Mar 022024
 


Inter Arma

I did a better than average job of making lists of new songs and videos that surfaced over the past week. As I knew from experience but had to re-learn, that was a double-edged sword. It made it less likely I’d miss something that would interest me, and more likely I’d be left with a big and difficult chore of deciding what to pick for today’s roundup. The choosing was somewhat (but only somewhat) less agonizing, since I moved a lot of possibilities into a virtual box for tomorrow’s black metal column.

I’ll forewarn you that, with one dramatic exception, all the music I picked for today is intense, often disturbingly intense, and sometimes pitched toward sonic and emotional ruination, though some of the songs get there more gradually than others.

Or, to put it another way, if you came here hoping to headbang, you might be disappointed. However, if you want to get wrung out, have your head spun, and find some bone splinters poking through your flesh by the end, your wishes will be granted. Continue reading »

Jan 172022
 

 

As explained yesterday in Part 1 of this immense round-up, I made an initial cull of 23 songs and videos, most of which surfaced during the last week. I had intended to sift through those more carefully to reach a more manageable number, but due to lack of time I decided to just throw the whole boiling mass at your face. And I actually added another track last night to make the total an even two dozen.

I alphabetized the list by band name and then cut the mass in half, which might have made it a little easier on your senses and your time; we begin today with the letter “I”. Unlike most of my round-ups I also didn’t have time to include the usual links, artwork, or much commentary — mainly just small bits of info about the releases. Continue reading »

Mar 292017
 

 

Last spring we had the pleasure of premiering the opening song on Wistful, the second album by Norwegian composer and multi-instrumentalist Sylvaine. On that album, Sylvaine again composed all the music and performed vocals and almost all instruments, with Alcest’s Neige and Stephen Shepard splitting the drum performances and with additional guests Coralie Louarnika and Thibault Guichard performing violin, viola, and cello on the title track.

Aided by Sylvaine‘s ethereal voice, the album is entrancing and enthralling, a beautifully layered atmospheric work that’s capable of transporting listeners far away from the mundane aspects of daily existence, though the places it may take you are deep inside the crevasses of your own memories and emotions.

In this post we bring you an interview of Sylvaine by John Sleepwalker of the Greek web zine Avopolis.gr, which has also recently been published at that site. Continue reading »

Mar 212016
 

Sylvaine-Wistful

 

On May 13, Season of Mist will release Wistful, the second album of Norwegian composer and multi-instrumentalist Sylvaine. On this new album, Sylvaine again composed all the music and handles vocals and almost all instruments, with Alcest’s Neige and Stephen Shepard splitting the drum performances and with additional guests Coralie Louarnika and Thibault Guichard performing violin, viola, and cello on the title track.

What we have for you today is the debut of the album’s opening song “Delusions” (one of the tracks on which Neige plays drums). If you’re unfamiliar with Sylvaine, you’ll learn from the first seconds of “Delusions” that her music is in many ways an outlier for our putrid site. Most obviously, she has a beautiful, ethereal singing voice, but the exceptions to our “rules” don’t stop there. Continue reading »