RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://doublemute.bandcamp.com/album/corporate-culture-final-v2 One of the most unique entities out there today is undoubtedly the deeply intriguing Double Mute and their highly eclectic and delightfully twisted on all things progressive. Also, for the sake of clarity, let there be no doubt that main man Jake Rosenberg is a musical genius whose ideas and visions…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://patriarchy.bandcamp.com/album/manual-for-dying-2 Hot on the heels of their wicked live album (namely Suffer with Me) released earlier this year comes this riveting new studio offering, which sports the brilliant title Manual for Dying, and the disc is nothing if not consistent, cohesive, and mesmeric. Its ten sharp and memorable tracks represent the very…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://aflyingfish.bandcamp.com/album/el-pez-que-vol-act-ii The previous full-length extravaganza by A Flying Fish appropriately titled El Pez Que Voló – ACT I was one of the prog rock highlights of 2023, so naturally, this recently released successor sporting a most fabulous artwork was highly welcome, and given the content and lyrical narrative of the album, I…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://zakaz.bandcamp.com/album/merki-s-lar-2 The Icelandic entity known as Zakaz recorded this bleak, blood-chilling opus a few years ago, and thanks to the good people over at Gymnocal Industries, the utterly compelling and frighteningly dark gem is now available on physical media and will hopefully reach a wide audience. Rooted in icy and windswept black…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://robec.bandcamp.com/album/the-forest-is-too-loud This one did not entirely come out of the blue as I was fortunate enough to get to listen to a few snippets and extracts from it when stopping by for coffee and a chat at Gymnocal Industries’ headquarters on two or three occasions, and I was immediately hooked and started…
RELEASE YEAR: 2025BAND URL: https://www.gymnocal.com/blogs/news/patriarchy-suffer-with-me-live-in-london How to even describe the US-based Patriarchy without doing them an injustice? Weaving various musical genres and influences such as post-punk, electro rock, industrial music, harsh ambient, and a demented brand of synth pop together to great effect only gets us halfway there, which is merely another way of saying that…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://doublemute.bandcamp.com/album/corporate-culture I can honestly say that I have never come across anything that sounds quite like Double Mute does, and I am absolutely loving that! How to even explain or describe such a unique sound as that of this Norwegian-based entity whose sonic experiments take in noise rock, electronica, avantgarde music,…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://oleteigen.bandcamp.com/album/skjebnev-ven Leave it to Gymnocal Industries (Norway) to release hauntingly evocative records such as this one, which sees the skilled composer Ole Teigen (Superlynx, ex-Den Saakaldte, ex-Dødheimsgard) weaving gentle and reflective piano motifs together to great effect. As with his introspective and somber Aske and Jord LP from 2021, Skjebnevæven is…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://mistra.bandcamp.com/album/waltz-of-death-2 The talented duo consisting of Benedicte Adrian and Anders Odden is an inspired and musically eclectic one that merges something akin to grand-sounding gothic soundscapes with subtle black metal influences and also something along the lines of dark symphonic rock (and even hints of electro pop), and the great thing…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://www.facebook.com/untimeband I will be the first to admit that I have never previously crossed paths with the Tønsberg-based outfit known as Untime, but this catchy and easily digestible little 4-track EP of theirs is an enjoyable offering that serves up plenty of earth-shattering riffs, big and juicy grooves, and a punchy…
RELEASE YEAR: 2024BAND URL: https://xtxax.bandcamp.com/album/the-passion The musically compelling force of darkness known as Glacial Mass, which consists of members Themis and Manos, is a frighteningly heavy and claustrophobic proposition that promises a deep, introspective journey through the worst alleyways and oddest corners of the mind – a proper examination of one’s true self and an…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://this-means-war.bandcamp.com/ I love Gymnocal Industries; the label is as unpredictable as they come when it comes to styles and genres but what you can be certain of is that they deliver quality. A case in point is This Means War whose hyper-aggressive and energetic take on death metal is a real…
RELEASE YEAR: 2023 BAND URL: https://66crusher.bandcamp.com/ Progressive thrashers 66Crusher have returned with their fourth album, and this is one juicy and explosive musical cocktail that appeals to me greatly. “Why is that?” I hear you ask. Well, these talented Norwegians have a firm grasp of how to weave outstanding melodies and muscular, meaty riffs together to…
