🌶️ To The Teeth | New Heavy Music: Aquilus, Amorphis, Kaatayra, So Hideous, Unanimated, Sarcasm, Devin Townsend
New albums
🌶️ Aquilus - Bellum I (symphonic black/folk from Australia)
The great blog Invisible Oranges shared on Instagram a picture of Aquilus' 2011 album, Griseus, and I was intrigued by the beautiful cover and the accompanying words "Truly brilliant, forested orchestral metal". The record immediately grabbed me: it's progressive and inventive, heavy as hell and so so beautiful. Think older Opeth or Agalloch, but made by a fan of the romantic pianists like Chopin and Ravel. His new album is another unique, beautiful, bombastic, epic, complex, nuanced and enthralling masterpiece you shouldn't miss.
🌶️ Kaatayra - Inpariquipê (atmospheric folk/black from Brazil)
A lot of music is called unique (see above!). But making acoustic black metal blend with Brazilian tropicália and mesmerizing ambient passages, and make it work is really a goddamn wonder. Caio Lemos of Kaatayra (yeah another one man band) has done so on multiple occasions, especially on the absolutely amazing So Quem Viu... This new one seems to be his swansong, and that's sad. But at least we have this. I'm happy.
There's more: Unanimated (🌶️ melodic death/black from Sweden), Volbeat (heavy/groove from Denmark), So Hideous (🌶️ post-black/shoegaze with bells and whistles from the USA), Kadavar & Elder (rock from Germany and stoner/prog from the USA in collaboration), Genocide Pact (death from the USA), Rebreather (stoner/sludge from the USA), Doodswens (black from The Netherlands), Abyssal Vacuum (black from France), a split from Undergang & Cadaveric Incubator (death/christmas from Denmark and Finland), and a split I missed earlier from Anti-God Hand & Threshing Spirit (🌶️ psychedelic/atmospheric black from Canada and the USA). The rest is in the playlist.
And then there's ol' Hevy Devy Devin Townsend with two parts (Puzzle & Snuggles) of what he describes as the soundtrack to what the pandemic feels like to him. It's ambient and weird, and very Devin Townsend. That's good! But I can't wait for his real new album, which is coming too.
New singles
There are new songs out from: Amorphis (🌶️ melodic/heavy death/doom from Finland), Cult of Luna (atmospheric sludge/prog/post from Sweden), Blind Guardian (power from Germany), Sarcasm (🌶️ melodic/blackened death from Sweden), Boris (“¯\_(ツ)_/¯ from Japan), Hammerfall (heavy/power from Sweden), Hath (progressive blackened death from the USA), Motorpsycho (🌶️ psych rock from Norway), Wilderun (🌶️ symphonic/progressive/folk from the USA), Venom Prison (death/hardcore from the UK), Gggollddd (post-rock/doom from the Netherlands, formerly known as GOLD), The Gathering (prog from The Netherlands), Sanguisugabogg (death from the USA), Eight Bells (post/doom from the USA) and Ereb Altor (viking/black from Sweden).
Next week
Non-metal album of the week: Estrella Morente - Leo (flamenco from Spain)
I’m looking forward to next week because of: Funeral, Reveal! & Ethereal Shroud (which is up in full already on Bandcamp).
Have a great weekend people, stay safe! - Peter