interesting like Fleshgod Apocalypse.

What would otherwise be fairly cookie cutter, run-of-the-mill tech death is taken a step further with an intense layer of orchestration that takes the music into an all new realm of majestic epicness.

Agony
Released: 2011
Country: Italy
Genre: Technical/Symphonic Death Metal
"The Violation" music video
"The Betrayal"

Feist - Metals

> NOT-CORE ALBUM OF THE WEEK, 28/10/11

I've been rather torn on this album, which is why I'm reviewing it late. I knew Feist was retreating from the more pop-oriented approach she took on her last album The Reminder, but I didn't realise the leap back would be so... well, backwards. Gone are the immediately catchy and satisfying hooks of previous work; instead, Metals is more along the lines of being minimalistic, subtle and reserved.

If you go in expecting the usual Feist you may be disappointed - I know I was. I just couldn't for the life of me get into the album, it just didn't grab me... until one day I realised, this album isn't meant to grab. Unlike previous releases which have their frequent moments of instant gratification, Metals demands your undivided attention to it in order to appreciate it fully.

Whereas Feist's music used to be good for a sort of quick, mindless pick-me-up, Metals follows the style not many of her previous songs took - where a little quiet downtime to yourself is the perfect sort of time to enjoy the music, away from distraction. And once you allow yourself to become fully immersed in the album and appreciate just how much is going on beyond the surface, Metals is an incredibly beautiful and often moving release. Though I'm still not totally sold on it, and I'm not sure I like her change in direction, there's no denying Feist is a talented musician in all that she does.

Metals
Released: 2011
Country: Canada
Genre: Folk/Indie Pop
"The Bad In Each Other"
"Get It Wrong, Get It Right"

Windmill - Epcot Starfields

> NOT-CORE ALBUM OF THE WEEK, 19/10/11

Windmill was one of the artists that helped me during period of my life of developing open-mindedness and musical discovery, to hear and appreciate the poppier, more minimal and simply happy side of music. Though despite having listened to his previous album Puddle City Racing Lights for some couple years, it wasn't until around halfway through this year that I took the time to hear his latest offering, Epcot Starfields.

This album is quite a leap from his previous, but still manages to sound like more of the same... which if you're like me, is more of the same that you love. It seems more mature, described as combining "star-gazing and shoe-gazing", a clear lyrical focus on stars, planets, space, science and philosophy in general, and the music sounds more minimal, atmospheric and reserved. At the end of the day though, it's still the quirky piano-driven pop that Mathew Thomas Dillon (the pivotal member of the project) showed us he excelled at with Puddle City.

Epcot feels a lot shorter as an album, being 4 songs and 13 minutes shorter than its predecessor, and also feels less varied, but I put it down simply to Thomas managing to refine the sound of Windmill. Previous material was irregular and almost erratic, but this album comes across as a cohesive whole, each song playing an important role in the story and theme of the album.

Epcot Starfields
Released: 2009
Country: UK
Genre: Indie/Dream Pop
"Big Boom" music video
"Airsuit"

Kimbra - Vows

> NOT-CORE ALBUM OF THE WEEK, 16/10/11

Any other kiwis who in any way follow the musical happenings around the country will probably have heard of Kimbra, a young artist who found fair success as a teenager (well, for an NZ teen artist at least) and who seems to have been groomed ever since... and has emerged an incredible vocalist with an incredible debut full-length.

From simple acoustic sets here and there around the country to earning international adoration, her fresh approach to pop (that seems to frequent the realms of indie & alternative, with strong overtones of jazz/soul) is a testament to my firm belief that popular music isn't all attention-grabbing and watered-down, it can be interesting when used in the right hands.

Vows
Released: 2011
Country: New Zealand
Genre: Alternative/Indie Pop
"Settle Down" music video
"Cameo Lover" music video

Mono - Hymn to the Immortal Wind

> NOT-CORE ALBUM OF THE WEEK, 09/10/11

I saw these guys live just over a week ago, and they were absolutely incredible. They re-kindled my love for their music, even if listening to it now feels lackluster after being put to shame by such a passionate and moving live performance.

Whilst what earlier material of theirs I've heard just seems to consist atmospheric drawn-out post rock that jumps between being minimalistic and sometimes noisy, they lean a lot more closely to the contemporary classical side of things with Hymn to the Immortal Wind, true to their influences... well, having a near-full orchestra perform on the recordings didn't hurt either.

An incredible album that is both intense and serene, beautiful and sombre, and the only album of theirs so far that's been capable of filling me with such strong senses of heart-wrenching longing, and also peace and hope to such an impressive degree. The story in the insert and album art to follow is a nice touch too.

Hymn to the Immortal Wind
Released: 2009
Country: Japan
Genre: Post-Rock/Contemporary Classical
"Follow the Map" music video
"Ashes in the Snow"

SikTh - Death of a Dead Day

> NOT-CORE ALBUM OF THE WEEK, 30/09/11

Over the past couple months I've been listening to a lot more metal music, and SikTh are one of the bands responsible for this newfound appreciation. Crazy and unpredictable, they shriek and soar their way through 50 minutes of spastic metal: shred & riff-heavy verses lined with anthematic choruses.

It's debated whether or not they are a metalcore band, but I don't know when a little math metal chug made a band "core". Instrumentally and lyrically they certainly don't really fit.

Death of a Dead Day
Released: 2006
Country: UK
Genre: Progressive/Math Metal
"Bland Street Bloom" music video
"Way Beyond the Fond Old River"

Computers Want Me Dead - S/T EP

> NOT-CORE ALBUM OF THE WEEK, 22/09/11

Chances are if you're a fellow kiwi, then you'll probably wound up having heard Computers Want Me Dead at some point. About a year and a half ago, their track "Circles" was used in an advert on C4TV, and a while afterwards they featured in a series of ads on the same channel promoting local artists and their music with clips of the video for their song "In Your Blood".

Gotta say, I'm impressed with these guys. New Zealand bands tend to be incredibly bland, sounding either like a rip-off of something else or from their own realm of dirge-ery all together. CWMD are surprisingly fresh, with catchy vocals and well-composed, highly melodic and layered electronics. They set an incredible atmosphere, and their pop leanings provide a great element of feel-good to top it off. Definitely looking forward to more from the duo.

Computers Want Me Dead
Released: 2010
Country: New Zealand
Genre: Electronic/Pop
"Circles" music video
"Letters & Numbers" music video

Stars of the Lid - And Their Refinement of the Decline

> NOT-CORE ALBUM OF THE WEEK, 18/09/11

Stars of the Lid have been providing me with some great nights sleep this week, with the incredible atmosphere on this release. A minimalist electronic duo, they create music that could be elevator music... if the elevator was an elevator to heaven, being lifted by angels and cherubs and Qilins and all that good stuff.

The calming waves of gentle noise roll around into your mind, ebbing and flowing, it's almost impossible not to listen to the album and come out the other end in a serene trance.

And Their Refinement of the Decline
Released: 2007
Country: USA
Genre: Drone/Ambient
"Dungtitled (In A Major)"
"Don't Bother They're Here"

Fever Ray - Fever Ray

> NOT-CORE ALBUM OF THE WEEK, 08/09/11

Listened to The Knife a few years ago and they didn't really do it for me. Listened to them having gotten into Fever Ray since, and they still didn't do it. Fever Ray is Karin Dreijer Andersson, one half of the electronic duo The Knife, which is naturally why comparisons are always drawn... and it may also be the fact that from what I've heard, Fever Ray sounds like if The Knife became more interesting AND more minimalistic at the same time.

Right off the bat the album starts off brooding and atmospheric, like something out of a horror, and proceeds to plod and bleep its way through all the possible highs and lows reserved, and discreetly dark, music can travel. With elements of ambient & chillout, trip-hop, folk and drone constantly emerging here and there from the shadows to flavour the music, it's a listen that at one moment may feel strangely warm and inviting, and the next is sending shivers down your spine.

Regardless of what realm of music or tone Karin is trying to achieve at any given moment, one thing is always evident... it's creepy, weird stuff. Really good creepy, weird stuff.

Fever Ray
Released: 2009
Country: Sweden
Genre: Electronic/Experimental
"When I Grow Up" music video
"Here Before"

Son of Aurelius - The Farthest Reaches

> NOT-CORE ALBUM OF THE WEEK, 31/08/11

At last, more death metal I can really get into. Son of Aurelius are a hard-working and talented group of guys, who started out around a couple years ago, and then released a full-length on a respectable label barely a year into their creation. Then re-released it digitally with MORE songs.

At a first glance, they don't seem like your average tech death band. Which they aren't, and which is probably why they appeal so much to me. A brightly-coloured album cover drew the attention first, then they hooked me in with soaring guitar melodies and some pretty fun moments for a metal band. They don't go overboard on the dark, brooding and morbid element that defines the death metal genre; they just play technical, fast and epic metal, and judging by the tone of their music have a damn good time doing it.

The Farthest Reaches
Released: 2010
Country: USA
Genre: Technical/Progressive Death Metal
"Mercy For Today" music video
"The Farthest Reaches"