EventsWavering Radiant | Isis
Perhaps this is me looking for patterns that just aren’t there (because I do that), but Wavering Radiant actually has a focus on the up-beat more than usual. This actually creates a stark contrast between their dark themes that throws off your sense of what’s actually heavy so much to the point that I actually forgot this album is, relatively speaking, not that heavy. Sure, if you can’t get used to the vocals, it’s easy to immediately label this music as very heavy. Beyond that, the guitars and distorted to hell and back and somehow I get the feeling I’m actually listening to something evocative of… no joke… Pink Floyd. Talk about a mind-bender. It turns out I’m not the only that thinks that either.
Melon
I suppose you could call Melon stoner rock or sludge, but there’s just too much going on to pigeon hole these guys. They’re certainly Obnoxious Listeners and have an even wider range of musical tastes than myself. There are very few people I’ve met that know more bands than me and also typically knows every band I throw at them. Melon has a couple members that fit this description, so you can imagine how wide the influences are for the band.
Indukti
One of my favorite discoveries of the past year was definitely Indukti. Read ahead to learn about their upcoming album and the band in general.
Prisma
This Swiss hard rock band, who is sometimes evocative of Tool, has toured and collaborated with Indukti.
Existence | Dark Suns
I highly recommend this German progressive metal/rock band to fans of Riverside, Dead Soul Tribe, and Opeth.
Irepress
An interview with Bret Silverberg, lead guitarist, on the topics of the inspiration for their band name and making quality rock music, their recent album release and shows with God Is An Astronaut, and what its like playing in live shows without a lead singer.
Sol Eye Sea I | Irepress
I was literally refreshing the Irepress iTunes store page to make sure I got this album as soon as I could. I haven’t found another band quite like Irepress. I could probably come up with some concoction other rock/metal/experimental bands that might indicate what you’re in for when you buy Sol Eye Sea I (2009), but where’s the fun in that? Half the appeal of Irepress is that they’re largely unpredictable.
Focus | Cynic
I was lucky to come across Focus (1993) before the holidays. I say this because my travel plans were delayed and I spent a good portion of X-mas Eve and X-mas day at various airports. Fortunately, I simply put this album on loop and my worries and frustrations melted away.
All Seeing Eye | Klone
If one believes there’s such a genre as art rock, then surely there is something along the lines of art metal. I recently came across another metal band from France that would fit such a preposterous description. Klone is a peculiar mixture of mainstream rock, hard rock, death metal, experimental rock, jazz, and crazy. Whomever runs their MySpace page must have found me since I friended Demians given that they found me shortly after finding Demians and they’re both from France. Although Klone does have a few moments when the two bands could be easily compared, that’s about the extent of the connection between the two bands.
