Recommended for fans of: Orchid, Envy, (early) Deafheaven
What’s in a (genre) name?
Well, quite a lot – to some people, anyway – it seems, as picking the wrong genre tag for a band will mean some potential listeners might choose not to check out their music, under the wrong impression that it’s “not for them”.
Which is why I have to be careful when talking about Virginia’s Ostraca and their chaotic, cathartic, blast-driven, discordantly-heavy (yet also bleakly melodic) brand of Screamo/Hardcore/Crust.
If you’re not familiar with those terms, or if you think you’re familiar with them but not sure if this article is worth checking out, then allow me to assure you that the records highlighted here today – five albums (including the recently-released Thread) plus one EP (that I’ve already written about, as it happens) – are each, in their own way, as vicious and as visceral, as venomous and as violent, as anything else from the more “metallic” side of the scene, and all more than worthy of your time.
2015 – DEATHLESS
The band’s debut album doesn’t waste any time before kicking into high gear with the scorching frenzy of “Without Articulation”, which combines both breathtaking fury and brooding introspection in equal measure, while also showcasing the group’s impressive amalgam of Punk, Metal, and Post-Rock influences.
These latter influences are much more dominant during the sombre slow-burn of “Half Transformed”, whereas the absolutely savage “When Is It Ever Different” leans much more heavily – and I do mean heavily -on the more Metallic Hardcore-meets-Post Metal (especially during its dark, moody finale) side of their sound.
“Pyrrhic” is a clever little number whose immersive, ambient intro initially suggests that the album might be about to mellow out a little… only for the band to then switch things up to deliver some of their heaviest riffs and harshest vocals yet (we’re talking almost blackened, Portrayal of Guilt territory at times) before switching tack yet again to puruse a denser, darker, and more Post-inflected climax, that serves as a nice bridge into the lengthy, atmosphere-heavy opening of “Another Mask”, which then slowly but surely blooms into a writing, blasting, throat-splitting piece of post-metallic harccore skramz (look it up).
By the time “All Watched Over” finally hits you might already be feeling a little worn out by the sheer sonic and emotional excess on display, but if you stick with it the album’s furious finale finds Ostraca doubling down on the more Post-Metal-adjacent approach they’ve previously only flirted with here and there, utilising its exended, nine minute run-time to deliver an even weightier sound that, nevertheless, never sacrifices any of that raw, Screamo-influenced spontaneity which helps make the band such a vital and visceral proposition.
2017 – LAST
Rather than simply playing it safe and repeating what made their debut such an underground phenomenon at the time, Ostraca clearly decided to keep taking risks and pushing their sound in different directions, with opener “Waiting for the Crash” initially showcasing a more prominently melodic approach, both musically and (slightly more subtly) vocally, that eventually gives way to a climactic burst of such searing intensity that it almost borders on the Post-Black Metal territory of bands like Wolves In The Throne Room or Harakiri for the Sky.
The spiky, erratic extremity of “The Orchard”, by comparison, errs more towards Mathcore with its jarring, jagged-edged guitars and occasional explosions of caustic, Converge-esque dissonance, while the emotive, Post-Hardcore energy of “Childlike” helps drive some unpredictable, borderline proggy, songwriting that ultimately culminates in a climactic burst of keening catharsis.
The epic, envy-meets-Explosions in the Sky, Post-Rock inspired strains of “Nausea” – just under ten minutes of delicate atmospherics and dream-like shades whose simmering tension builds and builds until finally achieving release in the last two minutes of the song – are then followed by the scorching distortion and scalding rage of “Confronting Imagism”, providing yet another scintillating showcase for both the vitality and versatility of the band’s sound, before the captivating combination of raw energy and riveting instrumentation (contrasting abrasive, discordant aggression and mood-drenched melodic minimalism in equal measure) brings the album to an impressive (and surprisingly introspective) close.
2018 – ENEMY
Album #3, Enemy, was where I first discovered them (though not, it must be said, until some time after its release), which means it holds a particularly special place in my heart… especially the crashing chords, anguished vocals, and brooding ambient moments of opener “Big Star”.
“Graven” then delivers fifty-one seconds of wild, whiplash-inducing Screamo savagery that pays tribute to the venom and viscera of the legendary Orchid, while the deceptively-named “Crisis” spends the first three minutes (and change) exploring the moodier and more melodic, Post-Rock influenced side of the band’s sound before transitioning into a more powerful, yet still restrained, Post-Hardcore approach.
Second half highlight “Pulses” is another Post-Screamo-Hardcore scorcher, combining ragged metallic fury and moody melodic ambience (along with some impressively intense-yet-intricate drum work courtesy of Joh Crogan, who remains a thoroughly underrated and underappreciated sticksman in my opinion), which in turn gives way to the morose instrumental introspection of “In Passing”.
Climaxing with the tidal ebb and flow of “Nemesis” – heaving, chugging Hardcore one moment, haunting Post-Rock atmospherics the next, with even a dash of blistering, blast-fuelled blackened Screamo added to further diversify the song’s scintillating dynamic (which also features even more of that excellent drumming, especially round the 2-4 minute mark), Enemy may be the shortest album in the band’s back-catalogue, but it’s definitely not lacking in ideas or intensity, that’s for sure.
2023 – DISASTER
Putting the “Hardcore” in “Post-Hardcore”, opener “Constellation” showcases what is arguably the heaviest, and at least the most focussed, version of Ostraca we’ve heard yet, with bigger riffs, punchier drums, and a sense of electrifying energy (especially when the pace picks up) which reminds me Martyrdöd at their best.
It’s one of the best – and, again, heaviest, especially during its weighty finale – songs the band have ever done, and hands the baton over to “Heaven Is Still” with supreme confidence, allowing the subsequent song to hit the ground running with some powerful Punk/Metal/Hardcore riffage and rivetingly raw vocals, only to transofrm into an immensely effective, and affecting, piece of slow-burn Post-Rock/Metal that builds to an epic, cathartic conclusion.
The brooding opening bars of “Stage Whisper” then carry these same sensibilities over – reminding me more of Cult of Luna than anything else – as the song simmers and ruminates before finally erupting in a veritable torrent of storming blastbeats and scorching, crust-punk-inflected guitars, only to then switch back to a more pensive (not to mention, subtly proggy) approach that allows both the bass and drums to breathe a little more, as it slowly coalesces back towards another humongously heavy climax.
“Whilom” then continues in this more metallic, Post-Metal-meets-Post-Hardcore styled approach, guttural growls and shattering screams vying for your attention over an absolutely punishing procession of heaving riffs and hammering blasts, before the even harsher, even heavier, and even more chaotic assault of “Rebuke”- whose maddening fervor is tempered by fleeting moments of moody introspection, plus a brilliantly restrained finale which contrasts perfectly with the chaos leading up to it – and the melancholy, Post-Black-Screamo-Metal majesty of “Song for a Frieze” bring what is arguably the band’s best album to a triumphant close.
2025 – EVENTUALITIES
Hopefully by now you’ll have given Ostraca a good listen already… but, if you haven’t, then perhaps you might consider Eventualities as a good “jumping on point”, since its four songs so effectively sum up the differing aspects of the group’s sound to date.
Equal parts vulnerability and venom, “Song For a Closed Door” takes its time to get going, blooming slowly at its own pace, but when it finally bursts into blazing, belligerent life the wait is more than validated, as it then goes on to build even further towards the sort of stunning Post-Metal-style crescendo that (m)any of Ostraca‘s peers would undoubtedly kill for.
“Compromise”, by contrast, gives no quarter right from the start, with even its more melodic digressions positively seething with disgust and discontent, while the brooding beauty which serves to introduce “Esau” eventually gives way to a dynamic blend of scorching Screamo and soothing Post-Hardcore whose colourful contrasts make for one of the most immersive (and, arguably, best) songs of the band’s career.
It all ends with the abrasively melodic, sublimely cathartic soundscapes of “So Do I”, a song so rich in both raw emotion and intricate instrumentation that if it doesn’t convince you to give the rest of the band’s back-catalogue a shot then nothing will!
2026 – THREAD
Album #5 (released just a few weeks ago) finds Ostraca a little older, a little wiser, but no less furious… the more Post-Rock/Post-Metal inspired parts (such as the glimmering intro of opener “Uncollected”) are more measured and collected, while the more raucous, Screamo-influenced elements are deployed even more effectively (the aforementioned opener even manages to throw in some subtle clean guitar parts to accent the raging emotion and driving distortion).
The rhythmic, melodic elements of “Enmiserate” then portray an altogether different side of the band, one that’s more introspective, more introverted – and, dare I say it, more emo – than we’ve heard from them in some time, utilising both harsh and clean vocals (in a way that reminds me a fair bit of Respire) and a lilting quiet/loud dynamic that doesn’t lack for either immersive depth or instant impact.
The sharp melodic hooks and shimmering atmospherics of “Song for November” are a little reminiscent of early Deafheaven (especially towards the end), as refracted through a more Screamo and/or Post-Rock focussed lens, while the more bombastic sounds of second-half highlight “Freedom from Pain” (which somehow seems even heavier when its at its quietest) recall the bleak intensity of Downfall of Gaia, albeit with a rougher, punkier edge to the whole Post-Metal-Crust approach (with the soothing strains of “Ganymede” in between the two helping the album avoid sheer emotional overload at this point).
And then, finally, we have yet another enticing closing epic in the form of “Greater Darkness (Something Worse)”, which combines all the diverse, dynamic elements of the band’s sound to date – slow-burning Post-Rock ambience, searing Screamo intensity, brooding Post-Metal darkness, blistering Crust-Punk-meets-Post-Black ferocity – into one final, grandiose explosion of coiled tension and cleansing release.